By Natalie Sit
A federal lobbying group is looking for your signature, supporting student grants and a dedicated federal payment to provinces for post-secondary education.
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the University of Calgary Students’ Union’s federal lobby group, hopes to collect 30,000 signatures for its petition, representing 10 per cent of its membership. The petition will be presented to the House of Commons Mar. 24.
“I think it will have a positive effect,” said CASA National Director James Kusie. “Thirty-thousand signatures is a third of a constituency. If we got 100,000, that’s a constituency right there. We have to build on the momentum from the throne speech.”
The U of C SU will be collecting signatures as well. Student representatives will be asking students at tables to be set up next week. Concerns were raised, however, at the Tue., Mar. 2 Student Legislative Coucil meeting, the petition sheets were sent out too late to mount a proper campaign.
SU Vice-President External Lauren Batiuk doesn’t think it will be a problem to collect 200 signatures in a short time frame, however, she feels there wasn’t enough warning.
“With regards to informing students, it’s not as strong a campaign as it could have been,” said Batiuk. “CASA member schools were given short notice. There was no clue it was coming down the pipe.”
Kusie feels a short time frame doesn’t mean CASA can’t submit the petition later or continue working on it.