The annual Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) lobby week was held in Queen’s Park Oct. 24-28, as a number of students from Ontario gathered to call for a national post-secondary act, according to Chantle Beeso, vice-president (student issues) of the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA).
This act would ensure a high-quality and accessible education system for students across the country, Beeso said.
“Currently, the federal government provides financial transfers to provinces for sectors such as health care,” Beeso said. “Provinces also receive funding from the federal government to be put directly into education. However, there is no guarantee that the provinces will use the allotted transfer solely on funding education.”
The CFS is asking for a guarantee that federal funding allotted to provincial education is actually going directly towards the education system, Beeso said.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the New Democratic Party’s education critic and former CUSA vice-president, has tabled a private member’s bill, which will directly address the need for a national post-secondary act, Beeso said.
“We continue speaking with government officials, but have also been active in a step forward,” Beeso said. “We will continue using this to our advantage while speaking to senior administration and students at our institutions to have them better understand the issues and the need for change.”
Beeso said issues vary at every post-secondary institution. They can overlap or be completely independent to the school.
“The beauty of lobby week is that all CFS member locals have come together to promote five recommendations that the institutions agree on,” Beeso said.
A lobby document with five recommendations were created in advance, Beeso said.
The recommendations included in the document were to develop an accessible education, reduce student debt, increase funding for research and graduate studies, increase funding for aboriginal education and to measure the results of funding.
Beeso said she believes this year’s lobby week was a success.
Colleges and universities throughout Ontario sent approximately 60 representatives for the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O), who were able to meet with several MPs.
"Students are definitely making an impact and showing government officials that education should be a priority and is a right," Beeso said.
