VICTORIA – B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Mike de Jong shared brand new and conflicting views on post-secondary education.

During a Facebook town hall on Wednesday, de Jong said “[We need to] make sure every student, when they graduate has access to post-secondary education or post-secondary training… free of any fiscal constraints.”

Yet while de Jong was a government cabinet member, he did anything but make post-secondary education and training free of fiscal restraint for students:

• Students have found their tuition rates double under the B.C. Liberal government, and despite a two-per-cent cap on rates, the B.C. government was coaching universities to institute new mandatory fees on students as a way to get around it.
• The 2013 budget saw that the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology would receive $46 million less over the following three years, despite B.C. facing a skills shortage.
• In 2015, the B.C. Liberal government introduced fees for Adult Basic Education, creating financial barriers for those seeking to upgrade their education.