Mr. Speaker, I listened with a great deal of interest to the hon. member from the Bloc Quebecois.
I heard many of the arguments and points which he raised during his intervention at the committee. I must say that the comments at times steered away from the content of the amendment which he was making. He spent a great deal of time talking about the constitutional impact of the changes to the Canada student loans. It is unfortunate that the members of the Bloc Quebecois cannot appreciate the fantastic results we have received in co-operating with the province of Quebec for over 30 years in providing important financial aid to students.
Regardless of where they come from, whether it is the province of Quebec, Ontario or British Columbia, they have definitely been given access to much needed funding so that they may complete their education and give great strength to our country.
I suggest to the hon. member that the best indication as to how the provincial governments feel about this legislation can be found in statements that have been made by various ministers or their representatives in the last few days, not in hypothetical statements made by the Bloc Quebecois.
First, let me say that Mr. Chagnon, minister of education for Quebec, on June 9 answered the following to a question by the Parti Quebecois on whether Bill C-28 will force national standards in education on the provincial government of Quebec: "La réponse est non".
I think that is fundamental to the debate. I do not wish to engage in a merely political discussion when there are thousands of students waiting for this government and this House to act on this very important piece of legislation.
I want to go specifically to the point raised in the hon. member's amendment. This amendment does not make much sense. It would leave the program without an appropriate authority at the provincial level for purposes of assessing and according aid to students and designating eligible institutions. That is quite clear from the hon. member's amendment.
It is my belief that students need some assurances that they will be able to gain access to the aid that is available under this legislation.
I remind hon. members of the Bloc that provinces have played a critical role in the administration of federal students' assistance program. We expect the provinces to continue to act as the appropriate authority for the purposes of assessing students needs, according aid and designating eligible institutions.
At the same time, both levels of government are actively exploring ways to improve services to students and streamline the administration of student assistance programs. A number of provinces even during committee here signalled their interest in harmonizing both the administration and financing of student aid. Such initiatives are extremely important. They will reduce overlap and ensure greater value for our funding.
In this regard several provinces have indicated an interest in looking at different machinery for delivery of provincial and possibly federal aid. This could entail assigning the administration of the program to a third party other than a provincial student aid office. As well there is interest in streamlining the process of designating foreign institutions for purposes of the federal program. Currently over 4,500 international institutions are designated.
This is very labour intensive and maintaining up to date information is extremely costly. One approach would be to establish a broadly representative entity with the necessary expertise that could undertake this task in respect of student aid programs generally. For example, a mechanism such as the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials which is jointly funded by the CMEC and the federal government could serve the interests of both levels of government in this regard.
The centre brings together representatives of provinces, the AUCC and the ACC and it might be appropriate to expand its role in this regard.
For these reasons we have provided the necessary flexibility to allow for different types of machinery at the provincial and federal levels. Of course, we intend to continue to work in close collaboration with the provinces. The Canada student loans program is an example, a model example, of how the federal government can work together with the provincial governments and deliver a very important service to Canadians.
This view is widely shared by the provinces. I was very pleased to hear senior provincial representatives who appeared before the committee speak positively about the program and speak positively about the partnership that this program has allowed our federal government and the provincial governments to participate in. This type of collaboration is an example to all federal-provincial governments as to how federal and provincial governments can in fact work together.
Everyone we spoke to basically said to go ahead and push this legislation through. It has many positive features. It is necessary for those students who are waiting for our help. This legislation also takes extremely positive measures, whether you are looking at deferred grants, the help it gives to part time students, women pursuing doctoral studies, or high need students. Not only is it good legislation, it is progressive legislation. It brings in middle class families that have in the past been shut out of the Canada student loans. They may have over $2,000 available.
A person benefiting from a deferred grant with a debt load at the end of a four-year BA of $22,500 now will have the debt load reduced by $6,000. That speaks to the type of legislation this is. It speaks to the progressive nature of this legislation.
For all these reasons this motion obviously should be defeated.