AUCC survey says:
post-secondary
education is an issue
“I’d like to think that post-secondary education is becoming the new health care:” Evans
TESSA VANDERHART STAFF
Post-secondary education is an important election issue, according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and the federal political parties would seem to agree.
The AUCC sent out a survey to the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois in December, and the results were announced Jan. 9.
Gary Evans, the director of government relations and communications for the AUCC, said that the election campaign is a good opportunity to find out where the different parties stand on post-secondary issues.
He said that despite the various campaign announcements on post-secondary education, there is rarely a chance to directly compare party platforms on post-secondary issues, particularly because policies often vary wildly.
Evans noted that the most important issue, as demonstrated by the survey, is a dedicated transfer payment for post-secondary education.
From the AUCC’s perspective, he noted, goals include financial resources to enable more students to attend university. The association would also like to see the indirect costs of research that the government funds increased to 40 per cent.
These goals are relatively similar to the Liberal campaign platform, but Evans said that they are policy issues the AUCC has been advocating for decades.
“I’d like to think that post-secondary education is becoming the new health care; it’s becoming an election issue,” said Evans.
“People are, more and more, realizing that that post-secondary education affects the entire society . . . . I think it’s encouraging that education be talked about as much as it is in this election,” he said.
AUCC survey results
How each party responded to questions posed in the AUCC survey.
FILES COURTESY OF AUCC
“Postsecondary education positions taken by the AUCC and the major federal parties during the 2006 election campaign”
Liberals
Dedicated transfer:
Continue to work with the provinces, but make no specific commitment to a separate transfer.
In last November’s Economic and Fiscal Update, announced a $1 billion trust fund to improve and modernize infrastructure at post-secondary institutions.
Student Aid:
In the November 2005 Economic and Fiscal Update, committed $2.75 billion over five years to improve student financial assistance.
A new 50/50 Plan under which the federal government will pay for half of an undergraduate’s tuition in their first and graduating years. The cost of this program is $600 million a year once fully implemented. It is unclear how much, if any, of the $2.75 billion will be used to help pay for this program.
Conservatives
Direct transfer:
Create an independent Canada Education and Training Transfer. The Transfer will be funded at a base level and increased annually according to inflation and demographic growth.
Student Aid:
A tax credit of up to $500 to help cover the costs of textbooks.
Working cooperatively with the provinces to increase family income thresholds for student loan eligibility.
An exemption for the first $10,000 of student scholarship or bursary income from taxation.
Bloc
Direct transfer:
The fiscal imbalance is the major issue. With more tax points to the provinces, they could adequately fund postsecondary education.
The Canada Social Transfer
should be increased over the next four years to an additional $4.7 billion a year by year four, but they have no plans for a dedicated transfer for PSE.
Student Aid:
Money the federal government wishes to spend on student aid should go directly to the provinces as they are the experts in this area.
Quebec already has the most generous student aid program in
North America.
NDP
Direct transfer:
Create a separate transfer for higher education and restore over $4 billion in postsecondary funding from cuts made in 1990’s.
Student Aid:
Improve student financial aid by investing in a long term financial grants program.
Overhaul the Canada Student Loans Program to improve accessibility and reduce student debt.
