Mr. Speaker, the wealthy and the big businesses of this country are very generous. They help a lot of people, but they did not ask for a budget that was built on the backs of students. I was amazed that the budget is such a slap in the face for students.
When the Liberals were in government, they created the biggest scholarship program in history with thousands of dollars for students. The last Liberal budget proposed $6,000 for every student for tuition. In fact, for poor students, the amount was doubled to $12,000. What do students get in this budget? They receive an $80 tax credit on books.
One of the Conservative members was asked during the budget debate what the government had done for single mothers and poor people. The member said that a single mother could go back to school with the $80 tax credit on books. I phoned my college bookstore and asked for the price of an average textbook. In fact, I asked for the price of three books. All three books were more than $80. I think the books cost $110, $120 and $130 each. I know that there are lots of books, so I wanted to be sure. I was told that the average book would cost $100.
The Conservatives are telling single parents that they can go back to school and the government will help them with three-quarters of the price of a textbook. This is embarrassing. I would not boast about this part of the budget because it is not a serious attempt to help students.