SU VP (External) comments on new Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education

Dylan Hanwell has never met Lori Sigurdson, but they’ll have ample opportunity to get acquainted throughout the year.

Sigurdson, who was sworn in Alberta Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education last month, will work with Campus Alberta partners, deal with funding to post-secondary institutions, and be a focal point for the University of Alberta’s Students’ Union lobbying efforts.

SU Vice-President (External) Hanwell said he’s looking forward to meeting with the Minister over the summer, who is in a unique position because she’s MLA of Edmonton-Riverview, which encompasses the U of A campus.

“The coolest thing is that her constituency in Edmonton,” Hanwell said, referring to how former Minister Don Scott was MLA of Fort McMurray-Conklin. “Building that relationship around her role as an Edmonton MLA will really able us to make a lot of gains in term of our relationship.”

The prominent issue on Hanwell’s agenda when meeting with the Minister will be the tuition freeze Alberta’s New Democratic Party has declared, which would halt any raises to tuition costs for students. Hanwell said the SU and the Council of Alberta Students’ will also be looking for the rollback of the 26 market modifiers the former Alberta Progressive Conservative government approved last December, while closing the possibility of future tuition “loopholes” such as market modifiers and mandatory non-instructional fees.

The Official Opposition Alberta Wildrose Party recently said that the NDP’s plan to completely freeze tuition “misses the mark,” is “irresponsible and fails to protect students and taxpayers from the growing costs of education.”

Hanwell said he isn’t expecting a major announcement by the NDP soon regarding post-secondary education and the potential tuition freeze, but is anticipating Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley’s first Speech from the Throne on June 15, which could include discussion on advanced education.
“The bigger conversation needs to be about how tuition is regulated — and making sure it is regulated,” he said.