Student Action on Parliament Hill

On November 25, student activists from BC joined with students from across Canada on Parliament Hill to deliver nearly 80,000 signed declarations as part of the Education is a Right campaign.

This strong demonstration of support for a national vision for post-secondary education caught the attention of politicians: NDP Leader Jack Layton and Liberal Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau spoke to the crowd about their parties’ commitments to post-secondary education.

The delivery of declarations came on the heels of a week-long lobby session, during which students met with over 200 MPs and Senators from across the country to discuss making education more affordable.

Sign the online declaration here.

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Ontario's student loan changes: Will BC follow?

The Ontario government recently tweaked several areas of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to make it a little easier on students and their families. How does BC stack up?

For more information on the OSAP changes, see the Ontario government backgrounder (pdf).

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2011 BC Budget

Although the BC budget is still a couple of months away, the finance committee has wrapped up their public consultations and the report of the public consultation has some bright spots.

Thanks to a coordinated effort from students' unions across BC, the finance committee is recommending:

"Reduce financial barriers to post-secondary education by lowering the interest rate charged by StudentAid BC on student loans, and by establishing a provincial system of upfront needs-based grants targeted at people who are having trouble escaping the cycle of poverty."

Will the government listen to what British Columbians have to say? Let's keep the pressure on! Write your MLA and tell them that Education Shouldn't Be A Debt Sentence!

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