Mr. Speaker, on Friday, February 11, I had the honour of representing the government in my riding of Outremont at a ceremony where 97 students from the University of Montreal received awards from the Canada Scholarships Program. These scholarships are awarded to students who excel in science and engineering. During this ceremony I was able to witness the attachment of many of them not only to their province, but also to Canada. After the ceremony, one of the students asked me why the scholarships were taxable. They felt the government was giving with one hand and taking back with the other.
I draw the attention of the ministers responsible to that, because these hard-working students are the bearers of the values of excellence we seek to promote. They will be the leaders of tomorrow, and we should give them all the help we can give. Canada Scholarships are certainly a good program but if we do not tax lottery prizes, should we tax scholarships?