By Preeteesh Peetabh Singh
Dialog Reporter
“Whatever I see, I see from my heart. Whatever I say, I say from my heart. Whatever I do, do from my heart. And this for me is activism, may it be social, political, economic or environmental” said Cat Criger, an Elder from the First Nations People, at the opening of Ontario student activist assembly organized by Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).
The assembly was held over the weekend on Oct. 12 and 13 at the University of Toronto. Student unions, volunteers, campus activists, club and department representatives and community allies gathered from across Ontario to participate in variety of issues-based sessions and skills training workshops which were aimed at developing local and inter-campus organizing capacities.
Food, accommodation, a children’s activity room, a prayer room, ASL interpreters, translation devices were available for all participants who required it. Participants also got a chance to bond with each other at the socials conducted at social work building and Tranzac community club.
According to Sarah Jayne King, the chairperson of the CFS-Ontario, This is a critical year for students and activists. The Ontario government wants to drastically change the education system. King says the government is looking to privatize it, develop a new tuition fee framework that will likely mandate more tuition fee increases and allow institutions to move into a two-tiered system much like in the United States.
The recent success of the massive student movement in Quebec made the government scrap the tuition fee hike and cancel Bill 78. This is seen as a major victory for all activists across Canada.
Postcard by the Canadian Federation of Students on tuition in Ontario.
Antoni Shelton, director of government relations for the Ontario Federation of Labour, expressed his concerns over Bill 115 which will impose a wage freeze for two years, cut benefits and restrict collective bargaining rights for the teachers. He warned that the McGuinty government is targeting not only on teachers but also the broader public sector.
Skills workshops included how to develop campaigns, public speaking, crafting media message, organizing for graduate students, and launching social media campaigns.
“The breakout groups and workshops held on Saturday included sessions that were meant for not only university students but also colleges.” said Chris Bourque, the liberal arts and preparatory studies education centre representative for the Student Association (SA) of George Brown College “It was a good sign and showed that they are making space for colleges in the Canadian Federation of Students.”
International student struggles, food security on campus, disability movement, critical analysis of feminism, rise of corporate interest on campus, and government austerity agenda were also discussed in the issues workshops.
The keynote speaker, Clayton Thomas Muller, spoke on the environmental issues in Canada focusing on shutting down the tar sands. While the keynote panel inclusive of Ana Garcia Rubio, Panagiotis Louvros, Rodrigo Echecopar and Marianne Breton Fontaine discussed student struggles around the world.
“The experience was phenomenal. It was great to see hundreds of students from across Ontario and especially great to see George Brown students get involved in such a large movement.” said, Mohammad Ali Aumeer, the director of education and equity for the SA. “The energy that I got from the room was very exciting and really instilled a confidence in the students and activists. The vibe was inspiring. To hear stories on how the students in Chile shut down the country and won their demands, on how students in Greece and Spain stood up, how students in Quebec brought down the government based on student issues and fighting for student rights and winning. It inspired us in many ways moving forward towards the goal of providing more accessible and more affordable post secondary education in Ontario.”
