This is fundamentally inequitable, because it means that students who take out loans end up paying considerably more for the same education (through interest on their debt) than their peers whose parents can afford the tuition fees up front. In addition, Statistics Canada analysis shows that student debt continues to affect Canadians' finances long after graduation, with borrowers less likely to have savings and investments, and less likely to own their homes.

5. An educated society benefits everybody, not just the people who go to university.

An educated and highly-skilled workforce is widely viewed as a crucial element for the continued economic and social growth and development of Canada. Higher education has an important role to play in developing the human capital needed by communities to succeed in the knowledge economy. For example, innovation and knowledge creation in an economy are linked to a strong research and development sector, drawing on the abilities of highly-trained individuals.

The benefits of education go beyond increased job skills and earning potential; education provides people with the critical thinking skills they need to be active and confident participants in our communities, and in our democratic society. Better educated people participate more actively in their communities, have higher voter turnout rates and volunteer more -- activities that make Canada a better place to live for all.

6. The fact that individuals gain from having higher education is not sufficient reason to rely on tuition (i.e. user fees) to finance education.

High school graduation also confers considerable earnings advantage over those who drop out, yet we don't fund public schools through a user fee model. Why? Because the social and economic benefits of having a larger majority of the population with at least high school education outweighs the costs of our investment. The same case can be made for post-secondary education in today's economy.

The tuition hikes we've seen over the last decade across Canada, which are now making their way to Quebec, only perpetuate the problem: they increase the barriers faced by lower-income youth and ensure that only the children of the wealthy can afford to go to university. So if you don't want to see scarce public dollars benefiting mostly students from affluent families, you should advocate for policies that increase the representation of lower-income students on our university campuses.

7. Education is a great investment for our public dollars: students repay the full cost of their education through taxes over their working careers.

The conventional argument that students are heavily subsidized because tuition fees do not cover the full costs of their education misses an important way in which students repay the cost of their education: through higher taxes in the decades after they graduate. To the extent that higher education is what leads graduates to earn more (and there is plenty of evidence that this is the case), the higher taxes that graduates pay are a direct result of their education. In a recent study published by the CCPA, I quantified these additional taxes paid by university graduates in BC and found that -- as a group -- B.C. university students pay more than double what their education costs through higher taxes.

In other words, education is a sound financial investment for our public dollars. That's on top of all the social and economic benefits that will accrue from improving access to education.

Low tuition fees do not mean that those who benefit from education get a free ride (they don't!). It just means that instead of asking university graduates to pay the costs of their education up front, we're asking them to pay once they start reaping the payoffs of their education. It's a fairer way to recoup our public investment in education, and one we should consider adopting. We'll have a healthier, better educated and more equitable society if we do.