Student Dispatch with Bilan Arte

The Year of the Manitoba Student

Supplied

As a second winter draws us in, it’s easy to forget that spring (better known as exam season) is just around the corner. But if your year has been anything like ours, the end of the year is arriving all too quickly. Over the last 10 months, students across the province have coordinated their efforts to have the most involved and active year in recent memory. A lot has happened at the municipal, provincial and federal levels that impact youth and students on many different levels.

Throughout the year, the Education for All campaign has been coordinated with students at the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, Brandon University and l’Université de Saint-Boniface. The campaign calls for increased funding for post-secondary institutions, an expansion of the grants system, the elimination of interest on provincial student loans, an expansion of the current tuition fee cap to all students in the province and a re-regulation of differential fees for professional and international students. Over the last three months, students have collected over 6,000 postcards in support of the campaign; made submissions to the provincial finance committee, the Council on Post-Secondary Education, and the Minister of Finance; met with over 70% of all MLAs, including provincial ministers and opposition party leaders; and raised the issue of affordable and accessible post-secondary education countless times in the press. By keeping up this work, we are set to make post-secondary education an issue in the coming provincial elections and to see some major gains in both policy and funding.

The safety and quality of our schools was bolstered this year with the adoption of three pieces of legislation in the fall: the Safer Schools Act, which expands legal protections for primary and secondary students against harassment from their teachers or peers, the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, which establishes a minimum standard of accessibility for people with disabilities in all public spaces, and the International Education Act, which protects international students from being taken advantage of by predatory recruiters and institutions. These Acts work to make Manitoba schools more equitable and accessible for many students and students’ voices were heard consistently throughout the consideration of each.

Getting around Winnipeg can be long and expensive at the best of times, but students took a step toward making that better. In February, Winnipeg City Council followed students’ demands for affordable transit and approved the creation of a universal transit pass (U-Pass). Pending referenda in the fall, the U-Pass is set to cost $260 per student per year.

Students also came together throughout the year to discuss challenges facing their particular communities. Building off of last year’s International Students’ Gathering, the Federation hosted gatherings for Aboriginal students, student parents, women students, francophone students and students concerned with youth underemployment. By joining with community partners, these events were a first step in creating meaningful change for students across the province and in making our campuses better places to learn. 

On the Federal level, students have been pushing back against the regressive changes proposed in the so-called Fair Elections Act and we’ve been gaining ground. In January, the federal Conservatives tabled major changes to Canada’s electoral system, including making it harder for youth, students, and other marginalized people to vote. The Act also tries to stop Elections Canada from outreaching to youth to encourage them to vote and to explain why voting matters. By working with our partners at the Council of Canadians and Leadnow, we have been able to push back against this Act and are working to have it shut down completely. 

By working together across the province, students have been able to accomplish all of this in just a few short months. If we keep it up, we are sure to have an impact not just in the coming municipal, provincial and federal elections, but on the accessibility and quality of Manitoba’s post-secondary system as a whole. 

It has been a pleasure contributing to this column all year and I look forward to seeing students continue to meet the challenges sent our way.

In victory and solidarity,
Bilan

Bilan Arte is Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students–Manitoba. She previously served a term as President at the University of Manitoba Students’ Union and has been involved in student activism in Manitoba for over three years. She is currently completing a degree in Political Studies and Criminology at the University of Manitoba.

Published in Volume 68, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 19, 2014)

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