With a crucial federal election just around the corner, the Carleton University Young Liberals (CUYL) are redoubling their efforts to spread their message around campus – one they say will resonate deeply with Carleton students.
According to CUYL president Ihor Korbabicz, the key aspect of the Liberal platform this election is their unrivaled commitment to post-secondary education.
“The very nature of what [Carleton students are] doing is contingent on a well-educated economy and proper funding for post-secondary education, and the Liberal Party is really the only party that is tackling that head on,” Korbabicz said.
The proposed policy to address this issue is the “Liberal Learning Passport,” which will provide $4,000 over four years to all Canadian post-secondary students, and $6,000 to those with low-income families.
The Learning Passport is the single largest annual investment in non-repayable federal student assistance in Canadian history, according to the Liberal Party of Canada website.
Korbabicz said he believes Carleton students should be voting in this election based on their values and needs.
“What are your priorities as a Canadian?” he asks. “Do you care about education? Do you care about seniors and pensions? Do we want to be concentrating on [these issues], or prisons and jets?”
The revenue from reinstating corporate taxes will provide a large part of the funding for this educational investment, Korbabicz claimed.
“If we keep the level of corporate taxes steady at 18 per cent, we can take that billion-dollar difference and invest in post-secondary education,” he said.
Korbabicz also praised the quality of the Liberal Party youth branch on a non-partisan level.
“The youth wing of the Liberal Party is one of the bigger, more well-recognized political movements of any of the parties,” Korbabicz said. “We have things like youth delegates and quotas for youth spots in conventions – we’re an integral part of the party structure and of Canada.”
When it comes to supporting the campaign process, the typical function of any campus club is to co-ordinate its resources between both the efforts on campus and among local ridings, Korbabicz said.
“One of the tough things about right now is that obviously it’s . . . exam period and a lot of people are going home, so it’s a bit harder to do that mobilization, or to directly tackle getting the liberal message out there,” he said, “But we are mobilizing certainly to the extent that we can.”