Students Step Up the Fight Against Anti-Social Measures and Launch "We the Students" Campaign
The First Session of
the 42nd Parliament of Ontario convened on February 19 following
the winter break that began December 6, 2018. The new session was
met with a militant student action at Queen's Park, confirming
that the people of Ontario will continue to organize and resist
the anti-social attacks the Ford government is carrying out in
the name of "the people."
Students from as far as Kingston came to join the
action to protest the Ford government's cuts to education funding
of
the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), attacks on their
associations and clubs in the name of giving students the
"choice" of
"opting out" from paying ancillary fees, and to call for
increased
funding for public education, among other demands.
The action was organized by the Ontario Student
Action
Network with the support of the Canadian Federation of Students,
the Ontario Federation of Labour, the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union and others.
The action was characterized by the determination
of
the
students to fight for their rights to education and a society
where everyone can live with dignity and security. Various
speakers pointed out that the students from colleges and
universities that are affected by the changes to OSAP are not
taken in by the Ford government's bogus claims that its 10 per
cent cut to the tuition fees will make post-secondary education
more affordable. They pointed out among other things that the
small cut to tuition fees does not affect the poorest students
who are saddled with tuition fees which have increased three
times on average from two decades ago. They also noted that
foreign students still have to pay three to four times the high
fees imposed on Canadian students, and will not be eligible for
the 10 per cent cut. Speakers also noted that the cuts to
tuition, even though limited, would mean shortfalls in university
and college operating budgets to the tune of hundreds of millions
of dollars, which will then force these institutions to cut back
on staff and teaching personnel, further damaging the working and
learning conditions on campuses.
Speakers also
denounced the Ford government's move to impose "opt-out" choices
for the funding of student unions and clubs, and emphasized that
this was a politically motivated attack to silence students'
right to dissent and political organizing. It is an attack on
democracy and freedom of speech aimed at splitting and dividing
the students to atomize their resistance. They pointed out that
student unions and clubs play an important role in enabling
students to organize in defence of their independent political
voice and organizing, as well as providing important campus
services such as supports to Indigenous students, national
minority students, LGBTQ students and students with specific
needs.
A group of students from the Hamilton Students
Mobilization
opposed the increased police presence on their campuses and
stated that this was being done to intimidate students and
criminalize their assemblies. They denounced the police presence
at the rally at Queen's Park and stated that they will not be
criminalized for taking their political stands against the
anti-student, anti-worker, anti-Indigenous Ford
Conservatives.
 Various union
representatives also spoke at the rally in support of the
students
organizing against the Ford government. In particular Harvey
Bischof,
President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation,
told
the students that they can count on the support of teachers and
workers
in their fight. He said that "we have a government that knows the
cost
of everything and the value of nothing" and affirmed that
increased
investments in education are needed in Ontario to preserve and
expand
the quality of education for all students.
The action also officially launched the "We the
Students"
Campaign. The campaign has five demands:
1. Grants, not Loans
2. Eliminate Tuition Fees for All
Students
3. Increase Public Funding for Public Education
4. Protect Students' Independent Voices
5. Defend the Right
to Organize
The organizers of the action called on everyone
to join
with
them and support their campaign and demands. They ended their
action by affirming that they will not be silenced and expressed
their determination to defeat the Ford government and its
anti-social policies.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 9 - March 16, 2019
Article Link:
Students Step Up the Fight Against Anti-Social Measures and Launch "We the Students" Campaign
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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