Thousands of university and college students rallied across Canada on Wednesday as a national day of action to demand lower tuition fees and more education funding.

The Canadian Federation of Students, an alliance of more than 80 student unions, organized rallies on campuses and marches on provincial legislatures. Workshops, panel discussions and information pickets are also taking place.

Matthew Howland, an Ottawa university student, joins hundreds of other students protesting high tuition fees on Parliament Hill on Wednesday.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

At the University of Toronto, hundreds gathered on campus before marching to the Ontario legislature to present their demands.

At a rally at the Nova Scotia legislature in Halifax, about 250 students banged on drums and chanted slogans, and some carried signs reading: "Students aren't cash cows."

Student activists say they want affordable post-secondary education and relief from heavy student debt loads. They want governments to spend $4 billion more each year on college and university education.

According to the federation, student debt in Canada is estimated at $20 billion across the country and is increasing by about $1.5 million per day.

"We very often try to visualize the debt problem on our campuses with walls of debt where students come and show their debt," Jesse Greener, the federation's Ontario chair, told CBC News.

'It's really a problem that hits students and their families from all different directions.'—Jesse Greener, of the Canadian Federation of Students, on student debt

"I've seen students who have over $100,000 in debt. We're talking public debt through the loans program, we're talking credit card debt, we're talking debt from the bank of Mom and Dad," he said.

"It's really a problem that hits students and their families from all different directions. What it means is that when people graduate, when they are into their working lives, when they want to participate in society, they are just handcuffed and unable to do so."

Want private bill passed

Rallies were being held Wednesday in about 30 urban centres, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, Halifax and St. John's.

Greener said the federal government should pass a private member's bill tabled Monday by NDP MP Denise Savoie to meet the needs of students.

Under the bill, the federal and provincial governments would have a framework by which they could ensure that post-secondary education in Canada is accessible and adheres to high standards.

Bill C-398, the Canada post-secondary education act, sets criteria for funding of university and college programs to ensure their quality, accessibility and accountability. The bill received first reading in the House of Commons on Monday.

"It's a positive development," Greener said.

"This could actually go a long way to address some of our concerns. We are calling for a reinvestment in post-secondary education at the federal level and to make sure that the transfers that go to the provinces actually make it to our institutions of higher learning, not to fill in potholes in the roads, where those funds sometimes have been known to go.

"At end of the day, we need to make sure that provincial governments are responsible, as well."

Rallies aim to send message

According to the NDP, the bill is similar to the Canada Health Act because it sets out national standards. It would guarantee stable federal education transfers and enshrine principles of accessibility and quality.

Greener said Wednesday's rallies are designed to send a clear message to governments that they need to take action immediately.

Tuition fees range widely across the country, with Nova Scotia having the highest fees of any province, according to Statistics Canada.

In Ontario, for example, an arts undergraduate student paid $4,243 in fees in 2003-2004, while in Quebec, the cost for a similar program was $1,943.

In B.C., a science undergraduate student paid $3,844 in fees in 2003-2004; in Nova Scotia, the cost for a similar program was $5,630.

Ian Boyko, CFS government relations co-ordinator, said provincial governments should follow the lead of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador when setting tuition fees.

"Quebec has a terrific record of keeping education affordable — fees in Quebec are about half the national average and college is free," Boyko said.

"And Newfoundland and Labrador is also a place where there's been tuition fee reductions and a real attempt by successive governments to keep education affordable."

Calls for federal government to 'step up'

Chris Bentley, Ontario's minister of training, colleges and universities, said tuition should be considered an investment by students, and the federal government should play its part by providing more money for students.

"The McGuinty government is investing, taxpayers in Ontario are investing, students are making an additional contribution, and we need Ottawa to step up," Bentley said.

"There is a missing player at the table. We need the federal government to get interested, not just in the rhetoric about tuition, but in actual commitment with dollars to support student education across the country."

Other student rallies on Wednesday include:

• In Ottawa, hundreds of students from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa joined forces and marched in a mass of waving placards to a protest on Parliament Hill.
• In Montreal, students from McGill and Concordia universities and the University of Montreal rallied in front of Quebec premier Jean Charest's Montreal office. They called on the province to renew its commitment to tuition freezes and to cap so-called ancillary fees charged to students.
• In B.C., students converged on the Vancouver Art Gallery to hear several speakers support their fight for an affordable education.

With files from the Canadian Press