$1.5 billion for tuition relief on its way from Ottawa

Posted by admin on Oct 29, 2005 in News | 0 comments

OTTAWA (CUP) — With Liberal support dropping in the polls and rumours of an impending federal election refusing to go away, the Liberal government is planning a significant tuition relief package to be unveiled later this month.
Belinda Stronach, the federal Liberal Human Resources and Development Minister, will soon announce how $1.5 billion will improve the accessibility of post-secondary education.

Outside the House of Commons on Friday, Oct. 7, Stronach would not say when the announcement would be made, because the details of the tuition relief package are not settled.

“Our investments are going to be focused in the traditional areas that we have invested in, which is about access and participation for students,” said Stronach.

McMaster University (CUP) – A confidential contract between Coca-Cola and McMaster University was recently disclosed to students. The administration signed an exclusive contract with the soft drink company in 1997, and the release of this information has posed some ethical questions to students about their right of choice.

Some students feel that a monopoly of any kind on campus would cause the supplier to have no incentive to remain competitive, nor give them any reason to offer outstanding customer service.

Although there was a sense of resentment in some areas, it turned out to be a minority opinion. Overall, students realized their lack of choice was being substantially compensated for with the approximately $6.5 million the university is receiving from Coca-Cola over a ten-year period. The money is being used for new services and buildings on campus.

Former Student Union President Greg Kaufmann summed up the majority opinion, “It was a good deal. Students directly gained from the contract. The only thing we lost was that students had to go across the street to get a Pepsi, which isn’t a big deal in my world.”