Mr. Speaker, how many times have we heard the Liberal government say that education is an investment in the future, that youth must have opportunities and that the knowledge based economy is our salvation? Well, consider this. Students are worse off now than they ever were. Tuition fees have risen by 126% since 1990. Students are graduating into debt and poverty.
Let us make no mistake. Our public system of post-secondary education is in crisis because of the retreat of public funds, $7 billion since 1993. The privatization vultures are circling, waiting for their kill.
As on so many issues, Liberal talk is cheap. Indeed the federal government is now poised to place education on the WTO altar of corporation greed.
Our colleges and universities need help. Canadian students need help. Today we call on the government to defend public education, restore funding, lower the boom on tuition fees, establish a national grant system and make accessibility a new national standard.