Thanks for speaking about this Elizabeth.  I've had many a discussion about topics relating to this with people I went to high school and university with.  

Being from the Yukon I am awarded the Yukon Grant.  "Awarded" may not be the right word, but I thought "given" doesn't express the right meaning.  The Yukon Grant is something that I don't think should be taken lightly but is by many - without this assistance I would not have been able to go to the school I did without needing other means of financial assistnace.  It was always something I was proud of and very lucky to receive.  

I may not have been worthy of this Grant, but when I see other people "missuse" this gift it worries me.  I cannot judge or define what missuse means, but ultimately I refer to students who with the freedom that comes with University maybe utterly distracted by partying and the massive hole that can burn in their pockets.  I know of many students that used this money to party, subsequently did poorly in classes and were kicked out of school.  In cases like that I wonder where the money went and was it worth while.  

This happens all the time with the Yukon Grant  and the land claims assistance, and other financial programs.  Something that Yukon Grant has adopted is monitoring students' grades and if they get kicked out - they adjust the level of the grant or even revoke it and ask the students to pay it back.  Prior to these changes the money was gone for good.  I am entirely for cheaper education or increased programs to help students pay for costs, but I do also believe their should be some accountability.  I know students who are incredibly responsible  with their assistance and it makes me glad to know that they were helped in such a way, but I also see ones that have wasted it on alcohol or drugs and barely passing but stay because its free.  It makes me sad to know that money can be handed over to people that don't respect it.  

In regards to debt that students might acquire in university that same issue applies.  Their debt might pile up because they have no alternative and to jsut get by they need the help.  They get only what they suspect they'll need and no more to prevent digger the hole deeper.  But again others can go into debt because with reckless abandon they spend.  I've seen both.  Do I have less pity for people I see spending aimlessly and complaining about loans...yes.

I know there are flaws in my thinking, but its how I feel about the matter.  I was able to find a balance in school, and in my personal opinion I learned a lot of valuable lessons having to balance my finances and be responsible for myself.  Something I think everyone needs to learn - it just happens at different stages in our lives.  When university education is paid for I think that some of that lesson just might be pushed more into adult hood.  

My last point is that while debt does suck.  Its a fact of life, and as far as I know everyone will be in debt at one point in their life.  Either for education, a house, a car, or just racking up a credit card bill.  Its going to happen.  I didn't go into debt until after I got out of school, and I'm fine by it.  It was interesting when I first realized it for sure, but its a fact of my life now and its something I am responsible for and no one else.

After a little more reflection I just had a few more things to say.  

When Elizabeth says "Inuit in Canada are not burdened finically" and when I mentioned before school being "free" a critical point was missed.  Its not free.  Someone is paying for it.  Through taxes or whatever means the funds for people being able to go to school without costs is a burden on someone.  The money has to come from somewhere.  In Nordic countries if all the citizens are paying a little extra somewhere so everyone can go to school thats very different from the land claims providing money for Inuit to go to school.  All the citizens of canada are paying, but not all the youth is getting the benefits.  If I've misinterpreted something please tell me because this has been something that I've often mulled over.  

In regards to your second last paragraph Elizabeth I am confused and this might just be a difference of opinions of perhaps I am misinterpreting what you are saying.  But you speak about how the education being payed for is not about privilege.  Could you rephrase this a bit.  When I think about this, all thats comes to mind is that if my school had been completely covered I would have viewed it as a privilege and that thats an amazing thing to have available to you.  Wouldn't being in a group, there is probably a better word but I am blanking, that made it so that my education was covered make me apart of something special/different that others weren't?  Being a recipient of the Yukon Grant made me different from non-Yukoners, and I knew it was a privilege of being a Yukoner.  

I was also thinking about how much reform the education and government's finances would have to go through if they were to change the system and make university/college education available to all.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?  I couldn't help but think of all the poor profs all of a sudden overwhelmed with double, triple the class sizes.  Imagine how many new profs and support staff would have to be hired to manage the increased number of students.  Perhaps this would open up tones of new employment opportunities across Canada.  On the flip side, what if there were not enough people to support the students how would the education system suffer?  Also with the government needing to find more money to pay for the students education and the increased staff nationally, would Canadians be willing to pay up?  Perhaps taxes might rise to make education available to all, but people complain about taxes already...