Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the comments from the hon. member, because as we all know in this House, it was under his government, the previous Liberal government, that $25 billion was cut from the Canada social transfer. That money is used by the provinces to support post-secondary education, so I would remind the hon. member that he has to look in the mirror a bit and look to the former leadership of his party when it comes to the massive cuts that were undertaken in the past.
In stark contrast to those cuts, this government, our new government, is doing what we have said we would do and clearly laid out in our Advantage Canada plan. This plan pledged to make our country's workforce the best educated, best trained and most skilled in the world.
That is why the government acted quickly to invest over $8.4 billion this fiscal year to support post-secondary education through transfers, direct spending and tax measures and to invest $800 million more per year, beginning next year, to support post-secondary education. This is a 40% increase in a single year.
Of course the good news does not end there. We have also provided $1 billion to provincial and territorial governments through the infrastructure trust fund for direct investments in post-secondary infrastructure and equipment to rebuild and renovate our campuses, which have begun to crumble after 13 years of Liberal neglect and Liberal inaction. That is a $1 billion trust fund.
We have also provided tax measures to help students with the cost of textbooks.
We have exempted scholarships and bursaries from income tax. Clearly, it is shocking that, under the Liberals, scholarships and bursaries were taxed. Under the Conservatives, scholarships and bursaries are not taxed.
Budget 2007 went even further. We will provide $35 million over two years to expand the Canada graduate scholarships program. This new money will give an additional 1,000 students the chance to continue on to graduate level studies.
The Government of Canada helps parents save by adding money to their RESPs through special incentives such as the Canada education savings grant and the Canada learning bond.
As well, this government recognizes that not all parents can contribute to the cost of a child's tuition. This is why we have reduced the amount that parents are expected to contribute to their children's education, because the ability to pay should not be a barrier to access for students who want to go on and attain a higher education.
These investments are an important signal of our belief in the power of education and a signal that stands in stark contrast to the actions of the previous government, of which my hon. colleague was of course a member.
I think that Canadian parents and students know that the Liberal Party has lost all credibility on this issue and that the Liberals are the very last people this government should be taking any advice from.