I think Scott touched on it a little bit, and I think I heard some members speaking about it earlier, but the idea of a national system of needs-based grants, a comprehensive system, would be a bit broader than what's currently on the table, so it's broader than what the Canada access grants currently represent.
We've talked about this idea between low-income versus needs-based assistance. Low-income assistance is obviously helping those in a pretty limited category versus needs-based. As Scott was saying, some students have assessed need but their familial income doesn't put them in a low-income category. So I would think a national system of needs-based assistance would be needs-based and have some special emphasis on low-income students but also include this broader category of needs base.
I think there needs to be a more clear system, a clear system where students are receiving this financial assistance. Right now, there's this patchwork of systems, and from our perspective, with all these tax credits and these savings programs, the funding already exists for this comprehensive system of needs-based grants, by just taking all the money that's currently provided through tax credits and savings programs into upfront financial assistance. I think the most basic criterion is needs-based versus income-based.
Then, within that program, I think it's not a problem to have specific provisions for students such as aboriginal students, mature students, and students with disabilities, those who face perhaps additional barriers to just average students who have assessed need. So, yes, in terms of the most broad answer or the most basic answer, there needs to be a provision for needs-based assistance and not just low-income assistance.