In a country as diverse as Canada, it’s not surprising each province’s students had their own messages to deliver on the day of action. Most protests were directed at provincial governments. Students picketed legislatures, marched down city streets and tried to draw attention to postsecondary education issues. But some students were more militant.

At Lakehead University, president Fred Gilbert’s office was occupied by approximately 70 students. The students presented Gilbert with a letter from the Lakehead Student Union demanding that he pressure the government to freeze tuition levels. The Student Union also demanded that Gilbert put an end to the faculty shortage at Lakehead, trim expensive executive positions and get rid of fees charged to students who pay their tuition in instalments.

The occupiers told Gilbert he could have his office back in three days.

British Columbia

In British Columbia, 3,000 people braved heavy rains to voice their dissent with the provincial Liberal government and their support for accessible education.

Many of them fear B.C. could end its five-year tuition freeze and double fees in the next few years.

“We’re here to say we’re not going to take massive tuition hikes,” said Janice Delcourt, who travelled from Nanaimo’s Malaspina University-College.

Students from UVic, Camosun College, Malaspina University-College, North Island College and Lanagara College in Vancouver all attended the rally. Opinions in the crowd were virtually unanimous that tuition hikes would place education out of reach for all but the wealthiest. “Cutting low-income people from getting an education is completely unacceptable,” said John Gary, a student from Lanagara College, who made the trip across the Georgia Strait to be at the rally.

“If the Liberals hike tuition, there’s no way I will be able to go to school,” said UVic student Thea McMaher. “It’s just that simple.”

Manitoba

In Manitoba, students rallied today to urge the provincial NDP government not to lift the tuition freeze students have enjoyed for the past two years. Approximately 3,000 students snaked through downtown Winnipeg, stopping at the Canada Custom and Revenue Agency federal building to denounce the decade-long cuts to education made by the federal government.

“The federal government has cut education funding by $7 billion since 1997,” shouted Larissa Ashdown, president of the student association at the University of Winnipeg, to a crowd of students from the University of Manitoba, St. Boniface College and Keewatin Community College.

At the legislature, provincial Minister of Advanced Education Diane McGifford addressed the crowd. She thanked them for bringing the concerns of students back into political debate.

Montreal

In Montreal, a handful of protestors rallied to convince the Parti Quebecois to maintain its tuition freeze and provide more grants to students.

A fairly small group of students marched across Montreal on Wednesday, starting at Concordia University, then visiting McGill, Universite de Quebec a Montreal and a few local CEGEPS, before ending their day outside the Quebec Education Ministry in Montreal.

Some bystanders laughed at the size of the group, which varied from 10 to 25 at different times during the day. Mathieu Frappier, a Canadian Federation of Students executive assistant, is worried about the provincial government’s commitment to education.

He also highlighted the need for more grants:

“Since 1994-95, the amount of students receiving bursaries [in Quebec] has dropped by 43 per cent,” he said, adding that this was contributing to student debt.

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and the Nova Scotia Student Advocacy Coalition (NSSAC) both opted to use February 6 to urge the provincial government to increase funding for colleges and universities.

“It’s a sign that students in the province are acting together whether or not they are affiliated with a provincial organization,” said Theresa Sabourin, Maritime organizer for the CFS.

This marks the first year NSAAC has decided to take to the streets. The coalition, composed of eight university and college students’ unions within Nova Scotia, used Feb. 6 to lobby the government to reinvest in education. This message is different from the one put forth by CFS, which pushes for a tuition freeze or reduction. Samantha Anderson, chair of NSSAC, says the disparity wasn’t a cause for concern.

Sabourin agreed the more the merrier when it comes to bringing students’ concerns to the attention of government. She says while the platforms CFS and NSSAC support may appear different on the surface, they are both concerned with regulating Nova Scotia’s soaring tuition rates, which are the highest in the country.

—with files from CUP