An hon. member across the way said “provincial cuts”. If these were only provincial cuts, why did the Premier of New Brunswick and both his finance and education ministers say they had to be made as a result of federal cuts? And by the way, the Liberals are still in office provincially in New Brunswick. Perhaps not for much longer, but they are still there.
At any rate, the government is telling us there is something good in store for post-secondary students starting in the year 2000. It is important for Canadians to know that things are not as good as they are made out to be. At present, university students have to spend between $25,000 and $30,000 to get the education they need to enter the labour market. The proposed changes to the tax credits might save them $3,000 but they still will not have a job at the end of the day. How are they expected to pay off their debts then?
I think what the government should have done is increase funding for educational institutions in order to reduce the cost of a university education.
Here is an example. This week, New Brunswick announced it would cost 10% more to attend university. This announcement came immediately after the federal government said it would improve its program for education and that it would benefit post-secondary students. It is obvious that university students are having a hard time. They expect to see their debt level rise to as much as $40,000 in the years to come. These young people who attend university accumulate huge debts, which they are then unable to repay.
Turning to the scholarships that the government plans to award, only 7.1% of all students in Canada will benefit. Let me give you an example. If, in the Beresford region of New Brunswick there are 100 students who want to go to university, only seven of them will get scholarships. It is the same across the country, in Vancouver or anywhere else. Therefore, not many people will benefit from these scholarships.
Moreover, these scholarships will be awarded based on merit, that is to say, they will be given to those who have good marks. They will definitely not be awarded to the poor, when we know that some students have to work at McDonald's or in other restaurants or convenience stores to earn a bit of money so they can pay off their debts.
The government really missed the boat, unless it deliberately chose to launch a big advertising campaign in Canada by saying it would give money to students, without spending that much. The numbers may seem impressive—millions of dollars for Canadian students—but once you split the money among all the regions, it does not amount to much. Again, only 7 students out of 100 will benefit.
The government has a greater responsibility than this toward our young people, because they represent the future of our country. They are the ones who will take over from us, and getting them into debt is not the right thing to do. As I said, the government has a responsibility to help these young Canadians, and it is a good investment for the future of our country.
This is why I oppose the government's budget. I oppose the way the government tried to convince Canadians that it was supportive of our young people. Our young people are not getting government support. They go to school from grade one to grade twelve, and then they have to fend for themselves. To make things worse, the rich have a better chance to get these scholarships than the poor or middle class people.
I met with students who came to my office. They told me they would be penalized if they worked, because the following year the government would deduct 80% of their earnings, thus making it impossible for them to get a student loan or scholarship.
These sorts of things have young people across Canada really worried. I have used New Brunswick as an example because that is where I come from and I had last week's example, when students from the Université de Moncton marched in the streets. University of Fredericton students did the same, to let the government know they were being poorly treated. This is what is really happening in this country.