Students Tell Ottawa They Want Affordable College and University

Although the student protests in Quebec get most of the headlines, Canadian students everywhere are struggling to afford college and university.

This week, The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is presenting their vision of Canadian postsecondary education to Ottawa MP and Senators.

“With record high levels of student debt and youth unemployment, the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that post-secondary education is accessible in every province,” said Adam Awad, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students.

“We need a national plan for post-secondary education to address high tuition fees and the growing crisis of student debt across the country.”

The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada’s largest student organization and represents over half million students in all ten provinces.

“Students are looking forward to the opportunity to share their proposals with MPs and senators,” said Awad. “Now, more than ever, urgent action is needed from the federal government to reduce tuition fees and student debt.”

According to the CFS, Canada’s college and university students are dealing with:

• Tuition fees in Canada that have increased by over 200 per cent in 20 years.
• Newfoundland and Labrador’s students paying less than one-third less in tuition than Ontario.
• Students taking on larger debt loads to make ends meet.
• Almost 425,000 students being forced to take out government loans in order to attend college or university last year
• Students and graduates owing $15 billion in student loans to the federal government and billions more to provincial governments and private lenders.