Campaigns

In response to the growing challenges of financial insecurity among the student community, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ) and the Union étudiante du Québec launched the “Let’s Turn the Tide on Financial Insecurity” campaign in October 2024.

To address this precariousness, we propose concrete solutions to ease this burden:

• Pay interns
• Update student financial aid
• Combat food insecurity

As a first step, we are calling for paid internships. Even today, interns in Quebec are not paid for the work they do! Student associations in Quebec have been campaigning for years to ensure that the work of all interns is recognized for its true value—starting with paying them for their work!

Paying for internships would: encourage enrollment in programs facing labor shortages; relieve pressure on the public sector; reduce dropout rates in programs where internships are unpaid; lighten the mental load on interns; and enhance the status of these professions.

After several years of advocacy, and following broken promises by policymakers, Quebec’s student associations reiterate the NEED and IMPORTANCE of paying all interns!

To learn more about the latest campaign for paid internships: On the Front Lines for Pay

The second solution we propose to ease the burden that financial insecurity places on the student community is to update the Student Financial Assistance Program.

Nearly half a billion dollars in Student Financial Aid (AFE) has gone unused over a six-year period in Quebec. This is money left on the table, rather than going into the pockets of the student community. We therefore believe that greater visibility for the AFE program would encourage more eligible students to take advantage of it.

Furthermore, it has been found that 22,054 students began their AFE application but did not follow through. We therefore believe it is crucial to initiate a reform of the AFE program to make it more accessible and effective.

Finally, we are calling on the government to take action against the growing food insecurity among Quebec’s student population. Nearly one in five students relies on food banks every month. This is an unacceptable reality that demands immediate action!

In 2019, food banks served 6,619 students. By 2024, that number had risen by nearly 10,000 to reach 16,652!

It is the government’s duty to fund the implementation and sustainability of projects aimed at combating food insecurity, in order to ensure access to resources on campus.

 We must act so that no one is forced to choose between studying and eating.

The UEQ, the FECQ, and several university and college associations in Quebec have spoken out to address the issue of precariousness at numerous press conferences over the past few months.

At this press briefing in Sherbrooke, the UEQ and the FECQ were joined by several representatives from student associations in the region, including: Nicolas Dionne, Director of Sociopolitical and External Affairs for the Regroupement étudiant de maîtrise, diplôme et doctorat de l'Université de Sherbrooke (REMDUS), Drew Henkel, President of the Bishop’s University Students’ Representative Council (BUSRC), and Gabriel Lemelin, External Affairs Coordinator for the Student Federation of the University of Sherbrooke (FEUS).

Articles:

• La Tribune
• Radio 107.7
• Noovo.info

At this press conference in Quebec City, the UEQ and the FECQ were joined by several student associations from the region, including the General Student Association of the Lévis Campus (AGECALE), the Confederation of Student Associations of Laval University (CADEUL), the General Student Association of the Notre-Dame-de-Foy Campus (AGENDF), and the Student Association of the Cégep de Sainte-Foy (AECSE).

Thank you to Charles Picard, General Coordinator of AGECALE, Eli Maheu, President of AGENDF, and Victor Pépin, External Affairs Coordinator of AECSE, for speaking out to shed light on the reality students face amid growing financial insecurity.

Articles

• Le Journal de Lévis

At this press conference in Chicoutimi, the UEQ and the FECQ were joined by several representatives from student associations in the region, including: Emma Stintzi, general coordinator of the Mouvement des associations générales étudiantes de l'UQAC (MAGE-UQAC), and Gabrielle Ouellet, educational coordinator of the Alma College Student Association (AECA), and Marilou Lévesque, external coordinator of the General Association of Students at the Cégep de Chicoutimi (AGEECC).

Articles:

• Le Quotidien
• Radio-Canada

At this press briefing in Rouyn-Noranda, the UEQ and the FECQ were joined by several representatives from student associations in the region, including: Mikael Dion, president of the General Student Association of UQAT (AGEUQAT), and Camilia St-Pierre, president of the General Student Association of the Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue (AGECAT).

On November 28, Michelle Setlakwe, along with Sol Zanetti and Pascal Bérubé, introduced a motion on student financial insecurity in the National Assembly. Unfortunately, the motion was blocked in the National Assembly.

On the same day, a cross-party press conference took place at the National Assembly. We would like to thank the opposition members who spoke out to defend the plight of students and emphasize the importance of acting quickly to help the student community amid this growing financial insecurity.

Thank you to Michelle Setlokwe, Member of the Quebec Liberal Party; Pascal Bérubé, Member of the Parti Québécois; Sol Zanetti, Member of Québec Solidaire; Madwa-Nika Cadet, Member of the Quebec Liberal Party; and Désirée McGraw, Member of the Quebec Liberal Party.

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Media Roundup

Appearance on Noovo

https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/820323/associations-etudiantes-mission-renverser-poids-precarite