Education unions and student organizations from Quebec and English Canada have joined forces to support a new dedicated federal transfer for post-secondary education. In a letter issued earlier this month to provincial ministers of education, CAUT, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université, and the National Union of Public and General Employees, called on the provinces to press Ottawa for increased university and college funding through a new standalone transfer.

"Affirming and respecting provincial jurisdiction over education, and recognizing the historical role of the federal government in providing funding for post-secondary education, we are asking the ministers of education to call on the federal government to reestablish transfers based on a measure linked to the Gross Domestic Product," the letter states.

In addition, the letter calls on provincial governments to use the new funding to improve access to, and the quality of post-secondary education.

"We are asking the ministers of education to publicly commit to ensuring that increased funding will be directed to support the following objectives: facilitating accessibility to post-secondary education for all qualified individuals, without financial or geographical barriers; promoting quality teaching; offering a range of programs of studies; fostering academic freedom that encourages the pedagogical and intellectual independence of teachers and supports free and independent research; and, supporting collegial governance and public administration of institutions."

CAUT executive director James Turk said both the idea of a separate fund for post-secondary education and the set of objectives outlined in the letter have long been key demands of CAUT.

"This is a major step forward in getting educators and students in Quebec and English Canada to agree on a common approach to federal funding of universities and colleges," said Turk.