More than 70 people gathered outside Premier Doug Ford's campaign office protesting cuts and underfunding to post-secondary education.
The demonstration, organized by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), outside the Islington Avenue office called for better funding for post-secondary schools.
Cyrielle Ngeleka, a York University student and the National Executive Representative for the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario, said students should be a priority for the government.
“We are seeing that students are not a priority and I'm just happy to be here to kind of like shed light on that. Ultimately, all students have value, all programs have value, and we need to be a priority for the government,” she said.
Ngeleka said as the education system continues to be frail, the province relies on international students to pay outrageous amounts in tuition to fund post-secondary institutions consequently making the underfunding of Ontario’s institutions chronic and intentional.
“With the provincial elections already here, we have the power to elect a government that will put students' and workers' issues back on the table to ensure that there's a future for our universities and colleges. Because the government is meant to work for us and not the other way around,” she said.
OPSEU president JP Hornick said an investment in students and post-secondary education is an investment in the economy.
“This is the economic engine of Ontario," she said. "What we do in the colleges is not just good for this moment, it is good for the future, the foundation. What do we want our future in Ontario to look like? Who do we want this province to be available to?”
Hornick said Conservative Premier Bill Davis started the college system in 1967 as an affordable and accessible post-secondary education in every community. The system provided jobs and training in fields relevant to those communities, she said.
But the province now has the lowest per-student, post-secondary funding of provinces in Canada, Hornick said.
“This is a government that likes to take away $10, give you back a loonie, and say, ‘Aren't you lucky you have that heavy coin,’” she said.
“This is a government that would rather exploit, force the exploitation of international students than fight with us to change immigration pathways to ensure that people can participate in the Ontario economy in ways that are dignified, in ways that allow us to work together to strengthen our province,” Hornick said.
Sarom Rho, a Migrant Workers Alliance For Change representative, said international students are tired of being unfairly blamed, as racism and anti-immigrant hate are on the rise in Canada.
“It's as explicit as this premier, as Doug Ford, saying he's going to take care of, quote, ‘our kids first.’ Racism is as explicit as him saying, quote, ‘he's going to get rid of international students,’” she said.
“Sometimes xenophobia looks like employers saying migrants are taking jobs, that there are too many of us, that we're somehow responsible for the housing crisis," Rho said.
But she said at times xenophobia is subtle.
"It looks like college admins saying, ‘Hey, you and your co-workers are getting laid off because international student enrolment is down and there is no money.’ But that's simply not true. There is money and it's staying in the pockets of those who already have it,” Rho said.
She said Ford is responsible for massively underfunding education, as he's cutting down parts of public institutions that are deeply valued and selling them “to his private profiteering friends.”
Rho said she’s glad people are at the demonstration and doing something about it together.
“In this time where the class of people who want to make us fight each other and fight for scraps, want us to be divided, we have to stay united because unity and solidarity is the only way forward,” she said.
“So let's fight like hell to save our colleges, to protect jobs and education, and let's fight like hell to defend immigration. We're with you!” Rho said.
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