Media Advisory - Students Available to Comment on Ontario Budget

TORONTO, March 24 /CNW/ - Representatives of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario will be available to comment on the Budget immediately following its release tomorrow. Students are optimistic that today's announcement by Minister Dwight Duncan, that Ontario's deficit will be less than had been projected, will mean that more funding is flowed to higher education.

Students are calling on the McGuinty government to introduce a post-secondary education framework that invests in students, academic infrastructure and student mobility. It is hoped that McGuinty will take the opportunity provided by the 2010 Budget to include a major investment in post-secondary education as part of broader economic stimulus.

    
    Students' recommendations for the 2010 Budget include:

    1.  TUITION FEES AND STUDENT AID

        Immediately reduce tuition fees and restructure the Ontario Student
        financial assistance system by converting it from a loans-based to a
        grants-based system of aid.

    2.  FUNDING AND QUALITY

        Bring per-student funding to above the national average and improve
        the student-faculty ratio by hiring more tenured faculty.

    3.  CREDIT TRANSFER

        Invest in a province-side system of credit transfer so that students
        have more flexibility to move from institution to institution.

    Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario responds to 2010 Ontario Budget:

    DATE:  Thursday, March 25, 2010
    TIME:  4:00 p.m.
    PLACE: Queen's Park
    WHO:   Hamid Osman, CFS-Ontario National Executive Representative:
           647-448-2823
           Joel Duff, Organiser, CFS-Ontario Organiser: 416-707-0349
    

The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario unites more than 300,000 college and university students across the province. The proposal for a new higher education framework can be found at www.cfsontario.ca

For further information: Hamid Osman, CFS-Ontario National Executive Representative: [phone]; Joel Duff, Organiser, CFS-Ontario Organiser: [phone]