All Posts Tagged With: "Election 2011"
Tories want U of Guelph votes discounted
Votes cast at university ‘vote mob’ violated Canada Elections Act, say Conservatives
The Conservative party is challenging the votes cast during a “vote mob” at the University of Guelph, saying they should be discarded because the voting session violated the Canada Elections Act. The party has requested that Elections Canada rule the polling station was illegal and that partisan election material was distributed during voting. Approximately 700 students cast their vote at a polling station on the main floor of U of G’s University Centre. Several students claim Michael Sona, the communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, approached the polling station claiming the process was illegal, and at one point may have tried to remove the ballot box, although his presence at the station has not yet been confirmed.
Are ‘rock the student vote’ campaigns worth it?
If university students are already voting, maybe efforts to get them to the polls could be directed elsewhere
As with every vote, student politicians across the country are campaigning to get students out to the polls for the upcoming federal election.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), for example, launched Studentsneedtovote.ca to provide information on how to vote and political party platforms, along with a blog and links to Twitter feeds for each party.
“The main impetus for the site was to put something out there that had information resources,” CASA director Zachary Dayler told the Canadian University Press.
Individual student unions are also taking it upon themselves to engage their members, such as the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU)which is setting up an election page on their main website, and is organizing a forum for candidates in the Edmonton-Strathcona riding.
One student at the University of Saskatchewan suggested using the university’s online social media tool PAWS to solve the so-called student voter apathy problem.
“If we could show that students are voting in large numbers at the U of S, maybe we could secure funding from various levels of government,” Matthew Eldstrom told campus newspaper The Sheaf, who also explained that he’d contact the executive of the University of Saskatchewan Student’s Union, along with several students in the university’s political science and computer science departments to put his plan into action.
And we’ve all heard of the ‘vote mobs’ organized by student leaders at several universities across the country, such as the University of Guelph, where hundreds of students have gathered at party rallies to show they are far from apathetic about the election.
I’m all for making students more aware of issues in the federal election, and no one could argue that getting more young people casting their ballots would be a bad thing. But the problem with these campaigns is that students are arguably more educated and engaged than the general population when it comes to politics, and they may already be flocking to the polls as it is.
The average citizen isn’t gleefully signing up for classes in political science, and they typically aren’t privy to politicians campaigning or holding presentations at their place of work. Students are exposed to these kinds of political engagement regularly (take Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s cross-campus tour last year, for example). They also have political student groups on campus clamouring for their attention that they can easily get involved in.
A 2003 Electoral Insight study headed by McGill professor Elizabeth Gidengil exploring voter participation found that while voter turnout had steadily declined amongst voters born after 1970, when taking education into account “it is a serious misconception to suppose that it is the highly educated young who are failing to turn up at the polls. On the contrary, the more education young people have, the more likely they are to vote.”
The same authors penned an additional paper that further broke up predicted voter turnout by education which looked at voter decline between 1968 and 2000. The study found that voter turnout amongst youth, age 20, with less education was predicted to be 29 per cent, 43 per cent amongst youth with a medium level of education, and 58 per cent amongst youth with a high level of education.
As Carson has pointed out, though these studies may be dated, voting trends haven’t swayed substantially over the past decade. So it’s very likely that these findings still apply to students eligible to vote on May 2.
What’s worrisome is that the focus on raising student voter turnout may be hurting efforts to engage youth who aren’t in post-secondary education. Jared Wesley, an assistant professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, pointed out that equating student politics with youth politics could depress the voter turnout amongst non-students, considering student movements usually focus on the issue of tuition, and that too often politicians solely campaign on campuses to engage young people.
“Politicians are focused on middle-class families when it’s the lower-class families that are starting out, that don’t have an education that are not likely to vote,” he told the Canadian University Press. “I realize it’s easy to campaign on campus, but it’s not solving the larger issue.”
In a country with one of the highest post secondary education participation rates in the world, it’s easy to focus on students when trying to increase youth voter turnout. Yet let’s not forget that not everyone decides to attend university, and their vote counts just as much as any student’s. It’s their issues that are often overshadowed by the concerns of their peers enrolled in university.
But it’s obviously not the job of student interest groups or universities to address this problem. Their role is to make sure students are informed of the issues in the election affecting them, and they do a pretty good job of it. It’s politicians and policy makers who should be expanding the dialogue on youth issues off campus, and realizing the diverse make-up of the youth populace.
The case against voting
These clowns aren’t funny anymore.
During election campaigns, anyone associated with universities hears a constant rhapsody of hope and despair about student voting. Hope that this will be the year young people finally wise up and exercise their rights as democratic citizens and despair that they will probably just stay home, get high, and play Portal 2 all day.
The normal reasons cited for not voting are usually lame and easily shot down. I don’t know any of the parties or candidates, people say, but it has never been easier to learn who the candidates are and what their positions are, so that’s no excuse. They’re all the same, others lament, but a careful look at the platforms does show discernable differences on issues like, say, corporate tax cuts and public funding for political parties. And if that’s not enough, the pro-vote gang can lay on plenty of patriotic guilt-tripping: there are people dying in other countries right now to have the rights that you are throwing away!
But in a way, that’s why I don’t really want to vote this time, and I’m sure not going to be judgemental of those who choose not to. In one sense, I agree with the democracy boosters. Democracy is a fine and noble institution, born in the fires of classical thought, educated by the enlightenment, fired in the kilns of revolution and civil war, and now, at long last, buried up to its bunghole in Canadian crap.
Democracy in this country is a joke. The leaders of the three major parties are shameless hucksters, churning out policies only to position themselves favourably with the right demographics, and crafting messages they think will resonate. They are patently unwilling to debate serious public policy questions even if they were capable of it. But real positions scare away voters and that’s not how this game (and it is a game to them) is played. And so it is that our politics, devoid of authentic debate has slid quickly and unflatteringly into scandal-mongering and name-calling. Too fearful of proposing real change, political parties bicker over the smallest details of the budget which amount to how many tenths of a percent of our money they will take and how much will they give us back.
One could, of course, vote for the Green Party, but Elizabeth May, shamblingly petite and cursed with an absurd barn-door voice, is the opposite of the other leaders. They are style without substance; she is substance without style. Still, if the Star Wars movies have taught us anything, it’s that great wisdom comes in small hilarious packages, and one could even feel good about voting for May’s Greens (as I have done in recent years) except that a cabal of TV executives won’t give her the national exposure or credibility that comes with the leaders’ debate. And even worse, her party, more than any other, is knee-capped every election by the ridiculously out-of-date first-past-the-post electoral system. And so while May herself might be a joke we could all be in on, the election results will, once again, be a joke that we’ve heard before and wasn’t that funny to begin with.
In short, the argument against voting is that it takes seriously a state of affairs that deserves only mockery. To exercise my solemn and hard-won right to vote feels wrong when the vote is counted by an archaic system that will benefit factionalists who only want to win, not lead, and whose only measure of right is what will sell.
So stop the patronizing insistence that students have to vote. Perhaps the better thing to do is to praise them for their willingness to protest by not voting. Maybe all these young abstainers will grow up to be adult non-voters. In time, the participation rate (whose fall is constantly bemoaned) will drop so low that governments will finally have to recognize that a democracy no one can believe in is no democracy at all.
And out of that despair may finally come a real reason to hope.
Liberals would forgive debt for volunteer work
Ignatieff vows to create a Canada Service Corps
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff announced his party would forgive $1,500 in student debt for graduates who volunteer for at least 150 hours at home or abroad. The campaign pledge forms part of the Liberals plan to create a Canada Service Corps. To promote volunteerism the Liberals say they would spend $180 million over four years to create up to 26,000 volunteer positions annually. Eligibility for debt forgiveness would be contingent on students completing their studies.
Does education matter in elections?
Our student panel has their say
With an election on May 2, we asked our student panel how big a role education policy plays in their decision to cast a ballot for one party, or one candidate, over another. As with previous entries, all videos are archived on our You Tube channel.
Harper promises foreign credential recognition
$6 million program would provide loans for immigrants to certify their training
Stephen Harper announced Wednesday that he plans help foreign-trained professionals get their credentials recognized in Canada. Under the $6 million plan, recent immigrants would receive loans to pay for training, registration fees, exams and other expenses associated with upgrading their credentials to Canadian standards. “These bridge loans will make it easier for new Canadians to find jobs that take full advantage of their experience and expertise,” Harper said. According to Statistics Canada, at least 40 per cent of immigrants, aged 25-54, are employed in jobs that don’t make full use of their skills.
Election timing could depress student turnout
Students advised to plan ahead to cast their ballots
The timing of the election could decrease the number of university students who cast a ballot. With a May 2 election day, and advanced polling scheduled for the Easter weekend, students will be preoccupied with completing assignments, studying for exams, looking for work and moving. Chris Hyde, of the Wilfird Laurier University Students’ Union, told the Canadian University Press that the situation is a “perfect storm.” Hyde, who suggests advanced polling take place prior to Easter, is writing the chief electoral officer to draw attention to the issue. “It really is almost a national issue and it’s a national issue that it receives a lot of attention because a lot of people are out there saying this isn’t fair to students,” he said. Elections Canada does recognize the apparent problem. “Voting at the time of the year that’s a very busy time for students certainly presents a challenge for them,” spokesperson Diane Benson told CUP. She advised students plan ahead in order to vote.
Guelph students mob Harper
Hundreds rally to show students will vote
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in Guelph for a campaign stop Monday, he was greeted by several hundred University of Guelph students participating in a “vote mob.” Organizer Gracen Johnson told reporters that the event was not a protest, but intended to show that students care about politics. “What we have right here is a surprise party for Stephen Harper,” he said. The students chanted slogans related to voting, but any participants who began voicing a specifically political message were asked to leave the rally. “We are not fighting for anything, not protesting anything,” another organizer said. Some of the participants had preregistered to attend Harper’s talk, but we’re denied entry because party officials said they had participated in a protest.
Tories reannounce student loan forgiveness for doctors
Program would cost $9 million
While campaigning in Quebec on Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reannounced his plan to provide student debt relief for doctors and nurses. The measure, which was first included in last month’s budget, would see student loans of up to $40,000 forgiven for doctors who work in rural areas and up to $20,000 for nurses. The program, the government estimates, would cost $9 million.
Liberals promise RMC St-Jean would become full university
College lost its university status after spending cuts in the 1990s
If the Liberals win the election, they promise to elevate Royal Military College in St-Jean to a full-fledged university. Presently, students attend the college for their first two years, and then move on to the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston to complete their studies. The college held university status until it was downgraded during the 1990s due to spending cuts. There are 140 students attending the St-Jean institution and the Liberals want that number to rise to at least 700.
NDP would forgive student loans for medical workers
Layton announces $165 million health care platform
The New Democrats would forgive student loans for medical workers who practice in rural areas for 10 years. The plan is part of the NDP’s health care platform unveiled at Laurentian University earlier today. The total health care platform, which also includes hiring 1,200 new doctors and encouraging Canadian doctors working in other countries to return home, would cost approximately $165 million. Layton also pledged $80 million of that to improve medical infrastructure at universities.
Liberals to announce student aid for veterans
Program could resemble American G.I. bill
At a campaign stop in Winnipeg, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff suggested his party will announce a program to fund veterans to pursue post-secondary education. “We’re going to make a very important policy announcement in respect of veterans, related to education. We want to be the party of education,” Ignatieff said. The Liberal leader was light on details but hinted that the policy could be similar to the G.I. bill in the United States, which started funding education for veterans after the Second World War. “If you come back from service and you’ve served your country, we help you get an education, we help you get to college and university,” Ignatieff said.
Liberal PSE promise a little misguided
If Ignatieff wants to help students, targeted funds are better than washing everyone with money
Releasing part of his education platform this week — attractively titled the Learning Passport — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff promised up to $1,500 for every post-secondary student in Canada to help offset the rising costs of a university education. The money would be a grant, issued to every student, to help pay for university.
Quite frankly, the idea is not thought out very well.
$1 billion is a lot of money, especially for students who, by and large, are broke. But not all students are broke and not all students are in need. Canada Student Loans, through its needs-based scholarships and bursaries programs, collects a lot of data outlining which students are in need of funds and which are doing just fine on their own.
In their own words:
“In 2006-2007, the CSLP provided over $1.9 billion in full- and part-time student loans to approximately 345,000 students and awarded $141.8 million in non-repayable Canada Study Grants and Canada Access Grants (87,368 grants).”
By taking that billion dollars and applying it to needs-based grants instead of washing everyone in cash, Ignatieff could be boosting grants to students by more than seven times while maintaining needs-based loans at existing levels. Tuition fees at Canada’s post-secondary institutions have more than tripled since the early 1990s and in some provinces it has quintupled. And it’s only rising. Student debt in Canada is spiralling out of control, limiting participation in larger life events like cars and houses.
Ignatieff is right to invest in post-secondary education and right to try to improve access to those institutions. But blindly throwing money at the problem is the wrong approach. Targeted financing could do much to reduce student debt and improve access, if only Michael were smart enough to realize it.
Liberals announce $4,000 for every student UPDATED
Plan would be financed by rolling back corporate tax cuts
Every high school student in the country would be eligible for at least $4,000 in student grants under a Liberal government, leader Michael Ignatieff announced this morning. A $1,000 payment would be provided every year while a student is between the ages of 14 and 17, if their parents open a Registered Education Savings Plan account. Students from low-income families would receive $1,500 a year, or a total of $6,000. The grants, called the Learning Passport, would be paid out while the student pursues post-secondary education, and could be used to fund university or college. The plan, part of the Liberals party’s Canadian Learning Strategy, would cost $1-billion a year, and would be on top of existing support for students. Funding would be provided by reversing corporate tax cuts.
UPDATE: The Liberals have clarified how the Learning Passport would be applied to CEGEPs in Quebec. Because tuition for the junior colleges only costs $500 per year, instead of payouts of $1,000 or $1,500 being made over four years, they would be made over five years, the Globe and Mail reports. Further changes could be announced to take into account differences in other provinces besides Quebec.
Additionally, as was announced this morning, the new grant would replace, while providing “significantly” more funding, than the education tax credit and the textbook tax credit.
Liberals to announce bursaries for low income students
Opposition says policy would show a difference in spending priorities
The Liberal party has plans to announce a financial aid program for low income students on Tuesday. According to a report from the National Post’s John Ivison, the new bursaries are part of the opposition’s plans to distinguish itself from the spending priorities of the Tory government. Liberal MP, Mark Holland criticized the government for its crime policies, planned corporate tax cuts and a lack of competitive tendering for fighter jets.
‘Our economy now runs on ideas’
Will education play a role in the campaign?
According to the Toronto Star, education should be a major feature of an election.
Investing in innovation. The Conservatives did a poor job in their anti-recession stimulus package of building for the future. They could have turned the crisis into an opportunity, but their 2009 budget actually cut funding for scientific research (though they later addressed that mistake by creating more research chairs and luring world-class researchers to Canada). But the steps are still tentative: last year’s federal budget increased Ottawa’s spending on R&D by $200 million — while President Barack Obama was upping U.S. spending by $15 billion.
Canada needs to step up dramatically in this area. Our economy now runs on ideas; more and more of us discover, design and create things. Waterloo’s Research in Motion is the poster child for that kind of innovation, but we need much more. What kind of investment in research and higher education do the parties propose to keep the country competitive for the next generation?
While it is unclear whether education and research will play a central role in a campaign, all three parties have introduced, or hinted, at what their education platforms could look like. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff says he plans to focus on access for students and has, in the past, endorsed centralization by creating a dedicated higher education transfer to the provinces, presumably with conditions similar to the Canada Health Act. We could likely expect something similar from the NDP.
And, if the Tory budget, released earlier this week, really is to double as an election platform, their position is to focus on targeted research for the physical, engineering and technological sciences, while mostly limiting support for students through established programs such as the Canada Student Loans and Grants programs. The Tories have, in the past, promoted developing something similar to a dedicated transfer in higher education, largely through working with the provinces to outline priorities and demanding reporting for how transfers are spent, though they have been slow to follow up.
The federal role in post-secondary education has always been a bit murky. Ottawa is involved in student loans, in part, because it holds jurisdiction over the banking sector, but the provinces still retain responsibility for determining a student’s eligibility for loans. Because of the presumed importance of research to economic development, a large federal role in this area could arguably be justified under the trade and commerce power.
In any case, all three parties advocate a visible role for the federal government in this education and research, with the NDP and the Liberals likely to promise a more robust presence for Ottawa, and the Tories likely to take a more incrementalist approach more in line with the constitutional division of powers.
