Finance committee  Certainly, if post-secondary education was simply a provincial issue, then the $800 million transfer from 2007-08 would not have been imposed; neither would the federal stimulus of $2 billion. The federal government does have a really important role to play, and has been playing that role, especially in most recent years, in ensuring that our institutions have the funding they need to operate.

Finance committee  We're just bringing this to the Manitoba context so that you can see.... The Canadian Federation of Students national office submitted a brief as well, so we're bringing the perspective from the Manitoba component and where we fit in with the overall—

Finance committee  Yes, it certainly should, and part of the federal post-secondary act is taking that part from the Canada health and social transfer and rolling it into its own dedicated funding transfer.

Finance committee  To see this separated out of the Canada health and social transfer still is part of our overall recommendations.

Finance committee  The Province of Manitoba has looked into that exact recommendation. We always hear, when we talk to members of Parliament, that there are jurisdictional issues involving federal funding for post-secondary education and the transfers to the provinces, and we hear about how the provinces want to have control over the federal funding that is there.

Finance committee  As many of you know, in the midst of a global economic recession, affordable and high-quality post-secondary education and training is key to ensuring that Canada remains a sustainable, liberal, just, and competitive society. With an aging and retiring workforce and growing young immigrant and aboriginal populations, access to post-secondary education will be key to maintaining Canada’s success in weathering the economic crisis.