WHERE: Corner of Mackay and de Maisonneuve (map)

 

WHEN: 12:30pm 31 March 2011 - TODAY!

For more info, here is an article from the ASSE newsletter:

 

by Arnaud Theurillat-Cloutier, Student of Philosophy

$1,652 per academic year; $4,875 for a bachelor degree. That's the increase that our government would impose on university students, at least those that are still able to study. The tuition hike will almost double the cost for an academic year. And like a Good Samaritan, Raymond Bachand extends his right hand (while robbing us with the left), reassuring us that the Students Financial Aid (AFE) will be slightly improved...

Following the numerous tariffs announced last year, there were no more hidden surprises left to be unveiled in Quebec's 2011 budget. We knew that tuition would rise, but by how much? After a 30% increase between 2007 and 2012, tuition will undergo a further increase of 325$ per year for 5 years. What's the final toll? The price of an academic year will rise from $2,168 to $3,793. This calculation does not take in! to account the potential increase of other mandatory fees, which vary from school to school. As calculated by the Federation étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), the total cost including the extra fees will eventually reach $4,700 per year.

Indeed, M. Bachand aims to bring tuition back to the levels of 1968. The minister looks to "retrieve" the money supposedly lost after many years of keeping tuition untouched. But those years were no wasted era! The public has not been robbed by generations of university students! Rather, a social choice had been made to diminish the individual bill, and to fund post-secondary education collectively as a national community.

The tuition freeze was not a "mistake" nor was it an end in itself. The freeze succeeded in stimulating a gradual democratization of education, opening up opportunities to countless youth who would never have otherwise attended university. For 33 years, the freeze has been maint! ained, but only due to the student movement's constant struggl! e to improve access to education. Ultimately, the movement calls for the abolition of all financial barriers to post-secondary studies.

M. Bachand claims his simple "adjustment" will be harmless, because "there is nothing that links university attendance to the rate of tuition." While the validity of M. Bachand's assertion is arguable, we must all foresee the tremendous shock that the tuition hikes will strike against the student community. Without a single doubt, attendance from low-income and middle class families will be seriously undermined, even if the total number of students attending university remains the same.

To Sweeten The Bitter Pill

M. Bachand has put on a charitable mask, to better hide the violence of his policy. By augmenting financial aid to the tune of $118 million, the minister thinks he can preserve access to education for the "less fortunate." The bulk of this increase, $86 million, is dedicated to bur! saries for those who have already maxed out their student debt. This sliver of investment, meant to alleviate an already unacceptable debtload, will fail to improve our lot. As for those who do not benefit from bursaries, we will only have access to supplementary loans, further increasing the debtload.

Feigning to listen to students, M. Bachand has made slight improvements to the AFE by reducing the parental and spousal contribution. Nothing will be asked of a couple whose an income falls below $35,000. For a single-parent family, this amount is fixed at $30,000 and for other parents it's fixed at $28,000. But this “improvement” does not answer even the lean requests of the FEUQ and FECQ. It is far from satisfying ASSÉ's call to abolish the contribution altogether. We should also remember that financial aid has not been adjusted to the cost of living for many years, creating a shortfall of $61 million in 2011 (according to the Consultative comm! ittee of the AFE).

Even if we consider these meagr! e compens! ations, the AFE remains a system of indebtedness, and the criteria are only going to get more discriminatory. The government tries in vain to blind us with an empty rhetoric of "equity" and "fair opportunities." But our senses have not lost their edge—this attack on the right to education is the most brutal we've seen in Quebec’s history. This attack requires a prompt and organized response. Because remaining silent will only pave the way for this grave injustice.