National Chairperson joins students in sit-in of Minister Kelly Regan's Office

HALIFAX, March 3, 2016 /CNW/ - This morning the Canadian Federation of Students' National Chairperson Bilan Arte joined students in Halifax staging a peaceful sit-in at the constituency office of Kelly Regan, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. Students are protesting against new, massive tuition fee increases and the government's recent actions to block Bill 114 – the Safer Universities and Colleges Act.

"Through their refusal to address sexual violence or invest in education, the Liberal Government has shown disregard for students, their families and the quality of Nova Scotia's colleges and universities. Today we say enough is enough," said Bilan Arte, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, "I am joining students' calls to immediately reverse recent tuition fee increases and adopt measures to end sexual violence on campuses."

THE FACTS:

• In the 2015-2016 provincial budget, the McNeil government lifted the three per cent cap on annual tuition increases for universities and colleges in Nova Scotia. As a result, tuition fees are increasing by as much as 37 percent over the next 3-years at some institutions.
• Tuition fees in Nova Scotia are already among the highest in the country at $6,817 per year for undergraduate and $8,502 for graduate students.
• The Nova Scotia Liberal government has blocked the passing of Bill 114 - the Safer Universities and Colleges Act. Bill 114 would require all post-secondary institutions to have sexual assault policies, to publicly report on cases of sexual assault, to report on the success of their initiatives to combat sexual assault and provide broad support to sexual assault resource centres.

WHAT:	Students Stage Sit-in
DATE:	Thursday, March 3, 2016
TIME:	8:00am AST
PLACE:	1550 Bedford Highway, Suite 555 (Sun Tower) Bedford, NS
WHO:	Bilan Arte, National Chairperson

The Canadian Federation of Students is the oldest and largest national student organization in Canada, representing over 650,000 college, undergraduate and graduate students across the country.

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Students

National Requests: Sarah McCue, Communications Coordinator, [phone] or [email protected]