College

Shout out: What answers do you want from the Ont. gov?

Coleman on Campus poses your York strike questions to the Premier

Tomorrow, following the UToronto CUPE strike vote press conference, I will be heading to Queen’s Park and camping out with the rest of the media to ask questions of the Premier and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

I’m going to ask for a response to an expected strike vote at UToronto. I’m expecting an answer along the lines of “it is premature to comment on the situation.”

Then I’ll turn to the situation at York University. I’m not going to ask how the government plans to end the strike, as this will merely result in the Minister repeating his speaking points. (Plus, I’m not the opposition.) Instead, I want to ask the Minister what the government is doing for students as the strike continues with no end in sight.

Therefore, I’m asking you.

As a York undergraduate, what do you want to know from the government?

I expect many of you are wondering about the status of your government loans in January if the strike continues, and what will happen to your loans if the academic year is extended into May. You may also be thinking about government summer jobs that start in May or how you will recover lost summer earnings to pay tuition next September. I’ve already heard from people who have been laid-off from part-time campus jobs who are facing financial difficulty.

Send me your questions and I’ll use them to help formulate the questions I ask the Minister.

With the Legislature adjourning for their winter recess, this is the last chance I have to question the Minister until the House resumes sitting in February.

The question and answer will be posted tomorrow early in the afternoon.