Fin cmte-2001-brief

Canadian Federation of Students
House of Commons
Standing Committee on Finance
August, 2001
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Submission to the
House of Commons
Standing Committee on Finance
August, 2001
INTRODUCTION
system of post-secondary education isworking to exacerbate the gap between initiatives under the banner of the “new and poor in Canada continues to widen.
According to the Canadian Fact Book on Poverty there are 1.3 million more In the light of the trends outlined above education policy. Regrettably, Canada’s 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance to high participation rates to argue that current policy as well as offer proactive represents a 64% increase from 1991.
the crisis in post-secondary education.
ACCESS: OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL?
predictable effect on access. Over thepast 18 months reliable data has should have the opportunity to do so.
public policy terms enumerated above.
are under-represented in our institutions deregulated, resulting in substantial fee direct barrier to families at the low end access for purely financial reasons. This Commission in its study of accessibility significant factors in the decisionstudents make about whether or not to likely to be affected by financial issues effect these measures, in particular, the for First Nations peoples. In addition,the report points to federal funding cuts 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance Figure 1. - Post Secondary Aspirations and Savings Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily, April 10, 2001 and social return on this investment.
In an April 2001 study, entitled Survey Planning, researchers tracked attitudes and the ability to afford it. It is indeed creation of the MSF as a stand-alonebody was designed to give the federal funding of post-secondary education.
student debt by criminalising students.
law introduces a fundamental inequityin the way Canadians are treated under law. The provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act are designed to offer a last hope to those unable to cope based grants would be revenue neutralas we are proposing that it be funded 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance Recommendation #3:
consensus view that such changeswould only lead to misery for those Recommendation #4:
later, without consultation or supporting Recommendation #5:
that this discriminatory law be repealed.
RESEARCH: PUBLIC RESEARCH
FOR PUBLIC DOLLARS?
policy initiatives like credit checks forstudent loans and changes to the Bank- time horizons, and independent voice–– John Polanyi, Nobel Prize winning chemist national in scope, and be sensitive tostudents who are most in need.
In the 2001 Speech from the Throne,the federal government committed todoubling spending on research and Recommendation #1:
development over the next ten years.
Recommendation #2:
public research. In addition to replacing dangers of public/private partnerships.
staggering amount of money over thepast ten years in private and corporate of Toronto’s success at fundraising has their funding from private industry.
test a new drug to treat thalassemia.
research dollars to private industry.
secret for ‘proprietary’ reasons.
iii) Public/private partnerships create a 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance that benefits all of Canadian society.
Apotex’s call for legislative changes to have a large pool of ‘seed capital’ to the entire controversy, the University of that Canadian universities have a deficit costs. Institutions most able to leverage research, the only way to insure that all access to public funds is to restore core funding to public universities andcolleges.
The examples of Dr. Healy and Dr.
Olivieri illustrate what is lost when the In the case of the humanities, almost all funding of research is privatised and the corporate research and public relations.
SKILLS AND TRAINING:
LIFE-LONG LEARNING FOR ALL?
ability to think critically as opposed to those with primarily technical skills.
Stepping Up: Skills and Opportunities in the Knowledge Economy that we willoffer our assessment of the skills andtraining challenges Canada faces.
Recommendation # 6:
final report was twofold. First, that the administering a national skills strategy.
access to skills and training must formthe foundation of any national skills Recommendation # 7:
per annum to the Social Scienceand Humanities Research Council provide solutions to the employmentshortages and skills gap that the 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance instruction that leaves students mired in them to private trainers. Regrettably, it training programs that provide apowerful incentive to develop new purchases of seats at public institutionsas a means of providing re-training to public solution to the skills and training both public and private institutions. The Individual Learning Accounts (RILA).
appears that the RILA will replicate allof the inequalities endemic to the RESP At private institutions workers are often program that was outlined earlier in this federal government for training havebeen displaced from jobs in the ongoing work on a major ‘White Paper’ profit training industry. Simply put, the access to skills and training. Theexperience in Britain demonstrates that Recommendation #10:
equal access to skills and training.
the form of forgone tax revenue anddirect grants. In the British example, CONCLUSION
most of those who are opening accountsare participating in training programs education. However, public policydecisions taken by the federal access on the basis of the ability to pay education opportunities wereexpanding, the federal governmentplayed a leadership role in ensuring Recommendation # 8:
rhetorically, devoted to the idea that all Recommendation #9:
patchwork of policy initiatives thatfocus largely on regressive tax creditsas inducements to save for education 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and increasing ties to private industry.
Neither approach has improved thequality or accessibility of Canadiancolleges or universities. Accessible,public post-secondary education whichis of high quality will require thefederal government to re-dedicate itselfto the funding necessary to ensure realequality of opportunity. Ultimately,such funding is the only measurablestandard and proven solution to ensurethat the rhetoric of opportunity for allbecomes a reality that offers hope to all.
We look forward to presenting thesearguments in person this fall.
1. Canadian Association of University Teachers, Education Review Vol. 3 No. 3. “The Growing Funding Gap: Government expenditures on post-secondary education, 2000-01.” 2 Canadian Association of University Teachers, Education Review Vol. 2 No. 1. “Out of Reach: Trends in household spending on education in Canada.” 3. Robinson, David & Andrew Jackson, Falling Behind: The state of working Canada, 2000.
4. Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Post Secondary Education Review (August 2000). 2001 Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance

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