Mr. Speaker, the budget tabled last week by the Conservative government is a devastating blow to those Canadian attending university and those families with children planning on attending university. The budget will be especially harmful to undergraduate institutions and students attending those institutions.
In December 2006, the Prime Minister cut $2.9 billion to grants and scholarships for post-secondary students, as well as improvements to student financial assistance and billions more from workplace skills development programs and youth employment programs.
Budget 2007 does nothing to fill the gap left by these cuts. What little funding for graduate student research it did include will leave undergraduate students totally out in the cold. As my friend from Labrador says, a big fat goose egg.
Investment in post-secondary education is one of the best investments a society can make for its future. It is a democratic right. It is an equalizer in society.
Last week the government condemned thousands of undergraduate students to unmanageable debt loads. It has shown complete contempt for our country's post-secondary students.