Well, I was talking about the fact that we need to have the best universities that there can be. I think it's very important, and I will insist on that. I really believe our future relies on that. The quality of our human resources is at stake here.
The challenge is very large. Money is not everything, but it contributes significantly to our capacity to offer the best education and to carry out the best research.
AUCC has provided numbers showing that, on average, state universities in the U.S.--state universities, not the Princetons and the Harvards--are getting $8,000 more per student than the Canadian universities. That is a lot of money. You could figure out how much it would require nationally. My point here is that it will require a concerted effort from all involved parties, and I would submit that the federal government has a significant role to play.
I called for a national initiative respecting the various jurisdictions, so it is very important to me that the federal government sustain its effort and its support for research--very, very important. It involves supporting the graduate students.
Also, for universities to be able to carry out their mission, and for the research effort to be carried out, the operations also need to be well-supported. We're not able to do that. This is why the transfer solution has to come into play, because I don't believe it is possible for the federal government to intervene directly in determining what should be done at the university administration level.
I also believe that tuition should be addressed; it varies across the country. We're in the jurisdiction where it is low. I happen to believe that it should be increased, but we should never forget that in doing so we need to provide for the needy students so that we achieve quality and accessibility for all students in the country.