During the week of Nov. 25-29, 2024, the Student Union Society (SUS) President Jayden Hovey and Vice President External Roxy Granikovas participated in the national Advocacy Week in Ottawa, as part of their work with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). Hovey spoke with The Cascade about his meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, federal advocacy, and the goal to implement the Route 66 Fraser Valley Express as an opt-in for the U-Pass in 2025.
CASA, created in 1995, is a national organization made up of 24 student unions with the goal of supporting and advocating for students on a federal level. Currently, CASA advocates on behalf of 365,000 students in Canada.
SUS has been working with CASA for more than 15 years, and Hovey explained that this federal advocacy work enables them opportunities that they would not have otherwise. As the Director of Policy on the Board of Directors at CASA, Hovey was granted a 45 minute audience with Prime Minister Trudeau, where all six recommendations were presented to him.
“He was receptive to some of them and he was less receptive to others, but I would say generally, the meeting went well.”
SUS lobbied for more government financial support for the next three years for the Student Work Placement Program, and for more opportunities for students to partake in practicums, co-ops, and internships.
Another recommendation was made to implement an allotted amount of work hours for apprentices working on construction projects that receive federal funding.
Additionally, recommendations for more government financial support in the areas of graduate research funding and Indigenous students were made, as well as the recommendation to double the opportunities for graduated international students to earn their permanent residency in Canada.
However, Hovey mentioned that this last point was not as well received, due to the country taking a step away from attracting more international students at this time.
The final recommendation made was to maintain the $4,200 a year Canada Student Grant instead of allowing it to go back down to $3,000.
Hovey explained that there are some challenges surrounding their work in federal advocacy, as they need to ensure that what they are lobbying for meets the criteria.
“It’s a lot of preparation trying to make sure that the work that we’re doing is something that the federal government can invest in and can support us on.”
Hovey shared that one of the main goals that SUS is working on is to finally implement the Fraser Valley Route 66 as an opt-in option on the U-Pass for students for 2025.
He reiterated that this has been a growing concern for students and explained that this opt-in was supposed to have been implemented in the Fall 2024 semester. Unfortunately, it fell through due to BC Transit buses being too full.
Hovey said that BC Transit is now interested in implementing this for students in 2025, and spoke about some of the steps SUS is taking to make this work.
“We’ve been talking to stakeholders and to government officials to promote and express that this is a serious issue and that this bus is something that students rely on.”
Hovey met and spoke with Ross Siemens, the Mayor of Abbotsford and a couple MLAs at a recent event, informing them about how the lack of access to the bus was affecting students.
“I’m also in the process, hopefully, of trying to set up a meeting with [Mike Farnworth] the Minister of Transportation and Transit in Victoria, where I can sit down with him and tell him more about the Fraser Valley transit issues and about how students in the Fraser Valley really rely on it.”
He addressed that taking Route 66 is stressful and expensive for students and he wants to help by advocating for a lower price option.
“This is a big thing that we’re pushing the government to address and to understand so that they can actually implement a cheaper student tier pricing.”
When asked if there was anything he’d like to add, Hovey said that the upcoming SUS election for executive positions will begin in January 2025, and to be on the lookout for more information.
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.
