Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to focus on the student issue in this bill. I believe we should be moving toward treating students like everyone else in terms of bankruptcy. I think it is very condescending not to. It was when the government outsourced the student financing element to the banks that this 10 year provision was created.
I know that people who go to school want to pay back what Canadians have provided for them. People who are in our school system are not thieves. They are not abusive. They are individuals who are going to better themselves. In every system we are going to have some problems and we have to seek that out, but in terms of repayment of student loans we are not having a problem to a significant degree.
I would argue that there is more benefit to treating them the same as everyone else. It would give us a stronger educational system because people would know that they would not have a life sentence. After 10 years if students cannot declare bankruptcy, they have the amount of the debt they have accumulated and the spiral of problems they have related to employment, and their life gets significantly difficult. That erodes all the benefits of the training they have undergone in university or in colleges such as the one I have mentioned, my local college, St. Clair College, a fine institution.
With regard to the issue on underfunding pensions, I think the member for Blackstrap makes an excellent point. The pension issue is one that is critical to all Canadians. In fact, I have introduced the notion of a seniors' charter of rights. Part of that is to protect pensions. Underfunding pensions is a significant problem that becomes a burden not only to the individuals but also to the country. I think that is a separate piece of legislation, but I think it is an important issue that has not had the attention it deserves. It is one that really undermines our economy because it can have significant consequences.