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(The following article is from the February 1-14, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Canada Student Loan debt has now surpassed a record $13,000,000,000, the Canadian Federation of Students announced on January 21. Across the country, CFS member locals have been holding a week of actions to highlight this crisis. In an open letter to Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, the CFS demanded four actions to improve access to post-secondary education and reduce student debt: increasing the Canada Social Transfer for post-secondary education, increasing graduate student funding, greater financial support for Aboriginal students, and a boost in student summer jobs funding.

     People's Voice recently talked with Mikael Jensen about the tuition actions at Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina University College), who was just elected campaign coordinator for the CFS-BC. Jensen spoke to PV in his capacity of Director of external relations for the Vancouver Island Student's Union, CFS Local 61.

People's Voice: What message are you sending out this week?

Mikael Jensen: We're saying that student debt is far, far too high. Every year goes by and education is less and less accessible to students from middle and low income families. When you do graduate the average student debt load is over $25,000. Total student loans owed to the Government of Canada is increasing by $1.2 million a day - and this figure does not include provincial student loan debt or personal debt such as credit cards, lines of credits, bank loans, and family loans. As we all know private debt interest accumulates incredibly fast. So this hurts your career choices. As interest racks up, young workers must turn to the first good paying job they find after graduation, not to the career they've gone to school for.

PV: Talk about your event.

Jensen: Tomorrow we're having an event where Local 61 members can call the Prime Minister, demanding they do something about Canadian student debt. So we are putting on a soup kitchen, to draw our members in and educate. And there is a lot that can be done about student debt. Reducing tuition fees, for example, and shifting funds from education tax credits to up-front student grants - immediately.

     Harper's effigy will be there with his usual line: no soup for you, I gave all the soup to the auto CEOs and the banks. Something else we are highlighting is the preference that the government has had towards corporations and businesses [in loans]. The government just gave out multi-billion dollar bailouts, what about the students? Students are not able to declare bankruptcy on a student loan for seven years! What kind of Prime Minister is this? And previous governments under the Liberals have done nothing as well.

     So we are using student debt hitting $13 billion mark as a call for action. Recent polling indicates that 60% of Canadians would like to see zero tuition fees in Canada. So even more so, we have further proof that the Conservatives and the Liberals aren't listening to students. We're calling upon the fed government to act both in favour of what Canadians are asking for.

PV: How would you change student loans?

Jensen: Well, with student loans, the government presents education as if were a service, when it is really putting people into debt. And the government is making money on this debt, because they loan at a better rate than they give to students. Every dollar they loan out they make money on. So we are calling for a system of grants... Like I say, the public does also poll that they want the elimination of tuition. While elimination of tuition fees is the long term goal of the federation, we are realistic about that goal.

PV: What's the next step?

Jensen: Well, here at my local we are continuing, and I think provincially the CFS will be doing more work around Valentine's day and in March and April, leading up to the provincial election in May. Students are upset at what is going on. We are doing voter registration for the provincial election, talking about the issues, hoping to influence the policies and platforms of the parties that are running in the election.

PV: What about the provincial situation in BC?

Jensen: To me, Premier Campbell really comes out as a very bad guy - the Federal Government just transferred $110 million, with a capital M, for post-secondary education. And then just after receiving this, Mr. Campbell cut funding by $55 million. It is no secret that we have Olympic cost over runs. The money is not being spent where it should be.

     Something we have been calling for, similar to health care, is that Canada should have a post-secondary education act, so post-secondary education money transferred from the federal government to the province actually spent on just that - post-secondary education.

PV: How is this debt affecting students in Nanaimo?

Jensen: These problems with student debt just compound when you look at the very low minimum wage, and the high cost of living and the economy now. Everything is going up except for wages. If wages had gone up with tuition, would we see these debt levels? We need cheaper, affordable transit, and affordable housing. The province has $250 million to build affordable housing and it is not being done.

     This all makes life harder for students, who are broke or poor, especially while attending school. The effects are easy to see. People have to work tons of hours. Not being able to concentrate on studies as much as they should. The options students are given are actually clear: have a huge debt, be lucky enough to be from rich a family, or join the military.