On November 2nd, the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management hosted Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser for a presentation entitled “Why we’re in a housing crisis and how we end it.” Following his presentation and a Q&A session with the students, CUSA had the opportunity to hold a meeting with Minister Fraser.
Earlier in the summer, CUSA had sent a response to a statement made by Minister Fraser regarding the possibility of establishing a cap on the number of international students admitted into the country. In this meeting, our Advocacy Team (President Mohamed Faris, Vice President Student Issues Emilia De Jesus Peixoto, Associate Vice President Research and Advocacy Artur Estrela da Silva and Associate Vice President Government Affairs Aidan Kallioinen) had a direct conversation with Minister Fraser regarding this previous statement. Minister Fraser assured that their government had no intention to pursue such a policy. The Advocacy Team also discussed the importance of affordable housing for students, the role of student associations, such as CUSA, in advocacy coordination, and presented other priorities outlined in the Advocacy Roadmap.