One of the difficulties is that universities and colleges have few options when there's a cut-back in federal or provincial funding. Raising tuition and student fees is one such option. About the only thing governments can control is the level of tuition, which is why we focus on it.
Various governments have attacked this through student loans and the student loan program. This is a mixed blessing. It means that the net cost for those students who have to borrow will be dramatically higher than the cost for those who can pay up-front. It also means that for some students, especially those who come from poorer families without a history of dealing with large amounts of money, there's a certain debt aversion. We know that a lot of students choose not to take loans, even though they're available. Then there's the large number of people who are considered middle class and don't qualify. Mr. Rae's report in Ontario said the level at which you cease to qualify was over $35,000. That creates real difficulty. I think we need to look at needs-based grants to supplement student loans.