Jesse Greener Quotations

We want to see the provincial government play more of a leadership role and not leaving the colleges, and the students especially, out to hang dry, and we need to see that action very quickly.

We're shocked that there's so much funding from unexpected revenue sources and at this point the government is allowing tuition fees to be increase and the college strike to persist.

Furthermore, like any legislation, before becoming law back-to-work legislation must go through three readings in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, not to mention possible committee hearings. Given that Thursday is Budget Day this option can only prolong the strike and keep students out of their classes unnecessarily.

Voluntary binding arbitration, if accepted, would end the strike immediately. Both parties would agree on an arbitrator who would, after a serious evaluation of the positions of both parties, provide an informed resolution to the dispute that has kept students out of their classes since March 7 . This process would be trusted by both faculty and management and would bring the best results for all parties.

We see the strike and the tuition fee increase as two sides of the same coin. There aren't enough resources in the system to prevent these problems.

We've heard reports of students meeting with their instructors on the subway as their teachers dash off to other jobs. How can we claim to provide a quality education when faculty members often have neither an office nor a desk?

Administrators have said they want to increase services for students not hire more faculty. But having qualified, full-time teachers in the classroom is a service it's the very heart of our education system.

Back-to-work legislation is not an option that will work in the interests of students. If imposed, there will be absolutely no trust in the process since back-to-work legislation could impose not only an arbitrator, but even a contract. In this case, students will likely not see improvements in the faculty student ratio - this would be serious set-back in the quality of college education.

In this context, it is outrageous that the Ontario government is preparing to increase college tuition fees next September. Why should Ontario families keep paying higher and higher fees for less and less quality?

Calling on an arbitrator to simply pick one side or another is also seriously flawed. Clearly both sides have rejected the latest offers, so forcing an all or nothing decision is merely a game of brinkmanship that won't address the real issues of the dispute - quality. Again, students will be the biggest losers.

The evidence shows that for every two percent increase in the number of college students enrolled, there is a corresponding one percent decrease in full-time faculty. This decline in quality is unacceptable, and unless the deterioration stops now, it will only get worse.