Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, I also enjoyed the speech.
I particularly enjoyed the part where he was pointing out that the equalization program, the topic for today, is only one aspect of the way this wonderful country runs. I could not help but pick up his point about Queen's University and McGill. I can well understand that there are students in Ontario who might want to go to Queen's. The member mentioned that the cost of tuition was higher at McGill and he was concerned about that. Unless I am very much mistaken that is not the case.
The situation is that the province of Quebec, like the province of British Columbia, has kept its tuition fees down. I do not compliment either of those two governments very often but I compliment them both for doing that. It is a matter of decision of how we encourage young people to go to college or university. Tuition fees are only one device for doing that but I compliment them on that aspect of it.
In the case of Quebec and McGill or Laval, my understanding is that a student comes from out of the province and the university charges them the average of the fees elsewhere in the country. Because the fees in Ontario have been raised to an inordinately high level, the tuition fees in Ontario are higher than the national average. Unless I am mistaken, and I would like the member to comment on this, as a result of that his son's fees at Queen's will be higher than the fees at McGill even with the additional levies the province of Quebec requires.
I believe in mobility of students across the country. We have to ask should a province like Quebec suffer because it has decided to keep the cost of education low for its own students. I believe that is a decision for the province of Quebec. I suggest to the member that even though McGill is much superior to Queen's, the fees there are somewhat lower than the fees at Queen's.