Mr. Speaker, I could not believe it when I was informed by an Oxford county teacher that the Ontario government has pulled its support for the Society of Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada, also known as SEVEC.
SEVEC has been administering the Ontario-Quebec six month student exchange program on behalf of the ministry of education and training since 1990. This funding has now been eliminated by the Harris government.
Now is not the time to cut programs that foster understanding between Canada's regions. I thought Mike Harris was in favour of helping the cause of Canadian unity. This cut to a crucial program certainly does not help in keeping Canada united.
Thankfully the Department of Canadian Heritage assisted students last year in the Canada student exchange. Hopefully we at the federal level can fill this void so irresponsibly left by the Ontario Tories.
If Mike Harris has any sense, which I doubt, he will restore funding to SEVEC.