THUNDER BAY — University students across the country, including a group at Lakehead University, are furthering calls for free and accessible education for all post-secondary students.
Wednesday marked a National Day of Action against tuition fees with a local movement involving the Lakehead University Student Union.
Brandon Rhéal Amyot, the student union's interim president and the interim national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, stressed that students are looking for grants, not loans, to help pay for an education.
“I have over $30,000 in student debt and for myself coming from a low-income family, that's a significant barrier,” Amyot said, adding it could take up to 10 years to pay off those amounts. “I'm not buying a car or a house, or contributing to the economy in a really big way.
"You shouldn't have to worry about working multiple jobs, how you're going to make ends meet, for groceries, books, or your classes.”
Amyot and several other speakers noted that 20 other countries worldwide have free or nominally costed education, even for international students.
They are calling for a return to a publicly funded system, which means governments investing in grants so students don’t have to take on debt.
In 2019 the governing Progressive Conservatives eliminated free tuition for low-income students as it was trying to trim a multi billion dollar deficit, which they estimated was $14.5 billion.
The previous Liberal government increased the number of grants and made it possible for students to attend college or university free of cost.
“Certainly, the previous government recognized that the cost of post-secondary was prohibitive — charging students wasn't actually necessary. That previous focus towards grants for people of certain income levels was a step in the right direction, but we have to make a system that everyone pays into that everyone benefits from. Free and accessible education for all, not just some people based off of income,” they added.
In December 2018, the Auditor General found that costs for the program jumped by 25 per cent and warned it could grow to $2 billion annually by 2020-21.
The province instituted a tuition freeze for colleges and universities in 2019-2020, which they say has provided students with tuition relief of about $450 million annually when compared to tuition costs in 2018-19.
Ace Hashim, the Lakehead student union's vice president of advocacy, sees the financial strains are especially difficult for international students.
“My background is in biochemistry, and [I have been able to get] great research opportunities and certain scholarships because I am a domestic student. Not having access to those [avenues] as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) student is really difficult. [It can impede their chances of] getting into certain master’s programs, or even getting research jobs that are related to their field.”
Universities Canada data shows that the price for an undergraduate Canadian student is between $5,398 and $5,985 ($26,522 to $27,295 for International Students), while the price tag drops to approximately $4,894 to $5,390 for graduate Canadian students and $15,334 for graduate international students.
For Ontario colleges, the average tuition cost of a diploma program is about $2,400, while graduate certificate programs average at $3,600, bachelor's degree programs average $6,100, and collaborative programs average about $5,000.
