This week was busy for several party leaders, with Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Gilles Duceppe and Jack Layton facing off for two hours in the English and French debates. Read the analysis of the English debate by Malinda Smith, the Federation’s VP Equity Issues, as she explores the place that equity, diversity and social justice held in the debate dialogue.
Earlier in the week, the NDP released their platform. For the PSE community, the platform promises $800 million in transfers to the provinces to alleviate rising tuition fees. The platform also outlines how the NDP would increase funding to the Canada Student Grants program by $200 million per year, focusing on Aboriginal, disabled and low income students. In a further measure to address increasing education costs, the education tax credit would also be raised from $4,800 to $5,760 per year.
In other PSE related news, students across Canadian campuses have been holding Vote Mobs – non-partisan, peaceful rallies showing politicians that students are a voting force to be reckoned with. Since the first vote mob at the University of Guelph on March 31, vote mobs have been held at over 25 universities and cities across the country.