Hundreds of students were on Parliament Hill Nov. 25 at a rally over the high costs of higher education.
Student leaders from across the country rallied on Parliament Hill Nov. 25 to unveil an 85,000-signature petition calling for more federal investment in higher education, as part of their Education is a Right campaign.
The Canadian Federation of Students organized both the rally and the drive for petition signatures against high tuition fees and student debt, to emphasize every student’s right to an affordable and accessible post-secondary education.
Student debt surpassed $15 billion in September 2010, according to a report released by Statistics Canada, while tuition fees have increased fourfold since 1990.
“Families are paying more for education than any other generation in Canadian history,” said CFS national chair David Molenhuis, in addressing the crowd of several hundred students and their supporters. “A lack of leadership at the federal level is pushing Canadians into billions of dollars of student debt, not just bankrupting a generation, but undermining Canada’s long-term economic success as well.”
The CFS campaign calls for a reduction in student debt by shifting education-related saving schemes, such as the Registered Education Savings Plan, and federal and provincial tax credits into up-front student grants.
“The only way to reduce debt and increase accessibility for students is for the federal and provincial governments to significantly reinvest in post-secondary education,” said CAUT executive director James Turk, who joined the rally along with NDP leader Jack Layton and Liberal MP Justin Trudeau. “While the federal government says it has to limit increases for education and other social priorities in a deficit situation, it is spending more than $35 billion on the war in Afghanistan and the purchase of fighter jets.”
CAUT has called for a federal increase of $410 million to restore post-secondary education funding to 1992 levels, adjusted for inflation and population growth.
The CFS campaign also voices support for a national post-secondary education act that would establish guidelines for funds transferred to the provinces and ensure accountability and create national standards for the quality and accessibility of Canada’s universities and colleges in a federal legislative package similar to the Canada Health Act.