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Education - Meaning Reversal
Ontario's Colleges Must Stop Charging Illegal Ancillary Fees Now
TORONTO - In reaction to the announcement that Colleges Ontario is responsible for the Obay viral advertising campaign, students are calling on Ontario's public colleges to "obay" the law.
All 24 public colleges in the province have continued to charge ancillary fees that
are prohibited by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, even in the wake
of a class action lawsuit that was launched to stop the illegal fees. In June 2007, two
former students, acting as representative plaintiffs, filed the lawsuit against Ontario's
colleges to end the collection of tuition-related ancillary fees and secure $200 million
in compensation for current and former students.
"It's ironic that Colleges Ontario has chosen to market itself this way," said Jen
Hassum, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario. "If the colleges want
to talk about obeying anything, students ask them to explain why they refuse to obey the
law."
Ancillary fees are charged in addition to tuition fees. Legitimate ancillary fees are
for certain purposes such as student centres, athletics facilities, extended health and
dental insurance, or other services that are supplementary to the basic operations of a
college or university. However all of the public colleges in Ontario are charging
prohibited, tuition-related ancillary fees for information technology, academic buildings
or student support-items that are funded by tuition fees and government capital or
operating grants.
Internal government documents acquired through requests for access to information
show that the college presidents have been reminded many times by the Ministry not to
charge these prohibited ancillary fees.
"Even Premier McGuinty, as an opposition critic, correctly called prohibited
ancillary fees nothing more than back-door tuition fee increases," said Jen Hassum. "The
direct effect of unaffordable tuition and ancillary fees is that they discourage many
from pursuing post-secondary education at all."
The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario unites over 300,000 college and
university students and more than 35 students' unions throughout the province.
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