With the three federal opposition parties voting no-confidence in the ruling Conservative government in March, Canadians will head to the polls on May 2 with post-secondary education shaping up as an important election issue.
Early in the campaign, the Liberal Party unveiled its Learning Passport program, a scheme to provide students with between $4,000 and $6,000 over four years to help pay for the rising cost of a college or university education.
The plan introduced March 29 would see the grants channeled through the Registered Education Savings Plan. That approach received mixed reviews from students.
“It would be a substantial investment in students and their families,” said David Molenhuis, national chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students. “However, financial aid is only half the equation. Tuition fees in most provinces are increasing many times faster than the rate of inflation.”
The dissolution of Parliament shelved the Conservative budget presented just days earlier. Billed as a “low-tax plan for jobs and growth,” the budget is widely expected to form the basis of the party’s election platform.
While welcoming some of the budget’s proposals to increase research funding, CAUT took a different stance with the continuing lack of support for basic research.
“The Conservatives again took a piecemeal approach to education and research that sidesteps the real needs of the sector,” said CAUT executive director James Turk. “The small increase in research funding does not fully cover inflation let alone restore the cuts made to the granting councils in the 2009 budget.”
At press time the New Democratic Party had not yet announced its campaign platform, but the party is promising to make education more accessible and affordable.
In the last session of Parliament, the NDP introduced a private member’s bill modeled on CAUT’s Canada Post-Secondary Education Act that would provide more stability and transparency in the cash funding Ottawa provides to the provinces in support of universities and colleges.
Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois released lengthy campaign commitments calling for increased tax credits for research and development, and for more direct federal support for scientific research in the pharmaceutical and aerospace industries in Quebec.
The Bloc also proposes that the federal government transfer more tax authority to Quebec and restore cash transfers for health care, social services and post-secondary education to 1994–1995 levels.
With the federal election just weeks away, CAUT president Penni Stewart says it is crucial that academic staff get involved in the political messaging to ensure post-secondary concerns are heard.
“There are clear priorities we need to emphasize this election,” she said. “Universities and colleges need better funding so that students can get the quality education they need. Students and their families need a break from skyrocketing tuition fees and debt. Academic researchers need funding that better protects the integrity and independence of their work. And Canadians need copyright legislation that better balances the needs of creators and users.”
Stewart said CAUT will be working closely with local associations to organize all-candidates debates and other events to get the message out.
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Election 2011 Info Kit
CAUT sizes up what’s at stake for academic staff. Ensure post-secondary issues are on the radar:
download the election kit.