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Q: What is the timeline for the promised interest-free student loans?

A: One of our first steps was to reduce interest on borrowing for provincial student loans (down 2.5 per cent to the prime rate).

We’re aiming for zero. Right now we are moving into the budget cycle for our government. When that starts, I’ll be advocating for all my areas for my mandate with Treasury. Student debt and affordability are top priorities for Premier Horgan and I. We’re going to get to zero.

Q: There are too many First Nations youth in the child welfare system, and too few of them completing post-secondary. How do you think advanced ed serves Aboriginal youth, and what are the issues you’d like to address?

A: What you’re asking is relative to bringing forward Truth and Reconciliation and the calls to action (the report’s recommendations).

It was a call to action for citizens to come together. Statistics show our Indigenous students are not graduating at the same level as their peers. We need to do something about that. There’s a tremendous amount of expertise out there through the First Nations Education Steering Committee. They have ideas on the way forward.

(On the tour) people were saying we need to do something. There’s a willingness. There’s a desire to address Indigenous success. How do we get there? We all need to be at the table.

Q: Tell us about your own post-secondary path. What drew you to those choices?

A: I initially wanted to be a P.E. teacher, so I started at Malaspina (now Vancouver Island University). I didn’t do well. I really struggled with the environment.