The Carleton Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) and the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) hung a banner on the Mackenzie King Bridge across from Ottawa City Hall on Oct. 7 to highlight student issues in the upcoming federal election.
The banner was meant to make commuters aware that student issues matter in this election, said GSA president Michael Bueckert.
“We want to engage people in the community, and we want to put student issues on the forefront of the agenda for this election,” Bueckert said.
Bueckert said candidates haven’t paid enough attention to the things students care about such as youth unemployment, the cost of tuition, and student debt.
“Youth will be voting this election so if [the candidates] don’t start speaking up about issues that affect us and the ones we care about it’s not going to bode well for their electoral fortunes,” he said.
He said hanging the banner was about doing something visible to get on the campaign’s radar.
Vanessa Dorimain, vice-president (university affairs) at the SFUO, said hanging the banner on the Mackenzie King Bridge is about bringing as much attention to their cause as possible.
She said she hopes the location will get many eyes on it, as well as help students get engaged and informed about the different parties.
The banner reads: “Student issues are election issues.” Students from Carleton, U of O, and St. Paul University have written about different election concerns they have on it, Bueckert said.
The event was part of the Canadian Federation of Students—Ontario’s Day of Action, and was just the first step in their plan to bring attention to students, he said.
“The real hard work will be on campus, doing outreach to students, letting them know about the special polls on campus this week and trying to encourage them to vote. That’s going to be the real work of today,” Bueckert added.
While the student unions did not ask permission from the city before putting it up, Bueckert added that even if the banner gets taken down after a day, they would still consider it a success.
Alain Quesnel, a contractor at the nearby Department of National Defence who was present when the banner was up, said the banner would be very visible from the cars passing by. However, he added it’s hard to read from city hall.
He said he believes the banner is in a good location nevertheless because it is noticeable and in a central location near Parliament Hill.
Dorimain said actions like this are important because students aren’t always informed or engaged in the election.
“[Students] want to know how to vote and how to participate but the thing is that in the past we haven’t been the target audience of get out and vote [campaigns],” Dorimain said.
Dorimain said her goal is to get the election campaign focused on student issues not just in Ontario, but in the whole country.
“These are real issues and concerns for students. We can’t afford education, and there are students who can’t access it at all. We want and need help,” she said.
