Education

THE PROBLEM:

According to Canada’s Constitution, education is in provincial jurisdiction; but Ottawa has intruded deeply into this field—as it has in health and other social fields—through funding tied to policy-manipulation.

One result has been a consolidation of a militant secularist hegemony within the national Education Establishment, violating the principle in the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” (Article 24, Sec. 3).

With their federal funding secure, Canada’s post-secondary institutions have become some of the most intellectually sterile environments: reactionary (in a 1960s ‘faux-liberal’ mode) and defensive of their intellectual turf.

CURRENT GOVERNMENT STRATEGY: (and how it falls short)

Federal taxpayers’ funds are transferred en bloc to the provinces, where they flow into public education establishments dominated by leftist, anti-intellectual, anti-family, anti-life unions.

OPPOSITION STRATEGY: (and how it falls short)

Its policies are, if anything, more radical and socially harmful than the Government’s.

THE CHP’S BETTER SOLUTION:

The CHP would direct approximately 80% of federal post-secondary funding into tuition vouchers sent directly to qualified students; this would increase competition among post-secondary institutions for students’ tuition dollars, which would both bring down costs and stimulate true intellectual liberty. Such an agreement would, however, have to be negotiated with the provinces, to respect their constitutional jurisdiction.

Since taxpayers already pay close to 80% of the cost of post-secondary education, and since the average lifetime value of a degree in increased earning power is well over five times the maximum student loan, the problem is really not the cost of student loans, but the repayment schedule. The CHP proposes that student loans be interest-free and repayment-free for ten years after graduation, to allow grads to get well-established in their chosen career fields before they begin repaying their share of their tuition.