C/O Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities
After a statement of apology, the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities promises to develop new policies and procedures
cw: Mention of sexual violence
On Feb. 19, the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities released an apology for engaging with Member of Parliament Kevin Vuong.
For those who don’t know, UCRU is a union of different university student groups across Canada who come together to advocate for better undergraduate university education. The McMaster Students Union is one of UCRU’s members.
Every year, UCRU carries out a federal lobby week to meet with a number of MPs and have discussions about student issues. These lobby weeks allow UCRU to present concerns to the federal government and seek support from the MPs.
This year, UCRU’s lobby week took place in the last week of January. On Jan. 25, UCRU met with MP Kevin Vuong.
Vuong serves as the MP for the Spadina—Fort York constituency and originally ran as a Liberal candidate in the 2021 federal election. When news broke that Vuong was charged with a sexual assault in 2019, that had since been withdrawn, the Liberal party disavowed Vuong. As a result, Vuong now sits in the House of Commons without any party affiliation.
Vuong’s election was not well received and many have condemned associations with Vuong.
Following the lobby week, on Feb. 18, UCRU posted an Instagram story containing Vuong.
UCRU has now apologized for engaging with Vuong and said they will cease engagement with Vuong.
Denver Della-Vedova, current President of the MSU and chair of UCRU, said that UCRU unfortunately did not have any vetting procedures in place this year.
However, UCRU has now begun developing policies and procedures to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.
“We are committed to ensuring we have a better vetting process and have some steps that we can take in advance to ensure that we are not supporting any individuals that are unscrupulous,” said Della-Vedova.
Universities across Canada advocate for greater financial aid
In 2020-2021, the average tuition for full-time undergraduate programs across Canada is $6,580 per year. 52 per cent of students graduate with student debt and an average student has a total of $28,000 in debt when they graduate.
52 per cent of students graduate with student debt and an average student has a total of $28,000 in debt when they graduate.
Student debt in Canada has been deemed a crisis by many. In 2018, Canadian students collectively owed over $28 billion in student debt.
The McMaster Students Union is one of the student unions that have joined in to work on the Debt Free Degree campaign, advocating for more accessible and affordable post-secondary education in Canada.
This campaign is led by the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities and the University Students’ Council at Western University.
Other student unions that are also taking part in the campaign include the University of Toronto Students’ Union, Students’ Society of McGill University, Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association and more.
These nine student unions represent students of the U15 group of Canadian research intensive universities. Collectively, the student unions represent over 250,000 students.
The campaign is calling for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough to take action.
Mackenzy Metcalfe, vice president of external affairs at Western’s University Students Council and chair of UCRU, said that this would put grants at a total increase of $1200 per student for the 2020-2021 federal budget.
Policy recommendations from the campaign include doubling of investments in Canada Student Grants from what was provided in 2019. Mackenzy Metcalfe, vice president of external affairs at Western’s University Students Council and chair of UCRU, said that this would put grants at a total increase of $1200 per student for the 2020-2021 federal budget.
This amounts to roughly $1 billion from the government. Metcalfe also noted that this was one of the promises made by the Liberal party during the 2019 election. This increase in grants would apply to all students eligible for financial aid.
“Investments in students are investments in the future. Students are really going to make up the workforce of tomorrow and increasing funding for student financial aid will undoubtedly see exponential return in the next couple of years,” said Metcalfe.
“Investments in students are investments in the future. Students are really going to make up the workforce of tomorrow and increasing funding for student financial aid will undoubtedly see exponential return in the next couple of years,” said Metcalfe.
MSU Vice President (Education) Ryan Tse declined an interview but wrote in an email statement that the MSU is excited to work on this campaign.
“The Debt Free Campaign [gives] students the opportunity to share their stories and call on the government to help make postsecondary education more accessible and affordable,” wrote Tse.
In previous years, UCRU had advocated for the transfer of federal tuition tax credits to student grants. Currently, the recommendation for the federal government to transfer tuition tax credit funds to upfront grants is also an MSU policy.
However, the Debt Free Degree campaign had decided not to specify federal tuition tax credits as a source of funding for student grants, but simply advocate for an increase in grants.
“UCRU still believes that tax credits from tuition should be relocated to upfront grants for students, however, during our past few lobby weeks, UCRU received feedback from the government about the proposal. We heard from multiple sources in government that they were not interested in making this change to the tax credit system. However, we did hear that they were interested in supporting students through student financial aid,” Metcalfe explained.
Although recommendations from the campaign ultimately do not eliminate student debt, Metcalfe said that having a larger proportion of financial aid as grants rather than loans will help decrease the amount of accumulated debt.
Aside from an increase in student grants, the campaign also recommends a two-year grace period on all federal student loans. Currently, federal student loans have a grace period of six months.
In other words, students have six months following their study period with no accumulation of interest on their federal student loans. Aside from finishing their final school term, students are also required to repay loans six months after they leave school, take time off school, or transfer from full-time to part-time studies. After those six months, students are expected to begin payment and interests will accumulate.
In Ontario, financial aid for students is regulated by the Ontario Student Assistance Program. OSAP incorporates both federal and provincial student loans and grants.
On a provincial level, student loan requirements differ depending on the province. Students in Ontario are not expected to start repaying their provincial student loans until after the first six months, but their loans do accumulate interest during that period of time.
Across social media, the campaign shares various infographics comparing the average amount of student debt to other various items of the same monetary value such as 112 pairs of AirPods, a Honda Civic, 233 years worth of Netflix subscriptions and 9 million cups of coffee.
$28,000. That's the amount of debt an average student has when they graduate. You can buy a lot with $28,000. Paying off student debt shouldn't be one of those things. It's time for a change - alongside @UCRU_Can, we're pushing @JustinTrudeau & @CQualtro to take action. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/FbeJu13B5J
— McMaster Students Union (MSU) (@MSU_McMaster) November 6, 2020
Students were encouraged to join the movement by writing a postcard to their local member of parliament. A Google form at www.debtfreedegree.ca was available for students to fill out and UCRU will send the postcard on the student’s behalf.
Students were also asked to spread the word by sharing posts with the hashtag #DebtFreeDegree on their social media and provide UCRU with feedback by emailing [email protected].
The MSU is working alongside @UCRU_Can and Student Unions across the country to advocate for accessible, affordable post-secondary education in Canada, and a #DebtFreeDegree. Learn more about our fight for Debt Free Degrees at https://t.co/t0I4CFpbCP. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/5o9GvsngPy
— McMaster Students Union (MSU) (@MSU_McMaster) November 3, 2020
The campaign ended on Nov. 16 and Metcalfe stated that over 200 students had shared their feedback. These student concerns will be presented to federal policy makers during UCRU’s annual Federal Lobby Week. This year, the federal lobby week is scheduled from Nov. 23-27.
As post-secondary students across Ontario begin to experience the impacts of the updated Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) has launched a province-wide campaign encouraging students to express their concerns with the OSAP cuts and demand change.
Earlier this year, Premier Doug Ford’s Conservative government announced several alterations to OSAP. Some changes include the removal of the six month post-graduation grace period in which student loans do not accrue interest, cuts in funding and grants going to low-income families, as well as an update to the definition of independent student.
While the Ford administration claims that the decision to cut tuition by 10 per cent keeps Ontario’s most vulnerable families in mind, many students are unconvinced.
“I work two part-time jobs on campus, work full-time during the summer and still rely on OSAP grants,” said one McMaster student in OUSA’s campaign video on OSAP cuts.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7meTavY8DnY[/embedyt]
On Sept. 10, 2019, OUSA announced a letter-writing campaign in response to recent changes made by the provincial government to OSAP.
Formed in 1992, OUSA is a provincial lobbying organization that represents 150,000 students at eight student associations across Ontario, including McMaster. It aims to effectively lobby the provincial government for change and to ensure that Ontario students receive an affordable post-secondary education.
In response to their call for participants, OUSA received over 200 letters from students across the province who shared how they would be impacted by the OSAP changes.
The cuts to OSAP have caused Adam Yu, a second year McMaster student in integrated biomedical engineering and health sciences, to rethink his post-graduation plans.
"It's one less safety net for me when I graduate, which really makes me worry about my financial outlooks. It dissuades me from pursuing my aspirations of medical school,” said Yu in his letter.
Others have had to take on take on additional work hours, which affects the amount of time they can spend on school and extracurriculars.
"OSAP has had a huge effect on my student life this year. As a result of OSAP cuts I have had to actively look out for part time jobs which will have an effect on the amount of time I can spend on extracurriculars that I enjoy doing,” wrote a student who wishes to remain anonymous.
Students also expressed worry about paying off their student loans. Previously, there was a six month period post-graduation in which interest was not charged on student loans. The removal of the grace period was another cause of concern that students mentioned in their letters.
“I am scared that I won’t have the grace period before interest starts once I graduate,” said Jessica Lim, a student in their last year at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
OUSA has now called for the provincial government to reverse the changes made to OSAP and consult students for a framework that meets their needs in a public letter sent to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano.
“The adverse effects of these changes have already been felt by students across the province who rely on financial assistance to access post-secondary education and enter the workforce,” said OUSA in their letter.
The letter continues to say that some students have been forced to postpone or withdraw from their post-secondary education because they no longer have the financial assistance required to continue with their studies.
OUSA has asked that all students affected by or concerned about the changes made to OSAP sign the letter and, if comfortable, add their own personal story to send to Premier Ford, Minister Romano and their local member of provincial parliament.
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