In an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail, Dr Paul Kershaw (University of British Columbia) urges advocacy groups and universities to make bolder demands of federal and provincial budgets. Kershaw highlights how students today face growing affordability crises, including challenges relating to housing, food insecurity, and rising debt. While acknowledging that being a student may never be “a rich period in one’s life,” he stresses that economic hardship should not be a prerequisite for a Canadian education. “To restore what has been lost, the university sector must increase its ambition to advocate on behalf of the students it serves,” concludes Kershaw. “This should start with the expectation that postsecondary education receive a larger share of new government spending relative to medical care and retirement income.”
