TORONTO--Today the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario launched an email campaign to stop illegal ancillary fees that are being charged by the province's public post-secondary institutions. Students and their families are being encouraged to use the www.StopUnfairFees.ca campaign website to email their letters to Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy and Premier Dalton McGuinty.

"Premier McGuinty has known about the illegal ancillary fees for 14 years and his government has already been in power for one full-term," said Jen Hassum, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. "It's time that this self-proclaimed 'activist' government takes action to fix the problem."

The campaign calls on the Minister to enforce his long-standing Binding Policy Directive that prohibits universities and colleges from charging "tuition-related" ancillary fees.

Ancillary fees are costs that are additional to tuition fees. Legitimate ancillary fees are only allowed to be charged for things such as the student centres, athletic facilities, extended health plans, or other services that are supplementary. However all 24 of the public colleges in Ontario continue to charge prohibited tuition-related ancillary fees for services such as information technology or libraries that are already funded by tuition fees and government operating or capital grants. According to the Ministry's own internal documents, the colleges' illegal ancillary fees for I.T. alone were costing students $131.68 on average in 2005-2006.Last summer, two former students launched a class action lawsuit against Ontario's public colleges to stop the prohibited fees and secure $200 million in compensation. The Government of Ontario is not a party to the legal action but is responsible for enforcing its rules about what fees colleges are permitted to charge students.

"The 2008 provincial budget is the perfect opportunity to properly fund community colleges and to end the illegal fees," said Hassum. "Through this email campaign, students will be able to influence the budgeting process and remind the government that these 'back-door' tuition fee increases aren't acceptable."

In its pre-budget submission to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, the Federation called for the McGuinty government to budget an additional $50 million per year to replace the revenue colleges are currently generating through the collection of illegal ancillary fees.