Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge my friends in the Reform Party for giving me the privilege to speak at this point in the discussion and my friends in the Liberal Party as well. I should also refer to my friends in the Conservative Party who have agreed to allow me to make a couple of points.
I might have some different views than my colleagues from Quebec, but we have concerns about the millennium fund. I first of all want to acknowledge that in terms of the government providing some recognition of the serious problem of student debt relief I think is a step in the right direction although a very limited step.
We have to acknowledge that the average student debt load now for Canadian students is at $25,000 and is growing year after year. Obviously some dramatic measures must be taken.
When it comes to the millennium scholarship fund we have to acknowledge that this is going to help perhaps somewhere between 8% and 9% of students requiring financial assistance. We still have a huge group of young people, and perhaps not so young people, who need financial help and this millennium scholarship will not be of much help.
We also want to acknowledge that we are concerned that students who are able to access this fund do so on the basis of need. We take the position in the New Democratic Party that if a person seeking post-secondary education is accepted by an institution, that demonstrates merit. They have qualified for their program; they have qualified for entrance to a university or college or an institute of one kind or another. After that it should be based on need to ensure that no Canadian is kept from pursuing post-secondary education because of a financial barrier. That is one point.
Another point is we are concerned that the scholarships be allocated on a reasonable basis. By that I would suggest that if a population of a province is for example 12% as in British Columbia, then British Columbia could expect to receive 12% of the scholarships operating in that fund. It would not go to one area of the country over another area, which unfortunately is the tradition in so many of these federal government programs. Certain people in certain areas of Canada receive an overwhelming benefit, often at the expense of other regions of Canada.
While this fund is limited to certain kinds of institutions, there are other institutions and other ways of training and learning that should be considered. I think for example of apprenticeship programs. We are woefully lacking properly trained apprentices in a number of areas. They should have access to this program.
We should also recognize certain institutions. If they qualify for funding under the present Canadian loans act, students in those institutions or colleges or whatever they may be called ought to have access to the scholarship fund. It should recognize that education is changing in terms of how it is being pursued by individuals, whether it is on a part time basis in a small institute, or career planning as opposed to academic planning. If a person is serious about self-improvement, serious about becoming better educated, we should use this facility.
Let us also acknowledge that this scholarship fund reflects a government that does not place a high value on education. If it actually placed a high value on education, it would do what some other nations do which in fact place a high value on education. For example, 16 out of the 29 OECD countries have no tuition fees. It is their way of saying it is one thing they can do to eliminate a barrier from some people pursuing post-secondary education.
It is fair to say that many decades ago we as a country decided that 12 years of education was an absolute minimum in order for someone to be a contributing citizen. Therefore we do not have tuition fees in grade 6 or 10 or 12 but we do at let us say, grade 13 or 14 or 15. There probably is not a single Canadian that would not think that they now have to have more than 12 years of formal education. They probably have to have at least 14 or 16 years to enter the workplace and become a contributing citizen.
In that tradition we should consider eliminating tuition fees as a barrier, like so many other countries do. As a matter of fact, even the college system in Quebec does not have tuition fees, unlike other provinces, as a way to encourage young people to continue their education in that province.
We have a number of concerns. As the day progresses, various colleagues of mine will be identifying concerns they have in various sections of the bill and other concerns regarding the millennium scholarship fund.