Tuition fee hikes are a step in the wrong direction, OPSEU says

    TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government's move today to allow
tuition fees to rise for college and university students is a step in the
wrong direction, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says.

    "We have been on record for years stating that we support the long-term
goal of zero tuition for post-secondary education in Ontario," said Paddy
Musson, Chair of OPSEU's College Academic Division. "Today's announcement
takes us further away from that goal."

    "We believe in Mr. McGuinty's three principles of quality, accessibility,
and accountability for post-secondary education," Musson said. "There is no
way that raising tuition fees can make post-secondary education more
accessible to students."

    A news story quoting an OPSEU spokesperson earlier today gave the
mistaken impression that the union approved of the fee hikes as a means to
settle the current strike by college faculty. This is not the union's
position.

    "The resolution of our bargaining dispute is not higher tuitions," said
Ted Montgomery, chair of the union bargaining team. "It is for the colleges to
table an offer that addresses the issue of quality to provide more faculty,
and more faculty time, for each and every student."