TORONTO, ON – In the past month, with the return of campuses, students have collected thousands of signatures on the Hands Off Our Education petition to declare their opposition to Bill 33 and the devaluation of post secondary education. Students and workers sent a clear message to the Ontario government; they oppose the attacks on education at all levels and reject the attempts at unnecessary oversight of post-secondary education through Bill 33.
Bill 33, co-sponsored by MPPs Nolan Quinn, Paul Calandra, Michael Parsa, proposes sweeping changes to all levels of public education in Ontario. With the introduction of “merit-based admissions” and unnecessary government oversight of ancillary fees, it poses a large threat to students’ right to organize, undermines campus and educational autonomy, and strips much-needed public funding from Ontario’s already underfunded post-secondary system.
The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O) has launched the Fight the Fees:Hands Off Our Education campaign, calling on the government to reject Bill 33, provide immediate and dedicated public funding for public education and safeguard the autonomy of our campuses.
“Students can no longer allow the government to thrust education – a public service – further into precarity. Our campuses continue to suffer due to intentional attempts at destabilization by this government,” said Cyrielle Ngeleka, Chairperson of the CFS-Ontario. “Students don’t need unnecessary oversight or “merit-based admissions”, we need less barriers to education. We demand that the government cease all attacks on education and address the core issues within post-secondary education: chronic underfunding.”
Bill 33 does nothing to address the underfunding of Ontario’s education system; with Ontario continuing to rank last for per-student funding in Canada – students cannot afford and completely oppose any further privatization to post-secondary education. Omar Mousa, National Executive of the CFS-Ontario, said, “There is no evidence that heavy-handed oversight of student fees, admissions or research will fix education. Public funding for post-secondary education is the only way out of this Ford-manufactured crisis.”
The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario is the oldest and largest student organization in Ontario, representing over 350,000 college and university students in every region of the province.
Canadian Federation of Students- Ontario 302-225 Richmond Street West Toronto, ON, M5V 1W2 Phone: (416) - 925 - 3825
