Both the AMS and the Rector are writing to the provincial government to directly convey Queen’s concerns.
Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Student Act, received Royal Assent at Queen’s Park on Nov. 20. Introduced by the Ontario Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, the 14-page Bill includes new rules and regulations for public colleges and universities, including changes to admissions and university fee regulations.
The Bill has received wide-spread criticism for giving the provincial government more power over university operations. In a statement to The Journal, Queen’s Rector Niki Boytchuk-Hale said that the Bill is empowering legislation for the government, claiming this has made assessing the Bill difficult.
“The Bill was tabled with limited detail because it is largely enabling legislation,” Boytchuk-Hale said. “As a result, the most substantive requirements are set through the regulatory process following passage of the legislation with consultation. This made it difficult to fully assess the scope and risk, and engage in conversation since last spring through the fall.”
According to Boytchuk-Hale, she held one meeting in December with the Chair of the Board of Trustees, during which student leaders were able to speak to the chair about their concerns. Alongside a separate report to the Board, where she voiced additional student concerns. Boytchuk-Hale also wrote that in February, she sent a letter to the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, as part of the public consultation period.
Boytchuk-Hale noted that she has been closely following the development of the Bill, and the consistent concern she has heard from the Queen’s student body is the potential changes to ancillary fees.
The Bill gives the government the power to change and regulate any fees that public universities and colleges charge to students.
In an interview with The Journal, AMS Vice-President (University Affairs) Alyssa Perisa, and the AMS’s Commissioner of External Affairs, Edlira Ballaj, shared a similar sentiment to the Rector, stating that their main priority and concern surrounds the ancillary fees.
“It’s [Bill 33] something that can potentially take away the autonomy from students and their oversight over their fees, which is deeply concerning to the AMS,” Perisa said.
Ballaj followed up, stating that Queen’s has one of the largest numbers of clubs in Canada and that those club fees could be impacted by the Bill.
Perisa said that, in terms of AMS advocacy, the most important piece has been working with the administration and off-campus partners to ensure students are informed about Bill 33 and its potential impacts.
On the provincial advocacy side, Ballaj spoke about collaboration with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Society (OUSA), stating that the AMS, alongside other Ontario universities, was involved in drafting OUSA’s Bill 33 policy recommendations, which are being presented to the provincial government the week of Feb. 23.
Ballaj also spoke about consulting and meeting with different MPPs, Ted Hsu and Chandra Pasma. Alongside these efforts, the AMS is currently drafting a letter to the government to inform them directly of Queen’s concerns, thoughts, and reactions to the Bill.
According to Ballaj, the AMS has ensured that student voices are represented in its advocacy by meeting with the Rector and student leaders and using its advocacy week to host booths to hear directly from students.
For students interested in learning more or getting involved, Ballaj and Perisa encouraged them to e-mail their MPPs or visit the AMS website or Instagram for additional information about the Bill and the AMS’s response.
The Journal reached out to Queen’s, but they couldn’t make a statement at this time and pointed to the Council of Ontario’s Universities’ official statement.
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