Quebec student protest organizers tour Ontario
Tour stops include cities with university campuses
The Canadian Press
Posted: Jul 12, 2012 4:25 PM ET
Last Updated: Jul 12, 2012 7:44 PM ET
Quebec student group CLASSE plans to tour Ontario campuses later this month. (CBC)
Quebec organizers responsible for the longest and largest student strike in Canadian history are taking their message to Ontario university campuses.
The nine-day "Student Solidarity Tour" kicks off Thursday night in Ottawa with a speech by high-profile student protest leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
The tour will also stop in Kingston, Hamilton, Windsor, Niagara, London, Guelph and Toronto before wrapping up in Peterborough on July 20.
Sarah Jayne King, the chairwoman of the Canadian Federation of Students for Ontario (CFSO), said the event is about educating students on how to fight rising post-secondary tuition fees in Ontario, which are the highest in the country.
"The tour comes, I think, at an important time for Ontario students where we have a host of challenges ahead of us," she said in Ottawa. "We have seen tuition fees increase drastically since 2006."
For the 2010/2011 school year, Ontario students paid an average of $6,640 in tuition fees, according to Statistics Canada.
Thousands of students in Quebec have been on strike since February to oppose a tuition fee hike of $254 a year over seven years.
The daily marches, which have included classroom sit-ins, are set to begin again in mid-August once classes resume at Quebec's 14 CÉGEP (junior) colleges.
The strike has been marred by some violence, prompting the Quebec provincial government to bring in controversial emergency legislation.
Bill 78 paused the school year at institutions with striking students, imposed fines for anyone who blocked access to a school and established guidelines on how long and where the protests can be held.
King said the Quebec student leaders are not in Ontario to promote violent action, but will instead share their experiences of how they say police have been handling protesters during the strike.
"This is not about promoting militant action," she said.
One of the tour's speakers, Jérémie Bédard-Wien with CLASSE (the Coalition large de l'association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante) said Ontario students have every reason to protest.
"Many grassroots organizations are sprouting up in Ontario to learn from our organization tactics and it's clear Ontario students are interested in learning how we mobilize and how to prepare for a general strike," said the 20-year-old college student.
"Tuition here is very much higher than it is in Quebec. I definitely think students will react more strongly."
Bédard-Wien said students need to organize and plan ahead if they want to make a political impact.
Share Tools
PMO chief Nigel Wright quits post over Duffy payback deal by Kady O'Malley May. 19, 2013 9:57 AM 'I did not advise the Prime Minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact.' - Wright Statement
Top News Headlines
- Senior Pakistani politician shot dead
- Gunmen in Pakistan have killed a senior member of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party outside her home in Karachi. more »
- Search continues for 2 missing New Brunswick fishermen
- A recovery effort has resumed for two missing fishermen off the coast of New Brunswick, after a distress call was issued from their boat early Saturday. more »
- Car drives into crowd at Virginia parade
- About 50 to 60 people were injured after a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town. more »
- Spectator killed at Edmonton Jeep event
- A 20-year-old woman died Saturday during an event for Jeep enthusiasts held in a parking lot just west of downtown Edmonton. more »
Must Watch
Latest Politics News Headlines
- Email is proof Senate greenlit expenses, Brazeau says
- Senator Patrick Brazeau, in an interview with CBC Radio's The House, says the Senate gave him the green light to claim expenses for his secondary residence in Gatineau, Que., in an email dated March 8, 2011 — the same $48,000 expenses a Senate report says he has to pay back. more »
- Senator Pamela Wallin leaves Conservative caucus
- Senator Pamela Wallin says she is recusing herself from the Conservative caucus while her travel expense claims are under scrutiny. Wallin's departure comes one day after Senator Mike Duffy left the Tory caucus amid controversy over his expense claims. more »
- Read the statements on Nigel Wright's resignation
- In statement, Wright insists he did not advise the PM "of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact." more »
- First Nations schools report points to education gap
- First Nations' schools have lower quality teaching, an inferior curriculum and fail to provide proper services for children with special needs — and without further investment these problems could worsen with an expected population spike on reserves, a new federal report warns. more »
The National
The House
- Questions mount for Harper and chief of staff Nigel Wright in Senate scandal May. 18, 2013 1:15 PM This week on The House, with Senators Wallin and Duffy now out of the Conservative caucus, we get reaction from NDP Ethics critic Charlie Angus. We also hear directly from Senator Patrick Brazeau who says the Conservatives have thrown him under the bus. Plus we speak with B.C. Premier Christy Clark after her stunning victory.
- Spectator killed at Edmonton Jeep event
- Car drives into crowd at Virginia parade
- Rescue attempt over for New Brunswick fishermen
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cancels weekly radio show
- Winning ticket sold in Florida for $590M Powerball jackpot
- Email is proof Senate greenlit expenses, Brazeau says
- Senior Pakistani politician shot dead
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield adjusts to 'earthling' life
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal

