Media Advisory - Students to head back to school with Labour Day action highlighting high tuition fees, low wages and poor working conditions

TORONTO, Sept. 4, 2016 /CNW/ - Students will be hosting a canvassing and outreach action on Labour Day to bring attention to high tuition fees, rising levels of student debt, declining job prospects and poor working conditions. Students across the province have launched a campaign calling on the provincial government to deepen their support for accessible education by working towards free post-secondary education. More specifically students are calling on the government to: reduce and eliminate tuition fees, convert provincial student loans into non-repayable grants, forgive interest on outstanding student loans and immediately introduce debt relief programs geared towards low and middle-income students and alumni.

The action will coincide with the annual Labour Day parade and will highlight the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario's Fight the Fees campaign for free education across the province and the $15 and Fairness campaign for a $15 minimum wage and fair working conditions.

DATE:	Monday, September 5, 2016
TIME:	12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
PLACE:	Corner of Dufferin Street and Joe Shuster Way
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 $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.
• Precarious and low-wage work is becoming Ontario's new normal, with temporary and part-time work growing faster than full-time work in the province. Additionally, a larger share of these part-time and precarious jobs exist in low-wage sectors than in middle- to high-wage sectors.

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, at 416-885-5488 (cellphone) or [email protected].