Federal Election - Liberals and PSE

Also on September 17th the DSU released a press release on the Liberal's stand on PSE:

DAL STUDENT UNION PLEASED WITH LIBERAL EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION

HALIFAX, NS – The Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) is pleased with this morning’s Liberal announcement to dedicate an additional $25 billion to post-secondary education.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion announced today that the party will be putting more emphasis on improving the accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education and supporting university-based research and development.

“We are thrilled that the Liberal party has responded to the student voice by adding this plan to its platform,” says Courtney Larkin, President of the DSU. “Coupling this plan with the new Canada Student Grant Program will increase accessibility of our post-secondary institutions and will enable more students to receive a university or college education.”

The 20-year education endowment fund, worth $25 billion, includes:

· 200,000 needs-based bursaries of up to $3,500 per year

· 100,000 access grants of up to $4,000 per year for groups under-represented in post-secondary education

· Guaranteed student loans of $5,000, regardless of parental income

· Expansion of the post-graduation student loan repayment period from six months to two years

· Increase tricouncil research funding by more than a third of its current value

Student loan reform is an issue that the DSU is extremely vocal about. “This will answer many of the concerns that post-secondary students across the country are facing,” says Larkin. “Eventually we would like to see the interest rate on student loans eliminated entirely, but increasing the no-interest grace period is a great start.”

The DSU also advocates several issues not addressed by this morning’s announcement. Among these is a dedicated per-student transfer for post-secondary education to the provinces. Such a plan would involve allocating funds to provinces based on the number of students who attend institutions in that province, rather than the number of permanent residents. As a net importer of students, Nova Scotia does not benefit as other provinces do from the current federal funding formula.

In addition, The DSU advocates implementing early outreach programs to educate demographics of the population that have a tendency to overestimate the cost and underestimate the benefit of a post secondary education. Larkin explains: “No matter how many new programs we introduce, we need to pursue early outreach programs to ensure the opportunities available to Canadians are equally clear to all demographics.”

The DSU is the largest student union in Maritime Canada, representing nearly 16,000 students at Dalhousie University. As a member of the Alliance of Nova Scotia Students Associations (ANSSA) and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), the DSU actively represents the diverse interests of Dalhousie students by providing services and support in a financially, socially and environmentally responsible manner. For more information on the DSU, visit the website at www.dsu.ca.

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