Housing, cost of living among top concerns UPEI students tell government officials

As UPEI students work to complete their post-secondary education, they are also having to navigate the ongoing housing crisis, changing political climates and a high cost of living.

Those issues were top of mind on Thursday evening at a student union-led event meant to bring students and government officials together. It was called Bridging Voices: A Student-Politician Dialogue.

"This event not only provides a chance for politicians to understand the true student perspective when making their decisions, but also for students to come out and meet these politicians and expand their networks," said Shreesh Agrawal, the vice president external at the student union.

"It's really just an informal event for politicians and students to both come hang out and get to know each other."

About 100 students showed up, along with officials. These included Interim Green Leader Karla Bernard, Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly, Minister of Education and Early Years Rob Lantz, Jenn Redmond — who is both the minister of workforce, advanced learning and population, and the minister responsible for the status of women — and Senator Percy Downe.

"Concerns today, of course, are accessibility and affordability. It's extremely costly for young people to go to university. Some of them are ending up with high debt and limited career options," said Downe.

"We get to hear their concerns first-hand. So we can raise them. I can raise them in the Senate. I can raise them as Senate committees pass on those concerns to officials in the federal government."

Lots of questions

The event took place at The Fox and Crow — a pub on campus. As students and politicians mingled, the establishment grew louder, and more challenging questions started.

"Who am I gonna support in the next federal election? That was a tough one," said McNeilly with a laugh. 

"I want them to know that I'm here for them and any concern that they have, whether it be housing, student stress, mental health — I'm here for them."

Third-year political science student Josh Sobrecaray wants to know what the politicians think of P.E.I.'s response to the threat of U.S. tariffs. 

"There's a huge amount of students who feel insecurity of some sort, whether it may be from Trump's presidency in the U.S. or maybe economic (issues) where some students couldn't afford groceries," said Sobrecaray. 

"I think that's important for politicians to know."

First-year student Emmeline Stanley, who worked as a page at the Legislative Assembly, said she's curious about what politicians do outside of the legislature. 

"I really want to know what they do in the background, when they go to their communities, what they do with the people and their constituencies and how they deal with everyone on a day-to-day basis," she said.

And like many others, fourth-year engineering student Ethan Drake is raising concerns about the costs of housing, food and tuition. 

"All of these things to me are human rights," they said. 

"We just have to figure out the ideal way to allocate stuff to make sure that everybody's having an equitable chance to be able to succeed. Because it doesn't feel like there is that right now. "

'This is the future'

For some, the event was also an opportunity to network. Joshua Maduka, currently studying political science and international relations, is interested in going into politics one day. 

"I found that the political climate, not just in Canada, but around the world, a lot of people have seen politics as a way to kind of propel themselves to riches, affluence, status," he said.

"And that's not the way politics is meant to be."

Overall, the student union's Agrawal said he is happy students had the opportunity to speak with policymakers first-hand, while officials like Minister Redmond said they are also glad to have a chance to connect with the students and hear what's important to them. 

"This is the future," she said. 

"The world is changing. They have a really good pulse on that at the age that they're at. We really want to know and hear that to help us drive policy."