Statement made on 11 March 2010 by Senator Terry Mercer
Hon. Terry M. Mercer:
Honourable senators, this past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of hosting an event in conjunction with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, better known as CASA.
Along with their stakeholder meetings in offices around Parliament, "Homecoming on the Hill" was an opportunity for parliamentarians to better understand the needs of today's students. Many in this chamber attended, including Your Honour and
several ministers and members from the other place. Many even wore their university colours, ties and pins. I would like to thank all honourable senators for coming and participating in the advocacy events this week with CASA.
CASA was first established in 1995 and has grown to over 25 member organizations and represents over 315,000 students across Canada. It is their job to advocate on behalf of their members to senators, our colleagues in the House of Commons and to our friends at the provincial level as well.
Honourable senators, being a student is not easy. A solid post-secondary education is the most effective way to be successful, whether by attending university, college or a trade school. However, it is expensive. While strides have been made to help students go to school, there is still much to be done.
Senator Moore and I, along with Michael Savage, the member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, have worked for years with many students and youth organizations, like CASA and the Young Liberals of Canada, to try and help change the way we fund and support post-secondary education in this country. From trying to create a dedicated and stable Canada education transfer to the provinces to changing the way we fund the Canada Student Loans Program, policy discussions like these need to continue in order to ensure that our brightest minds enjoy a world-class education system. However, honourable senators, talk is not enough; we need action to accomplish these goals.
I encourage all honourable senators, as well as members in the other place, to listen to what the students have had to say this week. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to do nothing but our best to make education in Canada the envy of the world.