MEDIA ADVISORY - Students to deliver over 40,000 petition signatures to Queen's Park demanding free education for all, action on student debt

TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2016 /CNW/ - Students will deliver over 40,000 petition signatures to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario tomorrow as part of a national campaign demanding free post-secondary education, increased funding for colleges and universities and immediate bold action on student debt.

Signatures were collected at colleges and universities across the province since the beginning of the current academic year and the delivery comes on the heels of a National Day of Action taking place on November 2. Students will be hosting actions on campuses and in communities across Canada and Ontario calling for federal and provincial levels of government to step up and invest in post-secondary education.

DATE:     Tuesday, November 1, 2016
TIME:      11:00AM
PLACE:   In front of Queen's Park main steps
WHO:      Ontario college and university students

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 $26,800 after a four-year bachelors degree and $15,700 after a two-year college diploma. Collectively, students in Canada owe over $15 billion to the federal government and Ontario students owe $28 billion in public student debt.
  
• Despite positive changes to OSAP on the horizon, students are concerned that increasing tuition fees, disproportionately effect the most marginalized on our campuses, including international students and part-time students who cannot access the new Ontario Student Grant.

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

Rajean Hoilett, Chairperson, at 289-923-3534 (cellphone) or [email protected]; Gayle McFadden, Ontario National Executive Representative, at 416-885-5488 (cellphone) or [email protected]; Alastair Woods, Government & Media Relations Coordinator at 416-885-5488 (cellphone) or [email protected].