This past week, the Muse reached out to candidates from all parties running in the rapidly approaching Waterford Valley By-Election. Specifically, we inquired about each party’s policies on five areas particularly important to students and young people.
In the public interest, we’ve included their responses in full for your own consideration.
Below, we’ve attached the NL New Democratic Party response from the Waterford Valley candidate, Nicole Boland, regarding their platform in the by-election on Thursday, August 22nd.
Unpaid work terms
Many work terms in undergraduate programs including social work, nursing, and education are unpaid. Many students would like to this change. What improvements to work terms, coops, and internships would you support, if any?
“The NDP is a party of workers. We were founded in 1961 as a merger of socialist and social democratic movements with organized labour, to be their voice in Parliament. That’s why we are just as dismayed as you are by the fact that many students at Memorial are not paid for the services they provide during work terms.”
“To us, work is work, and it adds value to the organization that benefits from student labour. That’s why we would get rid of unpaid work terms, and ensure that students get a fair wage for the work they do.”
Cost of living
The cost of living is increasing with inflation, and many students are facing challenges in being able to support themselves. Foodbanks are struggling to support rising numbers of young people. What policies do you support to help students with the rising cost of living?
“We have a number of policies that would help students and others living on tight budgets with the rising cost of living. These include:
- Removing the provincial portion of HST from home heating;
- Ensuring that students receive payment for work terms;
- Raising the minimum wage to $20/hour over four years and tying further increases to inflation thereafter;
- Bringing in a “New Deal for Precarious Workers,” to make sure that temporary contract staff, gig workers, freelancers, and app-based employees are paid fairly and get the same protections as all other workers; and
- Introducing real pay equity and pay transparency legislation, so that women, genderdiverse people, and racialized individuals are paid the full value of their work in both the public and private sectors.”
Housing
Many students are concerned about the lack of affordable housing in St. John’s, especially with the Fall semester approaching, when new students will arrive and some fear about a housing crunch. What measures do you support to assist with the issue of affordable housing?
“Just this week, we released our platform on this issue, called “Our First Steps to Solving the Housing Crisis.” Its main planks are:
- Designing and properly funding a ‘housing first’ policy that actually works for those experiencing homelessness, existing social housing tenants with complex needs, and the community as a whole;
- Expanding the funding made available through the revived the First-Time Homebuyer Program, to help more young families and others achieve stability and security;
- Amending the Residential Tenancies Act to prohibit landlords from charging application or holding fees to prospective tenants;
- Reining in the Real Estate Income Trusts (REITs) and unscrupulous landlords by becoming the last jurisdiction in Canada to ban no-fault evictions, setting annual limits to rent increases, and tightening loopholes against “renovictions” and the conversion of apartments into condos;
- Self-financing new public housing builds through the NLHC that will offer affordable rents substantially below market rates, without adding to the debt; and
- Helping scale up the supply of affordable housing units by creating a land bank consisting of properties currently owned by the province, as well as Crown Land, for exclusive use by municipalities, community organizations, co-operatives and co-housing projects.”
Tuition
Many students are concerned about the impact of lifting the tuition freeze and its contribution to increased expenses in a cost-of-living crisis. What is your stance on the current cost of education at MUN, would you prefer to see it changed, and if so, how?
“Our party has a long-standing policy supporting free post-secondary education. We realize that all of society gets a compound benefit when the population is highly educated, not just the student attending university or trade school. That’s why we would scrap the tuition hikes brought about by the Furey Liberals and then freeze rates, as a first step towards making postsecondary education free.”
Differential fees
International students currently pay significantly more than domestic and provincial students; MUN estimates that many undergraduate students pay between $20,000 and $25,000 per year in fees and tuition to the university. Do you support the current rates, or would you prefer to see them changed and if so, to what level?
“I’m not sure that many people appreciate the role of Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic in attracting talented people from around the world and encouraging them to plant roots here. It’s really the unsung hero of our efforts to boost immigration. When international tuition rises, we become less competitive with other universities across Canada in attracting students form other countries. Our party does not have a detailed policy on this matter, but if we want to treat international students fairly and encourage them to stay here, we would certainly have to freeze their tuition rates along with those of Canadian and provincial students.”