Sure. The work that the federal budget does, we believe, falls short of presenting a bold vision for post-secondary. From the perspective of the Canadian Federation of Students, that will always be the complete elimination of tuition fees and the funding of a totally universal system of post-secondary education.
We do think it is quite disappointing to see that the federal government is profiting over $580 million in interest rates alone off public student debt. I want to remind committee members that the people who are taking on these loans are poorer communities, impoverished communities, vulnerable communities in our society. They are the ones who are relying on the Canada student loans program and its provincial equivalents. The fact that the federal government is making so much money off the backs of poor Canadians and their families is quite disappointing to see.
There are a number of provinces that have completely eliminated interest rates on provincial student loans. Most recently, that happened in my own home province, Manitoba. We've seen this growing in different provinces, for example, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and a few others.
We definitely believe that we need a bold vision for free education in this country, but at the very least, I think this government can commit to eliminating interest rates on provincial and public student loans.