StatsCan Tuition Study Underscores Need for Increased federal Investment in
PSE

TORONTO , Oct. 20 /CNW/ - This morning's release of the Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs study by Statistics Canada clearly demonstrates the need for an increased investment by the federal government, says the College Student Alliance (CSA).

"College and university students, in all provinces across the country, have had to bear a larger and larger share of the cost of education and training over the last decade," says Justin Fox , President of the College Student Alliance. "Given the recent economic challenges facing many students and their families; it is getting harder to find the resources to access and persist with postsecondary education."

Federal budget cuts in the early nineties substantially reduced transfers to the provinces for postsecondary education, resulting in a postsecondary education funding gap of nearly $4 billion across Canada . This funding gap has led to increasingly high tuition fees, over the past fifteen years.

The College Student Alliance, the New Brunswick Student Alliance, the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the Council of Alberta University Students, and the Alberta Student Executive Council, together representing over 600,000 students across the country, are asking the federal government to increase the federal funding for postsecondary education to $4 billion per year.

To ensure the effectiveness of this transfer, the federal government must work with the provinces in order to maintain their own postsecondary education spending upon receipt of this additional federal funding.

"Students are calling on all levels of government to recognize the importance of postsecondary education and training to our economic recovery and make the appropriate investments," adds Fox.

The College Student Alliance (CSA) is an advocacy and services organization, representing over 120,000 full-time college and college/university students at 16 colleges and on 23 campuses across the province of Ontario.

For further information: Tyler Charlebois, Director of Advocacy, T: [phone], C: [phone], E: [email protected]; Justin Fox, President, T: [phone], ext. 4524, C: [phone], E: [email protected]