Proceedings at the New Brunswick legislature came to a screeching halt on Thursday morning when a group of University of Moncton students attempted to protest high tuition costs and education cuts but were removed for their efforts.
Speaker of the House Chris Collins advised the Sargeant at Arms to clear the gallery when students wearing protest shirts attempted to uncover their clothing.
Collins then advised members that their guests should be explained the rules of the house before entering the gallery and that at no time are they permitted to engage in the debate.
“Any contrived or pre-determined idea of what’s going to happen to politicize the gallery,” said Collins. “It’ll be on you.”
While the students exit was peaceful, quiet it was not.
The approximate forty students stopped to chant on the legislature stairs before continuing their battle cry on the steps outside.
Chanting in french the words “non à la hausse” could be heard for blocks as students protested rising tuition costs, cuts to education and a lack of assistance for international students.
“So far their solution is only addressing a few problems,” said Roxann Guerrette, U of M Student Union President. “We’re all here because we all care and we want to live in this province and we’re proud of our university and we want everybody to be proud of it.”
Guerrette says she and other student leaders were invited to meet with Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Francine Landry in Fredericton on Wednesday to discuss the province’s upcoming Tuition Assistance Program, but the talks didn’t cover as much as she’d hoped.
“Nothing was brought to the table different,” Guerrette said. “We’re still waiting to have that program revealed and now that yesterday they told us that its going to be next week so we’ll see.”
Minister Landry was surprised by the day’s events.
“There’s a big announcement coming up and it’s certainly an announcement that will help the student debt and help the universities as well as the colleges,” explained Landry.
Students protesting today say the upcoming announcement doesn’t factor in everyone and that international students will still wind up paying more to study in the province.
Landry says their aim is to help all New Brunswick students afford an education and while an increase in international student numbers would be a positive, it isn’t part of the upcoming program.
“It will be good for the universities to have more international students, we care about them,” Landry agreed. “But certainly we want to have all the best education for everybody and good quality education in New Brunswick.”
No date has been set for the announcement of the Tuition Assistance Program however the government says the details will be released next week.
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