The Canadian Federation of Students organized the day of action to protest rising tuition fees and student debt load and to call attention to the fact that fewer working families are sending their children to college or university than ten years ago.
Participation rates dropped in 1999 for the first time since Statistics Canada started tracking how many people attend college or university.
University tuition fees averaged $3733 per year in 2003, up from $2023 in 1993.
Why do we care about skyrocketing fees? CUPE BC president Barry ONeill asked hundreds of protesters outside a Liberal fundraising dinner. We care because our members work in colleges and universities. We care because they have children who attend those institutions. We care because those fee hikes affect our families and hurt our communities.