Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the motion by my colleague, the member for Calgary Southwest, on the income contingent repayment of student loans.
For the record let me assure the House that my position and that of all the Reform Party caucus is that we wholeheartedly endorse all aspects of education. The country needs as much as it possibly can get. The debate this morning seems to have centred around education. The motion before us today deals with the collection of outstanding amounts owed by students in order for Canada to ensure the money that is being lent to students is being returned.
I listened to the debate and the nonsensical rant of members of the Bloc Quebecois going back to the idea that only Quebec can handle the problems. The arguments they put forward seem to be rather ludicrous, looking at the motion put forward by the member for Calgary Southwest.
The Liberals have talked about fairness. When we take a look at outstanding loans we see that 90 per cent of Canadian students repay their loans with or without hardship but they do so. Ten per cent have been written off. If we are talking about fairness, surely we should expect all students to live up to their financial obligations rather than 10 per cent being allowed to walk away from their responsibilities while the other 90 per cent act responsibly and repay the debt.
Today we have a very difficult financial situation in the country caused by previous governments and a current government that refuses to grasp the situation and ensure that we get our finances in order. By the admission of the Minister of Finance we are going to add another $100 billion to our debt in the next three years, thereby squeezing the amount of money we are going to have available to pay for education and the other services we so desperately need.
We also know that the young people are going to pay back the debt on top of their education. They are the ones who are getting squeezed twice. We are asking them to pay more for their education as we continue to consume the assets of the country. The students who graduate statistically speaking earn 40 per cent higher incomes than those who do not have higher educa-
tion; but we must look to the idea that higher education is very expensive. It must be handed out to those who have the desire to take that education, go forward, help develop the country and use it for the betterment of Canada.
Higher education is not a place where people can fritter away some time and borrow the money from the Canadian taxpayer and hope that if they have some money they will pay it back at a later date.
Lets look at some statistics. I have the 1994-95 estimates from Human Resources Development Canada, the part III expenditure plan. Looking at page 5.4 under the social development and education program, we find that claims paid by the government, it is estimated for 1994-95, will be $195 million. That has been increasingly steadily. Working backward, the forecast for 1993-94 was $162 million. The actual for 1992-93 was $175 million and back in 1991 it was $147 million. The amount is getting larger all the time.
Can we expect the Government of Canada to continue to provide education free for some who want to flaunt the rules and expect those who abide by the rules to have to pay for it? I do not think so. We have to remember that 90 per cent of students pay their loans back.
Let us take a look at the defaulted loans. On page 5.39 of the same book, in the 1992-93 loan year the student assistance branch reimbursed lenders' claims for 29,079 defaulted loans. Let us take a look at the dollar amounts. Under $2,500 there were 8,180 claims. Between $2,500 and $5,000 there were 10,642 claims. Well over half of all student loans that have been written off were for less than $5,000. Five thousand dollars does not buy a decent used car today. It is not a downpayment on a house. It does not go very far.
The average income in the country is around $24,000 a year per individual. We are talking just a few months of income. Surely it is only fair, when we are talking about the obligation people assume to go to university to get a higher education, that these people live up to their responsibilities and repay the loans.
Regardless of the Bloc Quebecois talking about how hard it would be, we must remember that only 10 per cent are abusing the privilege. Of that 10 per cent more than half of them are for less than $5,000. If these individuals whose student loans are written off have financial difficulties because they have no job and have no income, they should be allowed time to repay the debt.
However when they become employed, when they start to generate some income, surely we can expect them to live up to their obligations. Therefore the motion by the member for Calgary Southwest is perfectly in order. We should recognize that when there is hardship we should allow them the opportunity to defer payments. When they have the opportunity to pay back the loans they signed up for which provided for their education, provided for the betterment of their lives and presumably added to their standard of living and quality of life, the 10 per cent, like the other 90 per cent, should be expected to repay the loans.
We must remember that over half of the 29,000 who defaulted last year defaulted on an amount that was less than $5,000. Let us be realistic. Let us talk about being fair. Let us talk about fairness for everybody rather than just those who want to live up to their education.