Students ask political leaders for treats, not tricks for Halloween

TORONTO, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - In anticipation of Halloween, college and university students from Toronto campuses held mock trick or treating in Yonge and Dundas Square today by dressing up as political leaders and distributing candy while collecting signatures on a petition calling for more funding for post-secondary education. The event is part of the Education is a Right campaign organised by the Canadian Federation of Students that calls for national standards to improve the quality and affordability of post-secondary education.

"There are huge disparities in the cost and quality of college and university education from province to province," said Sandy Hudson, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario. "Ontario has the highest tuition fees in Canada, more than double what students in Quebec or Newfoundland pay."

For the second year in a row, students in Ontario pay the highest tuition fees while studying in the largest class sizes, with a professor-to-student ratio 37 percent behind the national average. The decline in accessibility and quality can be attributed to per-student funding levels that are 24 percent below the rest of Canada. Since the tuition fee freeze was cancelled by the McGuinty government in 2006, fees have risen at four to eight percent annually and have reached a record-breaking average of $6,307.

"Collectively, students owe the federal government over $15 billion, and Ontario students owe the provincial government billions more," said Caitlin Smith, Vice-President Finance and Services of the Ryerson Student Union. "Students are here today to show our political leaders that people are fed up with trick policies that download the cost of our education system onto students."

"Both the federal and provincial governments must take responsibility for the chronic underfunding of post-secondary education," said Danielle Sandhu, Vice-President Equity of the University of Toronto Students' Union. "The prospect of attempting to recover from the recession without investing in a knowledge-based economy is simply to scary to imagine."

Education is a Right is a national and provincial campaign calling for further investment in post-secondary education and up-front, need-based grants. The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario unites more than 300,000 college and university students across the province.

For further information:

Sandy Hudson, Chairperson, CFS-Ontario:416-722-8842 (cell)
Joel Duff,Organiser, CFS-Ontario: 416-707-0349 (cell)