Rent reduced for Riders, early budget items approved by Regina Council
7h ago
Council retroactively slashed $1.33 million in rent owed by the Roughriders.
The provincial government is pulling funding from a province-wide language program.
Advanced Education Minister Don Morgan said “in light of the current economic climate in our province,” they will not renew the Saskatchewan Organization of Heritage Languages’ (SOHL) $225,000 grant next year.
“While we think it’s a great program, we just think it’s outside our mandate,” Morgan said.
The non-profit runs more than 80 community-based schools and teaches more than 40 languages other than English and French. The programs primarily cater to children and youth in after-school and weekend programs, but they also offer classes for pre-schoolers and night school for adults.
In a release, SOHL said the cut will affect recent immigrants, First Nations and those wanting to learn another language.
“At a time when our country is accepting many newcomers and supporting the growth of Canada’s multicultural communities, this is a huge step in the wrong direction for our culturally diverse province,” the release said.
Morgan said the province wants to focus its attention on English language courses instead.
“Our grant to those families was $4.50 per student per month, so if they’re able to afford it, we hope that they can continue to afford it on their own,” Morgan said.