Canadian Students Resist Fees.

Toronto-Today, students from across Ontario and both Opposition parties called on the Ontario Government to immediately reject a request from Queen' s University to deregulate undergraduate tuition fees. Earlier in the week, Dianne Cunningham, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities admitted that the government was considering the proposal to deregulate tuition fees at Queen's University. The University of Toronto announced possible tuition fee increases for law that could amount to annual tuition fees of $25,000.

"Access to post-secondary education in Ontario has already been compromised," said Joel Duff, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian
Federation of Students. "Increasing tuition fees at Queen's University will be devastating for middle and lower income students. If fees are deregulated at one university, other institutions will demand the same concession."

Duff said that chronic under-funding of higher education has already propelled average Ontario tuition fees to the second highest level in
Canada. Ontario is currently lowest among provinces in per-capita funding for higher education.

The Canadian Federation of Students is calling for an immediate freeze on all tuition fees and a reduction in fees for those programmes where tuition fees have been de-regulated. De-regulated fees have resulting in massive tuition fee increases ranging from 40% to 700% increases in only four years. Studies at the Universities of Western Ontario, Guelph and Waterloo have all suggested that that students from low income backgrounds are vanishing from those programmes.

"Generations of Ontario students, including those pushing for tuition deregulation have benefited from affordable, accessible post-secondary education," said Dr. Marie Bountrogianni, Liberal Critic for Colleges and Universities. According to Bountrogianni, deregulating tuition fees will affect the majority of students who pursue liberal arts education and will amount to "generational warfare" against future students.

New Democratic Party MPP Peter Kormos said that higher education should be properly funded by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy and ensuring that every Ontarian has access to college and university.

Between 1986 and 1998 the gap in participation rates between wealthy and low income young people has widened.

Rebecca Jaremko-Bromwich, a Law student at Queen's University said: "I am a woman law student of a lower socio-economic background who could not have paid $25,000 a year in tuition fees. I am not asking you to pity the people on whom the doors of our law schools are being increasingly closed by skyrocketing tuition. It is not just those students, but all of us, who will be impoverished in a society where degrees are purchased more than they are earned."

"The Ontario government is fond of telling students that they should pay more for their education because they themselves are the chief beneficiaries," said Duff. "But everyone knows that a well-educated populace is the foundation of a vibrant society and a competitive economy. Education is the mechanism for ensuring equality of opportunity for Ontarians."

Erin McGloskey, President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance joined the call to reject the Queen's University proposal and implement a freeze on tuition fees.

"Unless the Ontario government finds the political will to freeze tuition fees - like the governments of British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Newfoundland-the door to accessible education will close," said Duff.

For more information contact:
Joel Duff, Canadian Federation of Students Ontario Chairperson: 416-925-3825 or 416-707-0349 (cell)
Pam Frache, Canadian Federation of Students Ontario Campaigns and Government
Relations Coordinator: 416-925-3825

A national day of action on February 6 is part of an ongoing campaign calling for a freeze and reduction of tuition fees, a national system of needs-based grants and a reinvestment in higher education. For more information visit the Canadian Federation of Students at www.cfsontario.ca.