Gas-Tax Pledge

Dion make gas-tax transfer pledge but doesn't commit on one-cent GST request

February 27, 2007

TORONTO (CP) - A federal Liberal government would make permanent the current five-year deal that transfers a portion of the gas tax to municipalities, party leader Stephane Dion said Tuesday while stopping short of agreeing to fork over one cent of the GST to cities.In an election-style speech to delegates attending a summit on Toronto's future, Dion pledged that, as prime minister, he would make research and development, immigration, public transit and the working poor a priority. Dion suggested he wouldn't be able to honour such commitments if he agreed to a one-cent GST transfer that he said would take some $5.5 billion out of federal coffers.

On Monday, Toronto Mayor David Miller called on Ottawa to provide permanent funding for cities by giving them one cent of every six cents collected through the GST.While Dion said he's sympathetic to mayors who rely on property taxes which don't "grow at the same speed as the economy" for revenue, he called a permanent gas-tax transfer a "good first step.""Our cities and communities need stable, long-term commitments, with predictable funding," Dion told conference delegates, noting it would give cities an extra $2 billion a year."Our federal and provincial governments don't make decisions based on short-term commitments, and neither does the private sector. We shouldn't ask our cities to do what we wouldn't do ourselves."

Dion cast himself as a prime minister who would "fight" to ensure the municipalities had their needs met "on transit and other infrastructure needs.""I will work with your mayors and understand their challenges and need for real financial partnership over the long-term."In his speech, Dion also urged the Conservatives to help the poor by funding the working income-tax benefit, which supplements the wages of low-income earners, to the $2.25-billion over five years proposed by the Liberals two years ago.

He also called on the Harper government to reinstate the national day-care program and promised to invest $250 million a year to cover the indirect costs of university research - something he said the Harper government has slashed to just $40 million.A Liberal government would also reinvest in financial assistance for post-secondary students, which Dion said the current government has cut by 70 per cent."For the GTA and other university regions to prosper, we need to reverse those cuts," he said. "We need to keep our universities first class universities in the world."

Ah! Lesbians!

So... apparently girls' schools are vortexes of lesbionic activity! Sign me up, as I learnt in elementry school "boys have cooties". Seriously, could it not be logic or coincidence that there's be at least one or two lesbians in an all-girls' school? Shockingly enough, not everyone is hetero - so lock up your daughters with boys and take away those magazines plastered from cover to cover with 'hot' women, your little princess might like girls!

Gay surge 'is hitting same-sex schools'
By SARA SAMI

A LEADING child psychologist has backed claims by a Bahraini MP that girls' schools have become a hotbed of lesbian activity.Batelco Centre for Family Violence Victims president Dr Banna Bu Zaboon added that all non-mixed schools in the Gulf are encountering a surge in homosexuality.

She said many girls she came across had admitted to having homosexual encounters at school.
However, Dr Bu Zaboon added this was not a new phenomenon.

"I don't think that this issue is new to our society," she told the GDN.

"It has been a problem for quite a while now, but it has been treated on an individual basis.

"Many college students that I have spoken to have admitted to me that during their days in government schools, they came across this phenomenon on a daily basis."

However, Dr Bu Zaboon said that many girls who enter same-sex relationships are not even lesbians.

"It only appears to be a side-effect these students are getting from going to an all-girl school, because after treating them they came to know that it was only a phase they were going through," she said.

"I have given many lectures on this phenomenon, which girls attended and discussed the behaviour of some girls in their schools, who showed tendencies towards lesbianism.
"During the lectures many parents complained that their daughters showed no such behaviour until they were taken to an all-girl school.

"We can see that this phenomenon is caused by the environment that these girls are living in at school."

However, she added that society as a whole was also contributing to the number of girls entering same-sex relationships.

That is because it is widely frowned upon for girls to date boys before they are married.
"The fact that society does not allow girls to date boys before marriage has led many girls to be intimate with other girls because they feel that is safer than dating boys," said Dr Bu Zaboon.
"Many patients of mine have told me that it is easier for them to have a relationship with girls because they are afraid to go out with boys."
MP Abdulla Al Dossary raised the issue of lesbianism in girls' schools in parliament on February 13.

He claimed that girls' schools had become a breeding ground for lesbians and demanded answers from Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi.
However, the minister dismissed the suggestion as an exaggeration and asked Mr Al Dossary to come back with proof

Campbell, You're Missing the Picture!

Campbell's Baby Bonus Ignores British Columbians' Concerns Ineffectual Program is an Attempt to Mask $23M Cut

Canadian Federation of Students - BC
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

VICTORIA-- The BC Government's announcement of a $1,000 ‘children's education credit’ will do nothing for students who need help now, say students reacting to the BC Budget. And, with no plan to reduce tuition fees, the benefits to families will be more than eaten up by the time the credit can be used.

“British Columbian's didn't support this idea when Campbell proposed it three months ago, I'm not sure why he thinks that they will support it now”, said Scott Payne, BC Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students. "Campbell and his Liberals need to reduce the tuition fees that they have doubled over the past five years."

Under the government's current tuition fee policy of inflationary increases, average tuition fees will be $7,226 by the year 2025, when the first children will be able to access the post-secondary credit. This amounts to an increase of $2,266, while the government projects the credit will grow to just $2,200.

Budget 2007 cut funding for student financial assistance by $23 million. BC currently has the second highest student debt in Canada, at an average of nearly $27, 000 upon graduation. Student debt has increased at a higher rate in BC than anywhere else in Canada in the last five years, rising from amongst the lowest in Canada.

"With the additional cuts to student financial assistance, Campbell is shutting the door on students who are most in need, and telling BC's families to wait eighteen years for some relief", said Shamus Reid, BC National Executive Representative. "This Budget makes absolutely no sense for students and families."Students called for a 10% reduction in tuition fees in Budget 2007, at a cost of $92 million, just 3% of the governments $2.8 billion surplus.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

The US Allows a Gay Man In (That Wasn't In The Closet?)

So, the US actually let a gay man into their country? That's wierd... usually they don't like those kind of folk. Though, the government there doesn't seem to like anyone that doesn't wake up at the crack and dawn to pray to a not-to-scale ceramic sculpture of dear ol' Bushyboy and their odd version of Condi as the virgin Mary. Could progressive ideology be afloat? COULD IT?


Gay Mexican granted asylum after long battle

Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

A U.S. immigration judge granted a Mexican immigrant asylum, citing his sexual orientation and the severe persecution of gays in Mexico, the man's lawyer said Tuesday.
Jorge Soto Vega, 38, said he had suffered harassment and violence from family members and authorities in Mexico because he is gay.

According to court documents, while living in Guadalajara, Soto Vega was beaten by police and then robbed, called anti-gay slurs, and told that he would be killed if he was ever seen again.
In 1988, Soto Vega paid a smuggler to sneak him into the United States, and he settled in the Hollywood and Silver Lake areas of Los Angeles. In 2001, Soto Vega returned from a brief visit to Mexico after his mother's death, during which he said he was afraid to go outside. He filed an application for asylum the next year.

His request was denied in 2003 by immigration judge John Taylor, who said he could return to Mexico because "it would not be obvious that he was homosexual unless he made it obvious ... ."
The case was returned to Taylor after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it is the government's responsibility to prove Soto Vega had no "well-founded fear of persecution" in Mexico.

At the hearing Tuesday, the judge agreed that a person should not have to conceal his or her sexual orientation to be free from persecution, said Jon Davidson, Soto Vega's attorney. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency waived the right to appeal in the case, spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

good morning ...

Dalhousie!

Blueprint?

Federal Act is a Blueprint for Federal-Provincial Co-operation

Canadian Federation of Students
Monday, February 05, 2007

OTTAWA--
The Canadian Federation of Students welcomes proposed legislation tabled by NDP Member of Parliament Denise Savoie calling on the federal government to set out a vision for post-secondary education. Increased federal funding and a Post-Secondary Education Act are crucial to improving the affordability and quality of post-secondary education in Canada. “Federal-provincial cooperation is critical to building a system of universities and colleges that are the best and most accessible in the world,” said Amanda Aziz, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “The timing of this Act comes at a convenient time for the Premiers to get on board with a national plan,” said Aziz, referring to the Council of the Federation conference call to be held on Wednesday.

A federal act would provide a framework under which the federal government and provincial governments can work together to achieve the highest standards of universal accessibility and world-class quality. Although post-secondary education is a provincial jurisdiction, the federal government plays a major role in both funding education and ensuring that Canadians have access to a high-quality system. Students and faculty have long called on the federal government to create legislation that addresses both accessibility and quality of higher education.

Tuition fees have more than tripled in the past fifteen years as a result of federal cuts to transfer payments to the provinces.“A joint strategy on improving higher education and skills training is something that should be at the top of the agenda for the Premiers,” added Aziz. “Like healthcare, public education is an issue bigger than egos and jurisdictional squabbles. We intend to drive that message home during the student demonstrations later this week.”

National Student Day of Action

Day of Action

Was... Today!

My school had an absolutely AMAZING turn out for a small institution! We even had kids from the local high school come up to join us, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that every single car/truck that passed us on the highway blared their horn giving us the thumbs-up! The weather was great, student's yelling "Reduce Tuition", "Education is a right, we will NOT give up the FIGHT!" along with "We don't want no mac 'n cheese, gordon campbell lower the fees!" was deafening. I am absolutely proud and estatic that such a large group of people can get together from across the country to protest and make their demands that increasing tuition, ancillary fees, and decreased funding are barring students from accessing post-secondary education. All citizens, no matter the size of their pocket book should be able to further their education if they so desire.

EDUCATION IS A RIGHT!

So, to mark this momentous day, I'm going to post several clips from protests across the country. WE WILL NOT GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

Video from CHBC

Day of Action TOMORROW

National Student Day of Action is...

TOMORROW

More than a 1/2 million students across Canada are walking out to show their support for lowing tuition, and making post-secondary education more accessible to students.

Show your support! Join those who are walking out! Sign petitions! MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

Day of Action in 2 Days

Feb. 7th Day of Action

Is in TWO DAYS!!!

Day of Action is in 2 DAYS! I cannot bloody believe it! All I've heard about for the past eight MONTHS has been Feb. 7th or Day of Action! Please note, that at this precise moment I'm trying not to scream with excitement at the top of my lungs, as there's a good dozen students sitting around near me studying. Of course studying, what does a university student do aside from study, experience insomnia, and protest for reduce tuition?

So, today I found an interesting article - fresh off the press... or at least relatively fresh, it hasn't expired.

McGuinty Fails Ontario's College and University Students Access Undermined Despite Aggressive PR Campaign

TORONTO - Students are angry that the McGuinty government is still pushing forward with its plans for indefinite tuition fee increases of up to 8% per year. Minister of Training, Colleges and
Universities Chris Bentley held a media conference today at the Bloor Collegiate Institute announcing token measures to streamline applications for financial aid.

"Students are disappointed that the Ministry is launching yet another
self-congratulatory media conference to distract the public from the
detrimental effects of its Reaching Higher framework for higher tuition fees,"
said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of
Students. "It is absurd for McGuinty to pedal bureaucratic government
initiatives as real improvements to access when at the same time they plan to
continue dramatic tuition fee increases."

Today's Ministry announcement took place at the Bloor Collegiate
Institute in downtown Toronto, an area where financial barriers to
post-secondary education are acutely felt according to Maria Rodrigues School
Board Trustee for Ward 9 in that area.

"I think 20-36% fee increases on a regular four-year degree, sends
exactly the wrong message to high school students who are hoping to go on to
college or university," said Trustee Rodrigues. "Many high school students
actually chose to dropout out because high tuition fees have already put the
dream of college or university out of their minds."

"Despite McGuinty's rhetoric, student financial assistance will not
mitigate the harmful impact of tuition fee hikes. If tuition fees rise by even
5% each year, then for every dollar allocated to student assistance, more than
$1.30 will be clawed back through tuition fee increases," said Greener. "In
effect, students will be borrowing to finance their own student aid
programme."

According to the Canadian Federation of Students' detailed analysis, even
if debt is capped at $7,000 per year, a student borrowing the maximum for a
four-year programme will graduate with $28,000 in debt or $3,000 more than the
current average debt for a four-year programme of $25,000.

"Students can see through the McGuinty government's PR campaign and
continue to plan to raise public awareness about its Mike Harris-style tuition
fee policy," said Greener. "Thousands of students will be present on February
7 to hold this government accountable for its track record of high tuition
fees and high student debt."

Day of Action in 4 Days!

Feb. 7th Day of Action
Is In 4 Days!

So, it's Saturday morning and while waiting for one of my friends to come over to hang out for the day, I thought I'd blog a little. I'm excited, she's coming in from out of town - we go to separate universities, and I can tell you right now that Day of Action will pop up in our conversation. Hell, there isn't a conversation in the past two months that didn't include "day of action", "feb.7th" or "reduce tuition"... it's rather odd... and a wee bit consuming. Only four days left until Day of Action - I'm excited to see what the media will say about it.

Speaking of which, I have a clip from YouTube - it's press coverage compiled by the Canadian Federation of Students. One of the most exciting clips I've watched in awhile. It'd be amazing to see what the larger cities will be like on the 7th.

A Random Thought on Education

So, since my life - like that of any other university student revolves around writing term papers and fretting over tuition (right now with emphasis on Feb. 7th Day of Action) I thought that I would search out what each party thought about post-secondary education... in my search, I stumbled upon the Conservative party website (I think I felt my eyes burning when the site loaded on my computer...). Upon the site loading, and scrolling around to find where their education policy fit in - I finally found "education" towards the bottom of their list of issues. What was on the top? "Action for London" and "Action for Business"... education is at the bottom of the list.

Now, due to thinking in a lecture frame of mind (again, because I spend all day in lectures and writing papers), I began to think, "maybe this somehow signifies the imporantance of education on their demented self-serving agenda." Could this be entirely wrong? I don't think so...

Again, after scrolling to the very bottom of the document of their manifesto, after reading all about "child dicipline" and the like, I finally reached the part about post-secondary... which offered solutions such as:

• They will "replace student fees and government grants to universities with a new system of government-funded National Scholarships to meet the cost of educating students
  
  Um... how about grants? While scholarships are nice, how about offering a solution that will actually help those in need of financial assistance?
  
• "Scrap the Government's arbitrary target for 50 per cent of young people to go to university."
  
  Doesn't this go against individuals RIGHTS to an education? Or how about that delightful phrase "no child left behind"? Silly me, here I thought people going to university was a useful endeavour.
  
• "To improve student finance, a Conservative Government will abolish Labour's student fees and reform the student loan system"
  
  How do I put this lightly... FUCK THAT. Student loans, paired with increasing tuition IS THE PROBLEM! The typical answer for those with the fat-wallets; how about putting yourself in the shoes of someone from a family that is lower/middle income and downward, trying to pay for their education out of their own pocket? I bet some of those people would be biting their tongue if the shoe was on the other foot.
  
• "A new, independent Student Loans Trust. Students will pay a low commercial interest rate, but will be able to borrow higher amounts to replace expensive credit card and overdraft debts"
  
  Um... again, IT'S NOT THE ANSWER! While it's the "conservative solution", all that will result will be millions of university students being extremly angry, and being bogged down in student debt for the rest of their lives. Isn't it grand that for an education, one will carry with them a life sentence? Harper, how about you try going to university today - I bet you wouldn't be able to handle it - you expect us to? The generation that will be spoon-feeding you jello in your own age?

Day of Action in 5 Days!

Feb. 7th Day of Action

Is In 5 Days!

So, Day of Action is in 5 days! My student's union has planned for us to walk out to the highway with banners and placards - we've been advised to bring with us anything that will make a lot of noise. This will be fun... oh, the excitement! I still stand by my thoughts that nothing makes the winter season merrier with a good ol' loud protest! Again, THE EXCITEMENT! And Feb. 7th is only getting closer.

Today's information...

Wages Better and Tuition Fees Lower When McGuinty Studied

Modest Minimum Wage Gains Undermined By McGuinty’s Tuition Fee Increases

Minimum wage increases that came into effect today are undermined by soaring tuition fee increases, said the Canadian Federation of Students, Canada's largest national student organization. Despite a modest increase in the minimum wage to $8 an hour, Ontario's students face record tuiton fee levels and mounting student debt.

"Dalton McGuinty is giving with one hand and taking away with the other," said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students. "Increasing minimum wage by only 25 cents will not make ends meet for students paying record tuition fees."

"Decision-makers like Premier McGuinty benefited from better wages and lower tuition fees," said Greener. "Reaping the benefits of an affordable education and then turning around and depriving young people today those same opportunities is selfish and hypocritical."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty began studying Biology at McMaster University in the mid-1970s, the minimum wage in Ontario was $240 an hour and university tuition fees were only $610 for a year. By February 2007, minimum wage has increased to $8.00 an hour while tuiton fees has risen to over $5,000 a year for an undergraduate degree and as much as $17,000 a year for law tuition fees.

"If he had paid for his own education, a young Dalton McGuinty would have had to work for only 6.4 weeks in the summer of 1975 to pay his undergraduate tuition fees," said Greener. "Students working minimum wages jobs in the summer of 2006 would have had to work 16.6 weeks in order to finance a year of undergraduate tuition fees. Working all summer, today's law students could barely pay a third of a year's tuition fees."

Last September, Premier McGuinty cancelled the tuition fees freeze and allowed fees to increase between 4% and 8%, after a 200% increase over the past 15 years. Students across the province, who are calling on Ontario to reduce tuition fees to 2004 levels, have also partnered in a campaign to demand a minimum wage increase to $10 an hour.

"This year, Dalton McGuinty gave Ontario's minimum wage earners a 3% raise, while giving himself a 25% raise to $198,620 a year," said Greener. "McGuinty is making approximately $95 an hour, while students earning minimum wage are kept below the poverty line."

The Canadian Federation of Students, Canada's national student organization, unites more than $500,000 college and university students from coast to coast, and over 300,000 in Ontario.

Day of Action in 6 Days!

Feb. 7th Day of Action

Is In 6 Days!

Less than a week to go until Feb 7th Day of Action! And, still I'm excited - students are slowly finding out that they have academic amnesty at my institution, thus there is heightened excitement... and the posters! There's posters every where! I think it's really cool... really makes walking down those long halls more entertaining.

Taking Action Works! A Brief History of Victories
Anyone who has tried to get people to join a campaign to make change has heard the argument a hundred times: I'm not going to take action because the government doesn't listen.

Are thy right to be so cynical? Simply put, no.

Since the mid 1990s, provincial governments of all political stripes across Canada have been regulating, freezing and even reducing tuition fees.

In many cases, the Canadian Federation of Studens had been directly credited with the change in policy

After announcing a tuition fee freeze, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Tobin said "students made it impossible for me not to freeze fees."

When we take action, the government doesn't just see thousands of motivated students at rallies and events. They see our issues beig raised on the six o'clock news. And they see public opinion polling that shows that the majority of British Columbians agree with our goals.

Just this past fall, British Columbians made their opinions clear when polled by ipsos-reid.

• 80% supoort reducing tuition fees
• 84% think that the provincial government should increase public funding to post-secondary institutions to support more course options and higher enrolments.
• 87% support an increase in student grants.

British Columbians think that the provincial government needs to do more to ensure that post-secondary education is more affordable and accessible for all.