It's a very good question, and I totally agree with my colleague here.
Who we attract to the professions is really important. One of the great things about this country—I know I'm an example—was my ability to access the system...from my parents. I probably would not have been able to go. I would not have been able to afford it.
The real issue for us too is that it really affects what the graduate does after university. I'm an example of a dentist who graduated with minimal debt, and I was able to establish a practice in a very small rural community of 2,000 people in northern Alberta. There was no dentist there. Our problem now is that most of our graduates are forced to go where there are already dentists and work for other dentists as associates.
When you're dealing with access to care, it is critical that our graduates have the ability after graduation to not only have the technical and clinical training necessary to provide services, but as importantly the financial resources to be able to establish or participate in communities that need them. It's not just rural places and inner-city areas. Quite frankly, you graduate with $200,000 worth of debt—I think Andrew will say that's about the average number. The cost of a dental practice is about $500,000, and you need a home. A new graduate is looking at $1 million if he wants to establish a practice. What do they do? They go to Calgary or Toronto.