When it comes to student debt forgiveness, Michael Ignatieff says count him out.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff addressed education and other issues at a town hall meeting at The University of Western Ontario Tuesday.
But the Liberal leader says more can be done to assist students overwhelmed with education debt upon graduation.
“If you benefit from an education you have to pay for it,” Ignatieff told a packed room at The University of Western Ontario, part of a town hall meeting swing across southwestern Ontario.
“If you’re going to have a world-class education it’s going to cost you. If you don’t pay, someone else is going to have to and it’s usually those who never had the opportunity for a college or university education.”
Ignatieff did, however, say he would seek to find ways to assist students in paying off their debt, such as overhauling the entire student loan process by setting the lowest possible interest rates and extending the period of re-payment.
“I realize it’s frustrating for many students trying to start their lives, but I’m not for debt forgiveness,” he says.
When it comes to funding for universities, and in particular research, Ignatieff says now is the time to be investing. And not just in the research with immediate commercial viability.
“I’m all in favour of commercialized research, but we also need to fund the basic science – the one that doesn’t have an obvious commercial payout,” he says. “We need to find the money to drive the research that researchers don’t even know where it’s going. They’re on to something, but not quite there yet. We need to be the kind of society that says we will bet on you.”
Ignatieff adds there is too much “table banging” in parliament when it comes to post-secondary funding, saying ignoring this sector is “the dumbest thing you can do.”
“You can’t cut (funding to) universities and granting councils in a recession,” he says, adding enough funds aren’t flowing despite the Conservatives’ claims. “Show me the money, and not just for the fancy places like Western, but the whole nine yards – for all to have access.”
Ignatieff also touched on the need to remove the access barrier to universities and colleges, in particular for Aboriginal people.