Okay, thank you.
Students hope this will set an example for other youth employers as there continues to be an estimated 300,000 people working in unpaid internships every year in Canada.
Fourth, on investments to Canada's research capacity, budget 2017 saw investments to establish new research chairs and the establishment of a chief science advisory, among other welcome initiatives. However, budget 2017 missed an opportunity to restore and invest in basic fundamental research and include bold reinvestments in the tri-council agencies that would allow the granting councils to adequately support the research endeavours of graduate students and researchers across all disciplines.
Finally, despite some improvements made in the area of indigenous access to education through funding for the post-secondary students support program, expanded eligibility for the Canada student grants program, and investments in co-operative and work-integrated learning programs, students contend that budget 2017 and its subsequent implementation fails to address the crisis of post-secondary education funding in Canada. Canada's post-secondary education sector is financed increasingly through student debt, part of a larger trend of household debt leveraging our economy as a whole.
In 2015, household debt exceeded the size of the Canadian economy at $1.6 trillion, or 171% of household disposable income. Between 1999 and 2012, student loan debt alone rose by 140%, a product of systemic underfunding and under-prioritization of federal and provincial governments. Budget 2017 fails to comprehensively address mounting student debt, which has collectively reached over $28 billion.
The Canadian Federation of Students has proposed a bold plan for Canada's post-secondary sector through our budget submission, which can be realized through clear budget prioritization of post-secondary education. This plan proposes the elimination of all tuition fees in favour of public funding. We advocate for this funding to be governed by a federal act modelled after the Canada Health Act, recognizing the lack of a clear federal role in post-secondary education in our country. This investment in our country's future would yield billions in return through direct spending and taxation, advantages of social indicators, and general economic growth.
Canadian expenditure on post-secondary currently sits at approximately 2.5% of GDP through a complicated patchwork of programs rather than a more efficient and progressive universal system. We believe these monies can be better allocated to support a tuition-free universal system of access for all. We hope to see this kind of bold direction through the implementation of budget 2017 where possible, and certainly in budget 2018.
Thank you, committee members, for your time. I'm happy to take any questions.