It is a crucial time for strengthening the fight back for free, accessible, public and democratic education across Canada.

In the context where students across the country are facing skyrocketing student debts that average $30 000, there is an urgent need to strengthen the fightback. In addition, there is a real danger of electing reactionary governments provincially and in Québec, as well as federally in 2019. In Ontario, students face the threat of deregulated tuition fees from the new reactionary, Ford government. Attacks against students should be fought fiercely by the student movement which has a long history of being a key component of the progressive fightback in Canada.

Unfortunately, the student movement needs to step up to reach the level of fightback required in the current context across the Country. Right wing student union leadership are organizing possible defederation campaigns from the Canadian Federation of Students (English-speaking Canada’s main student union) at Carleton, Ryerson, and the University of Toronto,  while the CFS lost its provincial component in BC. The YCL-LJC stands against these defederation campaigns, as we believe that fighting for student unity, which includes the need to coordinate our efforts across the country, is key to building a strong and militant fightback. However, we must not only focus on defensive campaigns but prioritize offensive work and  organize, educate, and agitate with free education as the core organizing goal.

As we have seen on many occasions, an important one being the Québec 2012 student strike, the fight for free education has the potential to mobilize students and their allies. We believe that the fight for free education has the potential to unite students across the country and to build a strong and action-oriented student movement.

Nevertheless, we know that the student movement has also played a key role in the fightback against globalisation and free-trade agreements, for environmental justice, for peace and solidarity, against the ultra-right, against racism and xenophobia, for LGBT rights, and in the women’s movement. We believe that the student movement has a crucial role to play in these fights.  Alarmingly as well, there is an increasing effort to organize ultra-right collectives on campuses, through the glamorization of figures such as Jordan Peterson and Lindsay Shepherd, and a bogus fight for freedom of speech.

These issues are part of the fight for free, publicly funded, universal, democratic and accessible education. They need to be met with a strong, militant and united student movement. Together, we should create a network that brings energy to create a more combative and action-oriented student movement.

We invite you to come to the “The fight for free education – A Communist Perspective”  conference hosted by the YCL-LJC to discuss, and organize a collective intervention to build the student movement! Your analysis and contribution is really needed and we hope you can join us at the conference on September 15 – 16 in Toronto, or on September 29th in Vancouver.

TORONTO:

For more information concerning the Toronto conference, please consult the following Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2167987233441603/.

You can register by filling in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQtQVdOphOpcAP3EmYjVO-gIsIQZ3qvCEoPsm_JAZ3v3OU9g/viewform

VANCOUVER:

In Vancouver, you will find more information by consulting the following Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/322915705128835/.

You can register by filling in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmjE7sSHCuDq53zNxfBFY-MsDFdm9o0Eusk2bGBtTirQVKqw/viewform