Interview with Matthew Rowlinson, NDP candidate for London West
Rowlinson: Well my short answer, and let me give that first, is that the NDP is committed to making student loans interest-free going forward. That will be a big help for students.
It doesn't address the underlying problems with our post-secondary education system, which are first, that tuition is too high, and second, that too much student aid is loan-based rather than grant-based.
I've been involved in higher education for most of my adult life, and the shift toward these two trends are two major things that I have seen happen around me. And honestly, they have changed the character of Canadian universities, and I think that the promise of access to education for anybody who can do the work – which was a legitimate promise when I was in school – is not as true as it used to be.
It's a real tragedy that Canada is losing out on very talented people who would benefit from a university education, so we need to address these problems. But it's a long-term project, and it will involve cooperation from the provinces – who, after all, have primary responsibility for universities and post-secondary education these days.
One of the basic drivers of rising tuition is that there isn't enough funding going to colleges and universities from governments. The portion of university budgets that comes from government grants has gone way down, and the portion that comes from tuition fees has risen enormously over the last 25 years.
So that's the underlying problem, and all levels of government are at fault. But the thing is, major cuts to university transfers came under the Liberals, there was a massive cut in federal funding of colleges and universities. And that's the situation that we're living with now, to this day.
Hurley: So does the NDP plan to restore a larger role for the federal government in funding post-secondary education?
Rowlinson: We do, but I'll be frank with you, it's going to be pretty targeted. At this point the NDP has not budgeted for a massive federal government investment in post-secondary education.
We are going to increase funding for research in post-secondary institutions, and some of that money will go to graduate students, but direct grant funding to colleges and universities is not slated to increase.
So what we will do is offer interest-free student loans to Canadian students, and we also want to work with the provinces to improve programs like OSAP, which used to be primarily grant-based but are now primarily loan-based.
Hurley: Let's talk about the issue of unpaid internships replacing paid employment in Canada.
In addition to being saddled with enormous student debt, today’s graduates are finding it difficult to secure paid employment once they finish school.
More and more companies are replacing entry-level paid positions with unpaid internships, and the Canada Labour Code does not protect interns from being exploited at work.
Would an NDP government regulate unpaid internships, and ensure that interns who perform the work of employees are paid for their work?
Rowlinson: Yes, the NDP is committed to ending this. It's an outrage. Companies can hire unpaid interns who are not covered by workplace protections, and can therefore exploit them in ways that they can't exploit regular employees. That's unacceptable, and an NDP government is committed to ending that.
My colleague, Peggy Sattler, in the Ontario provincial legislature, has also been very active in addressing the massive ongoing problem of unpaid internships.
Big companies like Bell, they're hiring unpaid interns as you say, instead of hiring entry level workers. And in many cases those interns are not being trained. They are basically doing secretarial work, and they're doing it for free. This has to end. And the NDP is committed to addressing this, not just as something that affects youth, but as a matter of fairness in the workplace. That's a core value - preventing the exploitation of workers, whatever their age, is a core issue for the NDP.
Hurley: Right, and just to clarify, does your party plan to regulate unpaid internships through the Canada Labour Code?
Rowlinson: My understanding is that unpaid internships will fall under the Canada Labour Code the same way as any other job will.