OTTAWA, Aug. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Five weeks after hand-delivering meeting invitations to members of city council, Mayor Watson continues to refuse to hold a meeting with representatives from the Ottawa Student Transit Coalition.
"The Student Transit Coalition represents 90,000 post-secondary education students across Ottawa," said Anne-Marie Roy from the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa. "It seems irresponsible and highly unwise that Mayor Watson refuses to sit down to have a face-to-face conversation with us. He may prefer to speak at us on Twitter but anything less than a formal meeting is unacceptable."
The Ottawa Transit Commission has also denied including students' concerns on the agenda for today's Transit Commission meeting.
"Despite what the Mayor may hope, students are not going away," said Sherline Pieris from the Algonquin College Student Association. "If he doesn't show immediate leadership on this dossier, this will turn into an election issue and will ensure that his legacy is cut short."
The Coalition is calling for the removal of the age-cap and the implementation of student fares for all students.
The Ottawa Student Transit Coalition represents approximately 90,000 college, undergraduate and graduate students at Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University, La Cité Collégiale, and Algonquin College.
The member associations are:
Graduate Students' Association (Carleton University), Local 78 of the Canadian Federation of Students
Carleton University Students' Association
Student Federation of the University of Ottawa/Fédération étudiante de l'université d'Ottawa, Local 41 of the Canadian Federation of Students
Graduate Students' Association of the University of Ottawa/Association des étudiant.e.s diplômé.e.s de l'Université d'Ottawa, Local 94 of the Canadian Federation of Students
Saint Paul University Student Association/L'Association des Étudiant(e)s de l'Université Saint Paul, Local 85 of the Canadian Federation of Students
Association étudiante de La Cité collégiale, Local 107 of the Canadian Federation of Students Algonquin Students' Association
Representatives from the Ottawa Student Transit Coalition will observe the Transit Commission meeting and will be available for questions and interviews immediately afterwards.
SOURCE: Ottawa Student Transit Coalition
For further information:
To schedule interviews with representatives from any of the Ottawa Student Transit Coalition student associations, please contact: Mathieu Murphy-Perron at 613-704-2188 or [email protected].
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