Special Session 4
Special Session | Transforming Access to Education: Free Education for All
Session Details
Time: 3:40 - 4:40 p.m.
Location: DCC 208
This year the Office of Social Innovation is hosting Transformation Cafes exploring our strategic theme: Social Justice Approaches to Accessing Education and Campus Space. Transformation Cafes are open and action-oriented conversations that bring together people from different disciplines and communities to engage in dialogue around a common issue. They consist of a panel discussion, breakout discussions, and a call to action. They employ a community-based approach to teaching and learning by: 1) centering diverse perspectives and backgrounds to encourage thinking through experiential knowledge, 2) emphasizing grounded, innovative, and collaborative problem-solving around real-world problems, 3) fostering learning community contexts, and 4) supporting learners to connect conversations to their professional and activist practices.
We propose to host a third Transformation Cafe on free education. In 1976, Canada became a signatory to the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which states: “higher education shall be made equally accessible to all … and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.” Almost 50 years later, rising tuition fees remain a significant barrier to accessing higher education and, as described by Glover (2018), “neoliberal policies have turned university education into a market in which education is a commodity purchased by the students through debt” (77). Ontario continues to have the highest tuition fees in Canada and TMU has the highest participation rate in OSAP of all Ontario universities.
This Cafe will discuss historic actions for free education in Canada, such the 2012 Québec Student Strike, the 2014 TMU Freeze the Fees Tent City, and the ongoing Fight the Fees movement led by the Canadian Federation for Students. We will take up government policy proposals, such as the Wynne’s Liberal Party’s proposal for tuition-free education for students from families with household incomes under $50,000 in 2016, and the life-changing impact of the provincial loan system. Panelists will also reflect on OSI’s Free School programming and position free education as part of a commitment to decolonizing education. These conversations will situate free education as an innovative commitment that must be integral to all conversations about access to education.
Presenters
Brian Norton is from Anishnaabe from Chimnissing First Nation, also known as Beausoleil on the shores of southern Georgian Bay. As Program Manager for TMU Indigenous Student Services, he is part of a team of people who share the belief of being life-long advocates for higher learning. Along with his colleagues, he strives to deliver services that are essential for the success of the Indigenous students at TMU.
Quill Christie-Peters is an Educational Developer with a grounding in Indigenous pedagogy. She is a member of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation located within Treaty 3 territory and foregrounds Anishinaabeg ways of being and knowing within her educational work. Quill holds a Masters degree in Indigenous governance and her thesis explored Anishinaabeg artistic methodologies in the context of anti-colonial education for Indigenous youth. She is passionate about interrogating settler colonialism, implementing meaningful anti-oppression frameworks and providing Indigenous people with access to education that is approached through Indigenous ways of knowing. Quill is also a visual artist, writer and organizer who loves to bead and hike.
Noah Morris is Principal at NJM Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in postsecondary education, public sector financial services, and strategic planning. He teaches public policy at the Munk School, University of Toronto, and serves on several boards. Noah’s 34-year career in the Ontario Public Service included senior roles in Treasury, Finance, and Postsecondary Education, including Assistant Deputy Minister. He also led modernization efforts in Ontario’s financial systems and COVID support programs. A recipient of the King Charles Coronation medal and two Amethyst Awards, Noah holds a B.A. from McGill and a Master of Planning from Queen’s University.
