Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for the question. I am glad to see he is so aware of the situation in Nova Scotia. We do have a large number of universities and it is a concern. With so many universities per capita we are providing so much brain power for Canada from Nova Scotia.
The question of funding of course has been an issue in our province certainly because of the fact that we have a large number of universities producing excellent graduates. With the funding coming per capita it is a problem and a concern.
I have talked with students in my riding of Halifax West who have been very involved in their universities and have been involved in looking for improvements to the student loans program and student financial assistance. They have strong objections to the idea of this voucher system. They do not feel that it is workable.
The first and most important step is to give students the loans and the kind of financial support that will give them real access to university and this bill does that. By substantially increasing student loans for the first time in 10 years this bill finally takes that major, most important big step of moving us toward a situation in which people can actually gain equitable access to universities and post-secondary education. That is the key and it is very important.