Mr. Speaker, I say to all members who have spoken and other members who have indicated their support for this bill how appreciative and encouraged I am by their support.
Some people have addressed issues that continue to be a challenge for governments, federal and provincial, relating to accessibility and affordability of education. But the fact that everyone talked about the importance of education is a highlight in itself. Everyone recognized education is the key to providing hope and opportunities for our young people. We know the economy of tomorrow demands an education. We have to look at all measures. The bill is not perfect.
I introduced Bill C-316 over a year ago and I am happy to see a lot of the provisions in the bill, including the deductibility of interest which has for the first time been introduced as changes to the Income Tax Act in our last budget.
There are a number of initiatives that our government has taken into account with regard to education. We know that education is a provincial jurisdiction. We know that the provinces set the tuition fees. We know that the provinces set the curriculum. What Canadians have told us is that regardless of the fact that government is really responsible constitutionally for education, parents, grandparents and young people themselves want all governments to work together toward education and ensuring that every person who wants to get an education is not deprived of getting that education through colleges or universities or other institutions by virtue of the fact that they do not have any money.
Surely we have learned that regardless of where you live, regardless of your socioeconomic stature, you should be provided the opportunity of education. We know education leads to a much more prosperous life. Hence the government's initiatives, including this bill, hope to address the question of student indebtedness, accessibility and affordability.
I look forward to the support of the House and the support of the government to move on the next part of my bill yet to be addressed by the government, to make sure that all student loans, not only the ones that are under the Canada student loans program, are tax deductible to ensure fairness and equity for all students, not only those who got the money through the Canada student loans program but who went to their banks, their credit unions, their trust companies or other financial institutions to borrow money to further their education and invest in themselves and in the country.