By Katherine DeClerq
CUP Ontario Bureau Chief

OTTAWA (CUP)—In Quebec, hundreds of thousands of students have gathered over the summer to protest the government’s decision to raise tuition fees and enact Bill 78, an emergency law passed on May 18 that restricts protests and picketing on university grounds.

While the movement has received international attention in the media, its most direct impact has been on Quebec’s neighbouring province. Between May and August students gathered in Ontario to discuss and protest rising tuition fees in preparation for some action of their own.

During the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) annual general meeting, the issue of solidarity with Quebec was discussed and a donation of $30,000 was sent towards the movement’s legal funds.

“It was voted that the federation donate $30,000 to support students fighting Bill 78 and fighting the many arrests and whatnot that have happened as a result of the government’s crackdown on students,” explained Sarah Jayne King, chairperson for CFS-Ontario. “Provincially, we are donating $3,000 to the same fund. “

During the Ontario general meeting, the discussion about solidarity with the Quebec cause changed into one of provincial action. Tuition fees in Ontario are the highest in the country, with each full-time student paying on average $5,366 a year. Fees increased by 4.3 per cent from 2011 to 2012 and students will see a continuous increase unless provincial policy is changed.

In addition to arguments over the financial struggle of post-secondary education, there was also much discussion regarding the quality received — including professor-student ratios, privatization of curriculums and the worth of undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Debates and forums are being planned by CFS-Ontario regarding the purpose and quality of post-secondary education.

“We are seeing students inspired by what is happening in Quebec and students are ready to take action,” explained King. “One of the discussions around this is how do we develop capacity in Ontario and how do we encourage more people to get involved in this struggle. We are planning on having an activists assembly [in October where] we’ll bring 500 students together to have the opportunity to discuss post-secondary education issues and other issues affecting students and the broader austerity agenda.”

The Ontario Student Mobilization Coalition (OSMC) was another organization whose foundation was rooted in solidarity action. The group’s goal is to rally students together in support of the movement in Quebec and to facilitate protests towards a more accessible and free post-secondary education in Ontario.

“The very first rally was absolutely a solidarity rally,” explained Laura Dolan, member and co-spokesperson for OSMC. “We called a debriefing after the rally, and a few of us got together to discuss more detailed plans for solidarity and what we wanted to accomplish in Ontario — and from there it kind of happened organically.”

While many students support the work being done by the CFS and OSMC, there is some concern that money is being sent to aide Quebec students in their struggle that won’t have any direct impact on Ontario — education is a provincial matter after all. Student unions are directly participating in rallies and actively speaking out against Bill 78 and the tuition hikes. Does this go above the mandate of a student union?

 

Roxy Cohen, co-spokesperson for OSMC, doesn’t think so.

“The CFS was originally founded to call for free, accessible post-secondary education … yes, it can focus internally within Ontario, but I think it is so important that we show solidarity and we help wherever the struggle is. Not just to focus on ourselves.”

The movement in Quebec is highly appreciative of the support it has been receiving from Ontario. Jereme Bedard-Wen, interim spokesperson for the Coalition large de l’Association pour une Solidarite Syndicale Etudiante (CLASSE), sees solidarity as a way of fighting government policy and proving to society that it isn’t just a small group of entitled students that are desperate for lower tuition fees.

“Solidarity is always heartening in a struggle where the government, our government, has really attempted to isolate students and the components of the movement.

“Seeing that we are in fact not alone, and that there are support outside of Quebec … is extremely touching for students here. In the logic where we want the struggle to go farther then the Quebec boarders, especially as Ontario students pay the highest tuition fees in the country, it also lays the foundation for further action there.”

Bedard-Wen made it clear that consistency is the key towards the success in Quebec and that it took over a year and a half to get to where they are now. If Ontario were interested in facilitating a similar movement, it would have to do the same thing and dedicate themselves completely to the cause.

However, if a general strike is the ultimate goal of the Ontario movement, than students are out of luck.

“In Quebec, student unions are covered under the Union Act, so they have the legal right to strike; whereas in Ontario, we are covered under the Corporations Act, so we have no legal right to strike, and that is a really big barrier,” explained Dolan.

This won’t stop students from trying to change policy in other ways. The CFS has been providing forums for discussion and monetary legal aide to Quebec, while the OSMC is going to focus on information decimation — debunking myths about post-secondary education and informing student unions of what they can do to help the cause.

“The standards and situation for students and colleges in Ontario are dire. We struggle with high tuition for very low quality of education. The government is hiding behind the 30 per cent off tuition grant, which doesn’t do anything. Students can’t get it,” explained Cohen.

“It wouldn’t be fair to say we were just for solidarity for Quebec because this is more than Quebec, more than just Canada … We are calling for free and accessible education everywhere.”

With approximately 25 rallies in the last four months, the Ontario movement is well on its way. The OSMC has said that Ontario will not likely see another rally for a few months, but it will be starting to create some consistency in their message in hopes of following Quebec’s two-year journey towards mass mobilization.