Mr. Speaker, I have enjoyed the analysis by the member for Elk Island.
I have just a couple of things in relation to education in Canada and his idea that the economy is what should determine how we relate to costs of education in elementary where it is free, secondary where it is free and then in university where it suddenly costs money.
In Canada education is a bargain if you compare it with any country in the world. The one to which we are most likely to compare it of course would be our neighbours to the south where even the basic university courses cost roughly twice what they do in Canada. I am talking about the state universities that receive a government subsidy. I am not talking about private universities. They are beyond reach unless you are quite affluent. Private universities in the United States are very, very expensive.
What is wrong with a student borrowing some money? Just the exercise itself is a good one for a young person. He takes on the responsibility of borrowing some money and having it made available and taking that opportunity to advance himself, investing in himself. That is not a bad exercise for a young person to have. It would be better of course if you could graduate and say: "I do not owe anybody anything".
Really, carrying a little debt within reason is a pretty good exercise for later life. All of us I am sure have carried some debt. The idea is to take on some responsibility, address that responsibility seriously and repay that debt. I sometimes get very annoyed when people take the liberty of borrowing or taking advantage of money when it is available, but they do not follow up with the responsibility that accompanies that, to pay it back on time providing they are in a position to do that. I think provision is being made now to gear the repayment plan to the income you are getting. That seems to make sense to me. How else would you pay it back.
I wonder if the member would see some very worth while benefit to a student through those years accepting the responsibility of borrowing and of course the responsibility that follows the borrowing, to see that it is repaid. It is really taxpayers' money, my money, your money, and that of the rest of us. It is our money. We want it back because we loaned it to somebody. I think it is their responsibility to address that at the appropriate time when they can of course.
