OTTAWA, Feb. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Students from across Canada are in Ottawa this week meeting with Members of Parliament and Senators to present a plan that would see tuition fees eliminated for all students.
“We must move towards a system of universally accessible post-secondary education so that everyone in this country has an equal opportunity to succeed,” said Coty Zachariah, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “Years of reliance on individual savings schemes and other patchwork solutions have not addressed a system failure.”
Students will present MPs and Senators with three proposals to transform public post-secondary education in Canada:
- Eliminate tuition fees for all skilled trades and apprenticeship, college and university students, including international students, by restoring federal public transfers for post-secondary education;
- Dedicate funds from the resources allocated to the Aboriginal Languages Initiative to support the development of learning materials and language courses at the post-secondary level; and
- Fully implement the recommendations put forth by the Advisory Panel for the Review of Federal Support for Fundamental Science, including an investment in basic, investigator-led research.
Students’ recommendations would bring Canada on par with many other countries around the world that provide universal access to post-secondary education. The proposals also address, and provide solutions for, commitments that have been unfulfilled by the Liberals. Although students won a $90 million in funding toward the Post-Secondary Student Support Program in 2017-2018, this investment is not sufficient. The Federal Government must allocate more funding to provide access and honour Canada’s treaty commitment to post-secondary education for all Indigenous students.
“A pattern of broken promises is emerging from a federal government that campaigned on real change,” said Zachariah. “Students will not settle for the status quo. We are seeking justice and fairness for some of the most marginalized communities on our campuses and we expect the federal government to do more than pay lip service to Indigenous and international students.”
Contact:
Juhi Sohani
j.sohani@cfs-fcee.ca
613-232-7394