HRPD Committee Report

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Ensuring Access: Assistance for post-secondary students
New Democratic Party

Submitted by Libby Davies, M.P. - Vancouver East

 

Young people deserve the opportunity to learn, to develop skills, to build a future. We can’t afford to risk their future - or ours - by wasting their talents, or by creating more financial barriers to education. 

Human Resources Development Canada predicts that by the year 2000, 45 percent of new jobs will require 16 years of education. For many young people, however, the cost of education is a barrier that is preventing them from completing their education. 

Students and other organisations involved in post-secondary education have painted a grim picture of the debt situation facing many students. The significant impact of a total of $1.47 billion in cuts since 1995 to post secondary education has also been made clear. 

Tuition fees are now so high they deter potential students. Since 1980 public transfers for education have been cut in half - from $6.44 for each dollar of student fees in 1980 to less than $3 in 1995. Even then, this government continued to cut - $550 million this year alone.  

Reductions in transfers have driven up tuition fees by 240% in the last ten years. In turn, tuition increases drive up student debt to an average of $25,000. 

Reforming student aid to ensure accessibility must be a top priority. 

We must move quickly to implement reforms that will improve access to education and reduce the enormous burden on students and graduates. While we support some of the initiatives proposed in the Committee’s majority report, as a first step, we believe there are areas where the proposals are inadequate and where further action is required.

 

Principles for change 

The New Democratic Party believes that reforms to student aid should be grounded in the following principles: 

• accessibility should be a new national standard in higher education
• post secondary education is a right, not a privilege to those who can afford it
• the principles of accessibility and affordability should guide any reforms
• student aid should be based on need rather than on merit
• a national system of grants for post-secondary education should be a priority
• tuition fees should be frozen 

 

Specifically we recommend:

 

Guiding Principles

We support the recommendation in the report that the principles of access, fairness and predictability underlie any forthcoming changes or reforms Student Debt Load. However we feel the principle of affordability should be included. 

Transfer payments

The committee chose not to mention the role cuts to the level of funding for post-secondary education have played in the student debt crisis. With cuts to federal funding of over $1.47 billion during since 1995, this is a major omission. As a first step, the government should reinvest in education starting with this year’s cut of $550 million. 

Debt Load

The level of student debt should be recognised in the report. Human Resources Development has estimated in the past that debt load by the end of this academic year will average $25,000. The high costs of education and the absence of good jobs to help repay student loans have put higher education out of the reach of many children from poor and middle income families. 

Up front grants

We agree with the recommendation that a system of grants be put in place for first and second year students, recognising it should be only a first step towards a grant program for all of the post-secondary level. 

However, as has pointed out by leaders of the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations, and the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, improving accessibility requires that the criteria used to determine eligibility be financial need. If we are to ensure a post-secondary education is accessible for all, regardless of economic background, need must be the sole criteria for eligibility. 

The Millennium Scholarship Fund

The committee recognised that the Millennium Scholarship Fund should "complement existing programs." Concerns have been expressed that using the Millennium Fund for scholarships would be duplicating existing programs. We recommend using the Millennium Fund as the basis for a grant program based on need to ensure education is accessible to all. 

A clear system - more information for students

The recommendations in the report that students entering the post-secondary level be given clear, easily understood information about the Canada Student Loans Program is a step forward. However, it does not address the needs of those students who are struggling to cope with large debts. For this reason we feel the committee should have addressed the need to inform students of their rights when dealing with lending institutions and collection agencies, and the need for information to be available to students locally. 

RESP contributions

The NDP believes RESP contributions should be tax deductible in the same way that RRSPs are tax deductible. It is our position however, that RESP are not the best method to ensure accessibility because many poor families are not able to contribute to them.  

The intent of making those contributions tax deductible is to assist middle income families in saving for their children’s education. Delaying the benefit from RESP contributions for several years destroys that intent and limits the benefit to upper income families. For that reason we cannot accept this recommendation. 

Suspending Payments

Giving students the option of suspending principal payments during the three to five year transition period after leaving a post-secondary institution would assist graduates in establishing themselves in secure employment. By not including this a measure in its report, the committee has ignored an opportunity to assist those with the greatest need, without increasing direct government spending. 

Income Exemptions

In 1995 the amount students were allowed to earn before having their student loan decreased was reduced from $1,700 to $600. The committee’s recommendation that the amount be restored to $1,500 is a step forward. However, it is still $200 short of the 1995 level and makes no provision for adjustment to the cost of living for students. 

Tuition freeze

The NDP believes a national tuition freeze is an important component of developing a barrier free education system. The Province of British Columbia has already implemented a tuition freeze. As a result, while enrolments across Canada are dropping, the number of students has increased in British Columbia. We recommend the federal government support the proposal for a national tuition freeze.