Mr. Speaker, our research into this bill tells us that virtually no one across the country thinks this bill is a good idea or thinks this methodology is wise. Almost every stakeholder that came before the committee objected strenuously and said that the government was going in the wrong direction in the introduction of this bill for some of the reasons cited by my colleague from Hamilton.
There was a representation made to the committee in the province of Quebec. I have one reference from one of the witnesses to the committee on Bill C-5. His name was Mr. Pier-André Bouchard St-Amant, the President of the Quebec Federation of University Students. He represents 140,000 university students in the province of Quebec. He clearly stated:
We feel that this program provides assistance to people who don't necessarily need it. When you can already save $2,000 for post-secondary studies, it's not particularly useful for the government to supplement that with $400 in a registered savings plan. Therefore, the FEUQ believes that assistance should focus on those people who do not necessarily have the means to save for postsecondary education.
In other words, if people already have the ability to put money away from their income, that is not the group that should be targeted. Our focus should concentrate on those who are unable and there should not be any complicated scheme associated with it. It should simply be an access issue. The province of Quebec has done very well to keep tuitions down. I compliment the province of Quebec for the priority it has put on post-secondary education. Even though the federal government has cut and hacked, and slashed transfers for education to the provinces, Quebec prioritized education and I admire that.
I would like him to comment on the remarks from the president of the Quebec Federation of University Students. I would also like him to comment on the remarks from Professor André Lareau from Laval University. He criticized Bill C-5 by saying:
However, one of the objectives of the tax system is to distribute wealth fairly. How can we justify a government financial assistance program that targets the well-off members of society? To summarize, richer families are the big winners in the income splitting that results from the education savings plan, and they benefit from these amounts, because their children are less likely to have to work.
We have two credible authorities from the province of Quebec who are very critical of Bill C-5. I ask the member if he has taken those remarks into consideration as the Bloc Quebecois supports this bill.