Students Respond to the Speech from the Throne

OTTAWA, March 3 /CNW Telbec/ - The Governor General opened the third session of Canada's 40th Parliament today in Ottawa by presenting the federal government's legislative agenda with the Speech from the Throne. The speech outlined the government's intention to focus on Aboriginal education, to support innovation, and to assist young people in making their first labour market transitions, during the upcoming Parliamentary session.

"Students are hopeful about what they heard today," said Arati Sharma, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). "The government highlighted several themes in the speech that directly mirror what students have been calling for over the few years, including the need to strengthen Aboriginal education and to support Aboriginal students, to strengthen our learning and labour market information infrastructure, and to create a more balanced copyright law."

"The government clearly understands that success in the economy of tomorrow hinges on a strong post-secondary system," continued Sharma. "Students will be looking to the 2010 budget and beyond to see precisely how the government plans to act on the subjects introduced today."

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization composed of 25 student associations, representing over 300,000 students from coast to coast.

For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact: Jillian Flake, Public Relations and Communications Officer, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, Tel.: [phone] ext. 224, (c) [phone], Email: [email protected]