Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is correct when she says that 30 years is a long time. We have had this program for 30 years. Federal-provincial co-operation has existed under the Student Loans Act for30 years and the co-operation and support continues.
We heard from the parliamentary secretary earlier today that the provinces in this country do support this act. This is very important.
Under this bill provinces will continue to be able to opt out of the federal student assistance program if they choose to offer their own program of student assistance. There is nothing new here.
Opted out provinces will be able to receive compensation if they have a program which has substantially the same effect as the federal program. This is nothing new. The government is simply carrying forward provisions from the previous act.
Moreover we are expanding provisions for compensation to provinces which choose to opt out to ensure that their students benefit from the proposed reforms. This is a positive initiative.
We are also providing for accountability. This is something I believe is very critical if we are to be accountable to the taxpayers of this country. Accountability is something that taxpayers have asked us to make sure we have.
For this reason we are asking those opted out jurisdictions to satisfy the minister that they have in place a program that is substantially the same as the federal program in order to receive compensation. Surely this is only responsible and reasonable.
This can be accomplished by a simple letter once a year from non-participant provinces. It is not an onerous detailed demand. It is a simple letter of response and communication. It is not terribly demanding.
Subclause 14(7) establishes that a province choosing to opt out is compensated for those program elements which are in place at the provincial level. Without subclause 14(7) an opted out province could be compensated for program elements which are not available within that province. To me, that would not be responsible. We must be accountable and continue to be accountable to the taxpayers. We would increase the government cost without any assurance that students are receiving the benefits provided for under this legislation. Again, that is important in this country, and we have discussed it for the last eight months. Accountability on how we spend federal tax dollars is very important.
The provinces have agreed with the provisions in this bill. They agreed to the provisions because they feel comfortable that in fact their jurisdiction is not being affected, that they are protected under the Constitution and that this is a co-operative process working together for the benefit of the students of this country and in doing so, ensuring that students across Canada will receive the same programs and have the same access to good programs for post-secondary education.
I really see nothing new and nothing terribly earth shaking in these changes. I believe they are for the benefit of Canadians. Therefore, I suggest that this motion is out of order. If the motion stands I would urge all members to vote against it.