Alanna Makinson
Hey UMSU Members!
I hope everyone’s last couple weeks of classes are going well. There are a few important things we feel students should be aware of since they will directly affect you if you will be returning to the University of Manitoba. Please share this information with friends and family.
Provincial Budget
Last week the provincial budget was released and UMSU, with the Canadian Federation of Students, gave this budget a failing grade. Although the province grant increase was better-than-expected at 4.5%, the province has once again provided a grant smaller that the average grant provided under the tuition fee freeze. Ever since the province started talking about lifting the tuition fee freeze, the University grants have been considerably smaller. For colleges, the situation is even worse: they received no increase in funding this year, which is effectively a cut in funding when you factor in inflation.
Tuition fees were allowed to rise, but initially capped to 5% for University tuition and $150 for college tuition. On top of this, even though student aid applications were up by 7% this past year, the province has decided to cut their student aid budget by 3.6%, while using that money to create new programs. This means more people will be able to access provincial loans and be forced to take out private lines of credit, use credit cards, etc, pushing people into higher and higher debt.
The provincial government has been citing the Manitoba Tuition Fee Income Tax Rebate as a program that will help make post-secondary education more accessible. However, the reality is that a tax rebate in no way helps up front access. It largely benefits people who can already afford to pay tuition fees and it does not even factor everything that comes along with being a student such as the cost of books, transportation, and living expenses. The new Premier promised to make this tax rebate available while students are still in school, but has unfortunately only allowed 5% of it in upfront rebates, and even that only if you are planning to stay in Manitoba. This program is doing nothing to help students when they need it the most.
This was not a student friendly budget. The student supports that were promised when the tuition freeze was lifted are simply not there, and the provincial government is ignoring all the recommendations of the Levin report that students actually supported. Post-Secondary Education in Manitoba is becoming more and more inaccessible while the provincial government is trying to balance the budget on the backs of students.
Contact Greg Selinger, your premier, to express your thoughts on the budget:
Phone: 204-945-3714
Fax: 204-949-1484
Email: premier@leg.gov.mb.ca
For more information drop by the UMSU office, or catch us by phone, 474.6822, or email, umsu@umsu.ca.
Your Elected Rep,
Heather, Alanna, Jonty, Mitch, Sid |
