Hopes of students getting a helping hand from the Liberal government were dashed last month as the announcement of the federal budget failed to mention any assistance for students.

The budget focused on strengthening North America’s fortress by spending $7.7 million on security measures and fighting terrorism in Canada. This money will be spent on measures such as improving airport security and using more CSIS and RCMP officers to deal with terrorism. While anti-terrorism spending was expected, students were hoping the government would at the very least make some changes to interest-relief programs, if not give more funding for students. Currently, part-time students who carry a student loan must continue to make loan payments while they are in school.

“The budget was a huge disappointment,” said Joel Duff, Ontario chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). “There’s nothing substantial that addresses the needs of post-secondary students.”

The Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) agrees. APUS president Emily Sadowski says the government missed another opportunity to make changes that would dramatically help U of T’s 15,000 part-time students.

“What part-time students really need are grants and greater accessibility to loans,” she said. “Tax credits are not good enough, especially for those who study part-time.”

The university administration, however, is pleased with the $1.1 billion to be spent on research and skills development over the next three years. This money includes a $200 million payment to universities for research costs and funding increases to three federal granting councils—the National Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

“The December 10 federal budget is great news for the university research community,” said U of T President Robert Birgeneau. He called the $200 million a “significant down payment” towards indirect research costs such as libraries, research administration and electricity. “This initiative has been U of T’s number one priority with the federal government for the past year.”

Students do not share this priority, though. “The research money could indirectly benefit graduate students in research, but it will not help them attend school,” stated Duff.

“We need money to help with the operating costs of universities and colleges.”

Sadowski agrees with this view, saying, “What students need is more accessibility to education.” She believes that business, not students, will benefit from the research funding. According to the CFS, financial assistance to students was overlooked not because of all the money being spent on security measures, but because of tax cuts announced in the 1999 budget.

“The problem is the $100 million in tax cuts. Tax cuts shouldn’t come at the expense of social programs,” said Duff.

The CFS also alleges that any money being put into universities and colleges is simply replenishing the systems after years of funding cuts in the 1990s.

“The government still has a long way to go, “said Duff.