Canada's only aboriginal-run university has been thrown a lifeline by the Saskatchewan government just one week before its money was set to run out.
The province has reached an agreement that will restore $5.2-million in funding for troubled First Nations University of Canada, and is pledging to pressure the federal government to follow its lead.
The aboriginal school, plagued for years by allegations of financial mismanagement, will be given four years of funding under the agreement, with money flowing through an accounting firm during the first year.
The University of Regina, which already has a relationship with the school and shares its campus with it, will oversee its finances in the following three years.
Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris called the deal a blueprint for the future of the university, but cautioned that conditions will need to be meet to keep the school open.
"This agreement also allows me to begin lobbying aggressively for the federal government to follow the provincial lead and invest in this partnership," Mr. Norris said in a statement announcing the deal.
Earlier this year, both levels of government stopped more than $12-million in annual funding to the university, an action that if not reversed by March 31 all but assured its end.
Their decision was prompted by the firing of the school's senior financial officer after he exposed questionable spending practices by senior staff, including inappropriate leave payments and inflated expense reports. The officer later filed a wrongful dismissal suit.
Those allegations proved to be the final straw for both governments, who had grown frustrated with the school's failure to implement leadership and financial reforms for five years. The decision to end funding has since prompted the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which control's the school's board, to make major changes and replace directors. The new board recently dismissed the university's president and vice-president of finance and administration.
"This is what we were hoping would happen," said Jim Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, a group that has pushed hard for reforms. "Everything is in place for the federal government to restore funding."
News of the deal came as a group including FSIN chief Guy Lonechild was appearing before the federal standing committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development to discuss the situation at the university.
Mr. Norris later appeared before that committee by video link and urged the federal government to keep its $7.3-million in annual funding for the university in the province "by investing in the partnership that has been signed today."
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Chuck Strahl said in a statement that his officials are working with stakeholders "to find practical solutions that will help students and faculty in the weeks ahead."