Over the past year, members of the Canadian Federation of Students have campaigned for the elimination of tuition fees for adult basic education (ABE) courses. ABE courses give adults the opportunity to upgrade their high-school level education in a college and university-college setting.

Federation members and supporters sent hundreds and hundreds of handwritten letters and over 10,000 postcards to Members of the Legislative Assembly calling for the elimination of ABE fees. In addition, members of the Federation held over 75 meetings with government officials at which ABE was the primary focus of discussion.

The campaign efforts have paid off!

On September 7, 2007, the Canadian Federation of Students was invited to participate in the Minister of Advanced Education's announcement that ABE fees would be eliminated. Here are the details:
-All ABE fees at the college and university college level will be eliminated January 1, 2008.
-All ABE fees at the school district level will be eliminated September 1, 2008.
-Grants program expanded for ABE to include books, transportation, child care, and supplies.

Thank you to the thousands of members across BC who participated in this campaign and helped to make ABE tuition fee free in BC!

The SCSU is happy to announce that our campaign to bring wireless internet to the Castlegar campus was a success!

In November 2005, Selkirk College announced that they would implement wireless service starting with a hot spot in the Pit on the Castlegar campus, with more to follow.

The Union will continue to lobby the college to ensure that the entire college becomes wireless, so that all members can have access to this service.

The Union would like to thank all members who gave their support in the campaign. We wouldn't have been able to do it without your help.

In response to the government’s plan, the Federation engaged in a campaign to support Aboriginal rights to post-secondary education by raising public awareness of the issue, working in coalition with First Nations organisations, and lobbying Members of Parliament through a postcard and letter-writing campaign. As a result of the campaign, and in recognition of the ongoing barriers to post-secondary education faced by Aboriginal students, the federal government has discontinued its planned taxation of band funding.

Students Applaud Leadership of Federal Government
Canada Student Grant Program Established in Federal Budget 2008 

Vancouver - Students applauded the creation of Canada's first-ever national system of grants, announced in today's Federal Budget, capping several years of lobbying efforts. The grants program is being introduced as the Millennium Scholarship Foundation mandate comes to an end.

“The government has taken a positive step towards improving access to post-secondary education,” said Shamus Reid, BC Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “By implementing a national system of grants, the government has responded to a long standing call by students and their families to reduce student debt.”

The 2008 budget provides 0 million for grants to low- and middle-income students starting in 2009, with the total funding rising to 0 million by 2012. The grants will range from 0 to ,000 per student per year and will be provided to approximately 245,000 students per year. The Canadian Federation of Students has been calling for an accountable and transparent replacement for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation since the Foundation's cration in 1998. Average student debt in BC has risen from ,500 in 2001 to a record-high of ,000 this year as a result of high tuition fees.

“Today’s announcement marks the end of Canada’s tenure as one of the few western industrialized nations without a national system of grants,” said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “This decision is long overdue.”

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For more information, contact:

Shamus Reid, BC Chairperson
604.733.1880 (office)
778.322.7208 (cell)
Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson
(613) 232-7394 (office)
(613) 261-7528 (cell)