Regina profs condemn free tuition program for children of dead soldiers

If you are killed in a workplace accident in Saskatchewan, your dependents' education IS paid for.  Post-secondary tuition fees and books, plus a living allowance, up to the age of 24.

Not that I don't think university should be universally accessible, but their argument is flawed.  Should have done some homework. 

I don't believe soldiers are covered by Workers' Comp. Could you imagine what the risk premium would be when deployed overseas let alone the routine risk?

I can't really get worked up over anyone getting a scholarship. It's just unfortunate that more students can't get one.

Unionist wrote:

Thanks for that information, Timebandit. That would mean that soldiers' families don't benefit from Workers' Comp or its equivalent? If that's so, it's quite scandalous, though it wouldn't surprise me. One would think that that should be the goal, rather than relying on the charity of various post-secondary institutions, and turning it into "Project Hero" rather than just the simple right of all workers and their families in the event of workplace injury or death.

 

IIRC, civilian Workers at DOD are covered, but military members are not.  Also, we're talking about people injured overseas, which is somewhat more complicated.  WCBs are provincial - if you work outside your home province and are injured, there is some back and forth over which board to put your claim in.  Also, there are some industries that are mandatory to pay into WCB and others it isn't.  I've never heard of large companies not having to pay in, but I worked with the claims, not the revenue and employer accounts.

Anyway.  I don't know what benefits the federal gov't provides for families of soldiers who die in conflict.  I do know, however, that Sask WCB provides post-secondary education for the dependents in the case of fatality claims, and I think there are provisions in the other provincial boards for the same thing, but the extent of that coverage will vary.

ETA:  Actors, stunt men and circus performers aren't eligible for WCB, either.  Too risky.

whom are you speaking to gunner?

Here is the text of the letter:

Quote:

We write to you as concerned faculty members of the University of Regina, to urge you to withdraw our university immediately from participation in the “Project Hero” scholarship program. This program, which waives tuition and course fees, and provides $1,000 per year to “dependents of Canadian Forces personnel deceased while serving with an active mission”, is a glorification of Canadian imperialism in Afghanistan and elsewhere. We do not want our university associated with the political impulse to unquestioning glorification of military action.

“Project Hero” is the brainchild of Kevin Reed, a 42-year-old honorary lieutenant-colonel of an army reserve unit in southwestern Ontario, who has said publicly he was inspired by the work of retired Canadian General Rick Hillier. General Hillier, one of the most controversial figures in the recent military history of this country, was the first to introduce “Project Hero” at a Canadian post-secondary institution, just after he took up the post as Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Since then, a number of other public Canadian universities have come on board.

In our view, support for “Project Hero” represents a dangerous cultural turn. It associates “heroism” with the act of military intervention. It erases the space for critical discussion of military policy and practices.  In signing on to “Project Hero”, the university is implicated in the disturbing construction of the war in Afghanistan by Western military- and state-elites as the “good war” of our epoch. We insist that our university not be connected with the increasing militarization of Canadian society and politics.

The majority of young adults in Canada find it increasingly difficult to pay for their education.  If they do make it to university, they rack up massive student debts which burden them for years. Instead of privileging the children of deceased Canadian soldiers, we suggest that our administration demand all levels of government provide funding sufficient for universal qualified access to post-secondary education.

The University of Regina has always been closely tied to our Saskatchewan community, and the strategic plan, mâmawohkamâtowin, means "co-operation; working together towards common goals". We do not think that “Project Hero” is a common goal chosen by those of us who work in the University; it is not drawn from the values of this institution.  We think it is incompatible with our understanding of the role of public education, or with decisions made by a process of collegial governance.  

In addition to withdrawing from “Project Hero”, we think the issues we raise should be publicly debated.  We are calling on the U of R administration hold a public forum on the war in Afghanistan, and Canadian imperialism more generally, at which the issues we raise can be debated.  This forum should be open to all; it should take place this semester, before exams, as “Project Hero” is set to start at U of R in September 2010.

To summarize, we are calling for:  

(1) The immediate withdrawal of our university from “Project Hero”.
(2) An institutional deployment of public pressure on both orders of government to provide immediate              
               funding sufficient for universal access to post-secondary education.
(3) A public forum on the war in Afghanistan and Canadian imperialism more generally to be held this 
               semester before exams begin.

Unionist wrote:

So IanM, if Timebandit is right (and experience tells me that she speaks from knowledge), any idea why the Forces don't look after children of dead soldiers?

My dad was a WWII veteran and while at college at the end of the 1960s (but not later at university) I received an allowance under what I believe is now called the Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance Act. Back then I believe it was called the Children of the War Dead Act. Benefits were intended to assist with education in the career of your choice. If you changed careers (as happened in my case) you were not entitled to further benefits.

 And you haven't even mentioned the robots!

I lived in Ottawa, and my dad was well-known as a military author and archivist after the war.  I had a good, capable, and compassionate case worker at the Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA) and my college expense was  almost fully paid - it was extremely generous as I recall.  My dad's last two years were at the DVA Hospital in from the corner of Smyth Road and Alta Vista Drive. I think it has a different name today. I thought I was going to be a Journalist, went to Fanshawe College in London for that purpose, but after two years and a diploma later, I went to work for the Department of Manpower and Immigration in Ottawa instead. After five years of that, I went for my Bacherlor's and Master's with the money I saved - because I knew DVA had a policy of providing post-secondary education only for the first career. When I changed careers, I was on my own - which was to be expected, anyway.

ETA: that was at the end of the 1960's, when it was easier to get gov't funding. My boss at M&I (Local Initiatives Program) was also the man who started up Opportunities For Youth - both of which were emergency make-work programs and generously funded by Trudeau's government. Those were the days.

Apples and oranges, methinks. This thread is about children of war dead and military pension educational benefits accruing to them.

If we paid Canadian soldiers a decent living wage, with pension transferable to the other parent in case of serious injury or death, we could do away with this whole issue.

I think the profs are wrong, to be honest.    The more different groups that receive a subsidized to free post secondary education, the more the case for universal post secondary education is bolstered.

While it seems these profs are of the anti war type, there's nothing to say that some or most could also be the more typical social Darwinist types, who want high tuitions to keep the kids of non professionals out of university and out in the workplace providing the tax base that largely supports all university endeavors.

Ah, well there you have it.

With current funding levels, there could be free tuition, if about 30% of Universities' operating budgets were cut. This could be easy, without affecting the quality of education...or even improving it. I dunno about Regina, but Calgary had a massive porkbarrel building spree on campus, easilly eating up hundreds of millions. You can cut that. Stop unneeded 'upgrades' for things like furniture (done, usually, because somebody on the board knows a vendor). Consolidate departments and shed unnessesary staff. For example, why can't profs photocopy their own materials? Why so many TAs? Universities could easilly trim some of their workforces, saving gobs of money in wages and other costs (pension liability, &c.). Reduce the number of students, by increasing entry requirments--even commie countries do this. (The result is both a higher-valued education and less overall costs.) Cancel foreign student programmes. China won't accept the University of Calgary's degrees, anyhow, over the Dalai Lama thing... Contract out things like maintenance. Hire students, on co-op programmes, to do things like run IT support. Kill university 'research' programmes that are basically subsidies for the private sector. And, finally, hire sessionals instead of tenured profs. The sky-high salaries and benefits of people like Prof. Webber are what's partially behind unaffordable tuition.

IMO all workers should be brought under the provincial workers' compensation acts. This is crucial for the many workers currently without coverage under any statutory work injury compensation scheme. This includes some industries in which injuries are relatively infrequent, and which are exempted from mandatory coverage only due to their historical effectiveness in manipulating the levers of government, like banks and law offices; and also industries where workers are exposed to a high likelihood of serious injury -- where the elevated risk would simply be reflected in higher premiums for that specific employer rate group (or higher accident costs, for those large employers who pay the Boards on a claim-by-claim basis).

This will also be an important stepping stone towards a single-payer system of disability compensation.

Currently the work injury claims of federal workers posted abroad (ie those confirmed to be "workers" under the federal Act by the agency responsible for that determination) are administered in Ontario. Soldiers, contractors and RCMP are excluded.

Michelle wrote:

Can I get some clarification?  So according to Timebandit, all children of people from Saskatchewan who are killed on the job get free tuition and a stipend for living expenses while in university, right?  But soldiers' kids don't because they aren't eligible for workers' compensation?

So if children of soldiers killed on the job were to be given free tuition and a thousand dollar stipend, that would bring them in line with other Saskatchewan children of workers killed on the job?

If this is the case, I don't really see where the controversy is.

Yes, this is how it works:  If your parent/guardian dies and a fatality claim is accepted by Sask WCB, your full tuition and books are covered, and you receive a small stipend/living allowance.  My niece was getting something like $350/mo during semesters, not enough to live on but better than a kick in the pants.  This is in force until you turn 25.  So if you take a year off, for example, you can still claim as long as you are 24 or under. 

Certain classes of worker are exempted, however - these include actors and stuntmen, as they take unprecedented risk in WCB's view.  Federal employees, if they are civilians, are covered.  Military personnel are not, but as I note from the link upthread, there is some coverage for post-secondary education of dependents provided by the CAF.  I just don't know if the coverage is as extensive as Sask WCB's.

(I know how this works because I was a claims adjudicator/case manager at Sask WCB for about 5 years and administrated a few fatality claims.)

So if this scholarship for armed forces' orphans is so bad, should we also be against this one at the link below, where your parent has to be a union member, but doesn't have to be dead?  If not, then could somebody explain to me what the difference is?

http://www.nupge.ca/scholarships

Fidel wrote:

And I think children of university and college employees are exempt from paying tuition if I'm not mistaken. It's become a real classist setup in our Northern Puerto Rico.

Uh, not. I know several profs and university staff, some of them have kids in uni. They pay tuition.

Not in most ontario universities timebandit, at least at western, york and UofT

Bacchus wrote:

Not in most ontario universities timebandit, at least at western, york and UofT

Really?  First I'd ever heard of it.  Doesn't work that way out here - or so I've been told.

Education should be free to all.

P.P.S. I'm all for free tuition for everyone, by the way.  If there were free tuition for everyone, then we wouldn't need to trade that for something else we might want at the bargaining table.  We win just as much as anyone else does if free tuition is universal.

Triciamarine, I believe Veteran Affairs now provides the same services as Workers Compensation.

I believe the two systems need to be separated due to the differences between civilian and government workers and their activities.