OTTAWA, Oct. 5, 2015 /CNW/ - Students across Canada have a new way to vote this week. Responding to calls from the Canadian Federation of Students, Elections Canada is operating 39 campus voting stations running from today until October 8. The stations enable students to vote in their own ridings, no matter where they are in the country.
As the voice of Canada's students, the Federation is encouraging all young people to vote this election so the political parties will stop ignoring the serious situation they are in: growing tuition fees, rising costs of living and high youth unemployment have forced young people in Canada to become the most indebted generation in Canadian history.
"Students are ignored because too few of them vote," said Bilan Arte, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Under 40% of young people voted last election and that needs to change this time. This is why the Federation has taken the lead in informing students about the issues and empowering them to vote."
Arte points to data showing that there is widespread support across Canada for student concerns. When asked what they thought the single most important thing the federal government should do around post-secondary education, 70% of Canadians responded, "lower tuition fees and student debt". The same study also found 82% of Canadians believe that young people have to take on too much debt today to get a university or college education.*
"Starting today, students have the power to dramatically influence this election," said Arte. "Students need to demonstrate they are serious about electing candidates who make increasing access to post-secondary education a priority. This means parties must commit to a national vision for post-secondary education, and commit to breaking the cycle of student debt by realigning funding from tax credits and savings schemes towards needs-based grants."
The Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organization, uniting more than one-half million students across Canada. The Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organizations have represented students in Canada since 1927 in their call for fully accessible public post-secondary education.
* Polling conducted in August 2014 for the Canadian Federation of Students by Abacus Data and MediaStyle.
SOURCE Canadian Federation of Students
Sarah McCue, Communications Coordinator at 613-232-7394 or [email protected]
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