Media Advisory - Students available to comment on 2016 Ontario Budget

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - Representatives of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario will be available to comment on the 2016 Ontario Budget immediately following its release on Thursday, February 25.

Students presented a number of recommendations to government for the provincial budget including a 50 per cent tuition fee reduction; eliminating provincial education tax credits and moving the money into non-repayable, needs-based grants; post-residency fees for graduate students; targeted grants to support low-income students; an Aboriginal languages preservation fund; a paid experiential education fund; a Sexual Assault Support Division within the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; OHIP for international students; and a campus mental health fund.

STUDENTS RESPOND TO 2015 ONTARIO BUDGET:

DATE:	Thursday, February 25, 2016
TIME:	4:00 p.m.
PLACE:	Queen's Park Gallery
WHO:	Rajean Hoilett, Chairperson Gabrielle Ross-Marquette, National Executive Representative

JUST THE FACTS:

• Tuition fees in Ontario are the highest in Canada. In 2011, data collected by Statistics Canada showed 53 per cent of university enrolments and 42 per cent of college enrolments came from students in the highest income quartile of families, highlighting a socio-economic divide on campuses across the province.
  
  
• The average debt for a student who must take on financial assistance to go to school is $27,000 after a four-year degree. Collectively, students in Canada owe $15 billion to the federal government and Ontario students owe $2.6 billion to the provincial government.
  
  
• Ontario has the lowest per student funding in Canada, 23 per cent below the Canadian average. Public funding now accounts for less than half of university and college operating budgets. At some institutions less than 40 per cent of funding comes from the government.

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario unites more than 350,000 college and university students in all regions of the province.

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Students

Image with caption: "Student budget priorities (CNW Group/Canadian Federation of Students)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160225_C2338_PHOTO_EN_628964.jpg

Rajean Hoilett, Chairperson, at 416-925-3825 (office) or 289-923-3534 (cellphone) or [e-mail]; Gabrielle Ross-Marquette, at 416-925-3825 (office) or 647-918-9864 (cellphone) or [e-mail]