Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her private member's bill and her speech this afternoon. It is a very important issue. It is a very important issue in my constituency of Burnaby--Douglas where the B.C. Institute of Technology and Simon Fraser University are located. Many students in my riding are facing exactly the situation she describes.
The member read a letter from a student about the situation he faced. It is one I know very personally. I have listened to those same stories from many students in my riding over the years when I was constituency assistant, and since I have become a member of Parliament.
I commend the member for seeking to right this wrong and end this discrimination against students.
I also commend the Canadian Federation of Students for taking this matter to the courts. It is sad when students and the people affected by this kind of injustice have to take the initiative to right it.
This is the place where we should be undertaking restitution of that and restoring the bankruptcy provisions for students. I am glad the member for Halifax has done that.
In the broader perspective, the issue of funding for post-secondary education and the rising cost of tuition forces so many people into this situation. Students at Simon Fraser University have made a complaint at the United Nations that Canada is not living up to its international obligations under an agreement signed by the United Nations and Canada in 1976 to work toward free education in Canada. All the countries that have signed on have done that.
Clearly, in Canada we have gone exactly in the opposite direction whereas countries have made gains. Could the member for Halifax comment more broadly on the underlying issues around the bankruptcy issue?