Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech I would like to tell you that we are going to be splitting our time on the government side.
I am pleased to say a few words to the House to summarize the Canada student financial assistance bill. I am excited by this bill because I think it will bring positive change to the lives of many students who have been shut out in the past 10 years by the past administration.
As we have heard, the Canada student loans program which was established in 1964 has provided $8.5 billion in loan guarantees to over 2.1 million students enrolled in colleges, universities and vocational courses. It supplements students' own financial resources from their earnings, awards and their families. It exists to meet a pressing need on the part of many young Canadian women and men seeking to better themselves.
The reforms provided in this bill enhance assistance and target those in need, ease the repayment burden, emphasize results, provide for new financing arrangements, set the stage for harmonization of federal and provincial student aid programs, provide flexibility to explore income contingent repayment for education and training.
Hon. members should remember that not only will the student loan arrangements be modernized but new forms of non-repayable grant assistance will be introduced. These improvements will ensure that the program better serves the needs of students.
The youth employment and learning strategy stresses the importance of a well educated, skilled and adaptable labour force for the 21st century. Post-secondary education and training reduces the probability of unemployment and increases the possibility of higher individual income.
Both the Canada student loans program reforms in particular and the youth strategy in general are signs of the government's strong commitment to the young people of our country.
The Government of Canada is embarking on an employment and learning strategy in collaboration with provinces and industry that will help young people prepare for the 1990s labour market and the new global economy. It will seek to improve existing school to work transition measures and introduce new approaches for the education and training systems.
The strategy will start to turn things around for young people by offering them more opportunities to learn, to work, to contribute to society. It builds on the strengths of what has worked in the past and sets the stage for new, innovative models.
As the Minister of Human Resources Development has stated: "We know the status quo is not working when we see too many young people sidelined in society". The government is now laying the foundations for improved education and training systems. We will test new models to help young people make a successful move from school to the workplace.
Revitalized education and training systems represent some of the groundwork for the social security reform process now under way. Social programs are redesigned to restore security, offer employment and hope, and create a more productive economy. The strategy will ensure that the basics are in place to assist young people in becoming productive and self-reliant.
Further changes to education and training programs will depend on the outcome of the social security review. Clearly we need to give young people the opportunity to fulfil their potential, to contribute to society and to help build a brighter future for our country.
The central objective of the Canada student loans program will remain to provide financial assistance to students for their pursuit of post-secondary studies. The government and its partners are committed to a student loans program which provides for subsidized loans for full time students in school and for reasonable costs and terms in repayment.
The challenge we face is to improve our effectiveness in providing access to post-secondary learning in a climate of continuing fiscal restraint. In order to succeed, in a nutshell, we must do better with the resources at our disposal. Enhancements to student aid must go hand in hand with measures to reduce and control program expenditures on defaults.
The reforms have been the subject of extensive consultations with the provinces' student associations such as the Canadian Federation of Students and the National Education Association of Disabled Students, educational institutions such as the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges and financial institutions.
There is consensus among the public in general, the provinces and interest groups on the pressing need to proceed rapidly with reforms to this program. There is widespread agreement that we must increase and diversify our assistance to students. Assistance therefore will be enhanced and targeted to those most in need. This will be done by increasing the loan limits for both full and part time students.
Loan levels will be raised by almost 60 per cent and restored to where they would have been had they not been frozen since 1984. The full time weekly loan limit will go up to $165 from $105, meaning that a student could receive a maximum of $5,600 per academic year.
For example, Gregg Byron, a student from a middle income family of four earning around $65,000, living in my riding in Aurora and attending the University of Guelph would not have been eligible under the past system for loans. However today that middle class family member can have access to $2,040 in federal student assistance.
That is positive change for middle class families. They are no longer going to be shut out of the process, shut out of learning and educational opportunities. That to me is the type of change that Canadians have been calling for and that we have acted on.
The part time loan limit will also be increased. A part time student attending the University of Saskatchewan was previously eligible for up to $2,500 in assistance but had to begin repaying the loan almost immediately. That same student under this bill may be eligible for loans up to $4,000 in assistance and will only have to commence repayment of the principal six months after completion of studies.
In total, the value of aid will increase by $2.5 billion over the next five years compared to the previous five years. The reforms also address concerns about the student debt load, loan defaults and the exceptional needs of some students. Some graduates have been hampered in the past by their inability to repay their student loans. The reforms will reduce the repayment burden for high need students, recent graduates as well as facilitate the transition from school to work.
A national program of deferred grants for students in need will be set up to maintain their debt loads at reasonable levels. This will mean that a student with a student loan debt of $22,400 may be eligible for a deferred grant up to $6,840 to write down the actual debt load of that student to $15,600.
Interest relief will be expanded to include low income borrowers. For the first time in the history of the program, borrowers who are employed but do not make enough money to cover their entire student loan payment each month, may be eligible for full or partial interest relief for up to 18 months following the completion of studies.
Special opportunities grants will be provided to meet the exceptional educational costs of students with disabilities, women pursuing doctoral studies and high need, part time students.
I think we have brought some very positive change to this legislation. I look forward to debating this issue in the House and in committee.
Let us remember that when we look at the big picture of Canada student loans and financial assistance, when we look at the issue of a learning continuum and getting our people ready to compete in the global economy, when we speak about providing opportunities to individual Canadians who have previously been shut out of a system that did not bring everyone in, this legislation really brings about positive change to students' lives.