Lol... you think your 40k of tuition is bad? Imagine paying the same 40K tuition multiple times in your life as you subsidize others via taxes.
If you go to school for something that actually has career options, the student debt should not be overwhelming. If you go to school to study some useless liberal arts degree then yes it probably sucks having a large debt load and an education that's worthless in the work world.
Imagine free tuition, how many artists, journalists, and poly sci majors you would subsidize? Imagine the resulting chaos of an influx of these people in society who can't get a job and are used to living off gov. assistance.
Canadian tuition costs are very reasonable compared to the USA, England, Australia, Japan Etc. and they are dirt cheap in Quebec. Take a look at how the policies in QC regarding cheap tuition contribute to their "have not" status. Luckily Quebec with their bleeding heart socialist policies can continuously withdraw from the "Bank of Other Provinces"... Canada as a country does not have this luxury.
Quebec receives the largest portion of equalization payments of any Province, they also happen to be by far the most left leaning of any of the Provinces... so if the country as a whole goes this direction... where does the money come from? Increasing taxes of course, substantially. Interestingly enough the 6B in transfer funds Quebec received in 2010-2011 made up 1.7% of their GDP, 3x their Provincial deficit, and nearly 10% of the total Provincial budget. (Source below)
http://www.budget.finances.gouv.qc.c...BudgetPlan.pdf
IMO when you subsidize something like tuition to the point of it being free for the user, you remove any personal accountability from the picture.
In case anyone is wondering, BC Is a have Province, you pay more into equalization than you get back.
Mehhh for all the people voting dipper or green, I question your understanding of global macroeconomics - Canada is not nearly as rich as people seem to think it is.