Ontario students pay tuition costs that soar $1000 over the national average, but have yet to mobilize in the same way that their Quebecois counterparts have.
This could all change.
Sandy Hudson, Chair President of the Canadian Student Federation Ontario, says students are just as fed up.
“More action must be taken. We’ve heard about rebates, and tuition decreases for how long now? Students feel betrayed by the empty promises made by the government,” says Hudson.
The likelihood of students in Ontario engaging in a protest on par with what is unfolding in Quebec is something that student groups in this province don’t want to rule out.
So why haven’t they?
York University’s Vice President of Campaigns and Equity, Allastair Woods, says students in Ontario aren’t disengaged, they’re scared.
“Students here are victim to manufactured distractions. We’re constantly being told that more funding will be made accessible, only to find out that only a fraction of students will actually qualify. With tuition that is nearly three times the cost of those in Quebec, not many students can a spend month away from the classroom,” Woods says.
Hudson adds that apathy isn’t to blame, echoing that Ontario students face a unique set of obstacles that prevent them from fighting back.
“The reality is, when our tuition is this high, it is more of a risk to miss a shift at work. Students have to consider whether they can afford to take time from their jobs, when they’re paying thousands of dollars more for school,” she says.
Both student leaders commend Quebec demonstrations as a step towards ensuring equality and basic education rights across the province, an issue they say has been suppressed by the McGuinty government. Funding for students in Ontario is predominantly loans based, with interest payments that push students further into debt.
“We need to hold our leaders accountable. The grants and rebates made available to students work as a disguise for what is really happening. Tuition is continuously increasing, and the provincial government is unfairly punishing students for pursuing a higher education,” says Woods.
Come September, both Hudson and Woods both agree that change in student-organized events will be necessary.
Their change in attitude coincides with a structural overhaul to the current OSAP system set for the 2012-2013 school year. Outlined on the official website, students across the province will now have the opportunity to receive and administer 100 per cent of their funding, spending the money as they see fit.
Students having full control of their government-issued loans is met with a luke-warm reception by Joel Duff, formerly of the Canadian Federation of Students.
“At the end of the day, a loan is a loan, is a loan. The compound interest that students are forced to pay will cost them more in the long run. What message does this send? The most disadvantaged will end up paying more,” Duff says.
Duff says that it is yet another example of how “manufactured distractions”, including rebates, grants and the escalating costs of tuition, serve as a divide-and-conquer tactic initiated by the provincial government. He says that inequality is fostered as annual tuition increases affect entry-level post-secondary students.
This means that students starting their first-year of university/college pay more than upper-year students for the same education.
“It is completely unfair that a first-year student sitting in a classroom with a fourth-year is paying substantially more in tuition. The Premier has done nothing to combat the cost of education since he cancelled tuition freezes in 2006,” Duff said.
To complicate things in Quebec, the so-called emergency legislation, Bill 78, was recently introduced as the province braces for Week 15 of protests. The bill would force protestors to pay $1,000-$5,000 for blocking access to educational buildings and institutions. Student federations and unions were specifically targeted, with the possibility of facing fines that span anywhere from $7,000 to $125,000. In addition, they would be forced to provide officials with an eight-hour warning prior to protests, as well as a detailed itinerary.
As students in Quebec fight against the measures like Bill 78, Hudson says students in Ontario are feeling the same sense of urgency.
“Quebec students have a history of taking direct control these protests speak to that history. I think students here in Ontario have been driven to that point and are ready to take serious action.”
