Mr. Speaker, for the third year in a row B.C. universities have posted the largest tuition fee hikes in Canada. Average undergraduate tuition in B.C. is now $4,735, nearly $600 over the national average. Add on soaring compulsory fees and it costs $5,500 to attend school, and that is if students are lucky enough to get in.
Waiting lists for B.C. universities now rival those for elective surgery. The province needs 30,000 more university spaces. As a result, B.C. has the lowest university participation rate in Canada at 13.5%. B.C. students are victims of federal downloading.
As finance minister, the Prime Minister slashed funding for post-secondary education, cutting CHST payments by $25 billion and leaving the province to pick up the slack. Under his watch student debt tripled.
The Conservative Party believes in cooperation with the provinces to improve accessibility and eliminate barriers to post-secondary education.
Meanwhile the Liberal government is slamming the door--