Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for raising the plight of students. He mentioned the crushing debt that students have to incur now to get a post-secondary education.
The history of education in this country over the last 150 years has been one of extension. At one time, having primary school education was enough. In the 1950s and 1960s it was high school. Now, let us face it: People really cannot participate in our society unless they have some form of post-secondary education, whether that is a trade, a community college or a university.
Does the member agree that it is time that we extended our concept of public education to include at least the first two years of post-secondary education so that we can make it accessible to all Canadian students, not only to help them get the education they need to succeed but also to help our economy meet its full potential by having free tuition for students in post-secondary education?