moved for leave to introduce Bill C-382, An Act respecting the appointment of a Minister of State (Education).
Mr. Speaker, the reason I am introducing this legislation is that over the 14 years I have been here, many groups, including the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the Canadian Federation of Students, various college associations and university groups have come to Ottawa, but they have not had a specific minister with whom to discuss their educational concerns.
We have a Minister of State for Sport, a Minister of State for Transport, a Minister of State for Agriculture, and a Minister of State for Finance, but we do not have a minister of state for education. Even though education is a provincial jurisdiction, I believe a minister of state for education could summarize the concerns of all educators, colleges and universities in this country in order to facilitate best practices working with the provinces and territories to address the educational concerns for the 21st century.
I would hope that all members of Parliament would permit the speedy passage of this very important legislation. I thank the hon. member for Davenport for seconding the bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)