Accessible education for all is the goal, according to Roxanne Dubois, the current national treasurer and chairperson-elect for the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).
Elected in November, Dubois will officially assume her position as chairperson in May 2011. Citing her long-time involvement with student movements, she said the top position was just a natural progression and education is her goal.
“We’re calling for . . . a system that’s well-funded, that the government invests money to make sure that students can have access to education not based on their means but on their ability to go to post-secondary institutions,” Dubois said.
“In this country. . . regardless of where you are, you’re generally facing increasing tuition fees,” Dubois said.
She said increasing tuition fees are being matched by a larger number of jobs requiring a post-secondary degree. “We find ourselves in a situation where it’s essential to have a post-secondary education, to have that degree, but it’s costing more and more money,” Dubois said.
She added there is some trepidation surrounding the upcoming release of the federal budget. “The federal budget that will be presented this winter is probably going to follow the trend that is going all over the world. I’m concerned about a few bad surprises that are coming up. I think that regardless of what happens we’ll be facing cuts to different public services, including education,” she said.
What is important now, according to Dubois, is to connect students across the country on the issue. “I think we’re going to have to look at what’s the political climate and how to push the Education is a Right campaign to the next level and make sure that students on our campuses are mobilized to campaign for education that is accessible to all,” she said.
While lowering the cost of education is a pressing issue, as seen in campaigns like Education is a Right, the CFS also has other campaigns on its plate. “We have several campaigns based on education and others based on awareness, like the No Means No campaign,” Dubois said.
In the last general meeting, Nov. 24-27, the federation voted on a motion to update the materials available regarding violence against women and make it more relevant to what may happen in social media and online, she said. The federation also has campaigns on the local and provincial levels, depending on what the member locals vote on during general meetings.
The general mandate of the CFS, according to Dubois, is to make sure the work student unions and member locals are doing across the country is connected to one another and is able to be very productive and positive.
Dubois will be taking over just in time to deal with the increasing issue of the decertification of many schools across the country, something she said is simply part of the democratic process.
“As any democratic organization, we will have some times where member locals will join the federation, will decertify from the federation, and then sometimes recertify depending on what the will of the member locals is,” she said. “It’s a part of how we work.”