Media Fee

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their radio and also for the paper, and that is the way their radio gets all their money and allows them to stay separate from the Student Union,”says Panton, obviously annoyed at the situa- tion.

Panton is hopeful but is also concious that stu- dents cannot be expected to give money without problems. A few years ago a twenty dollar building fee . was added to student fees to subsidize the construction and renovation of UPEI facilities. This extra fee has angered UPEI students and Panton fears that CIMN’s levy will do the same.

“T hope it goes through, but I am not holding my breath. If it does go through, I see great things in the future and if it doesn’t go through, personally I feel we . might as well just pack up.” says Panton. “I don’t know whether the students here care or not. I think the aver- age student will think it’s quite a lot. There was that whole problem with the building fee several years ago.”

Kent Bruyneel, Editor-in-Chief of the Cadre, thinks that the media fee is unlikely to be accepted by UPEI students.

“They have a chance on a vote with the students to see if

they are going to have a radio station or not; I don’t think they (CIMN) have any chance of win- ning.”

In the event the media fee is accepted, the proceeds will likely be divided between the student newspaper and the radio station. It is yet to be decided how much money will be given to the station and how much money will be handed out to the paper.

“That is some- thing else we have to look at,” explains Lewis, “Since we are still funding the paper, we [the Union] are looking at a 70/30 or a 60/40 split.”

Few options have been thought of, in the event students

reject the proposal. “We haven’t

really come to that. The other option may be for the radio station to collect a membership fee. We really haven’t dis- cussed any of that,” says Lewis.

Much is left up in the air as to the future of the UPEI radio station. CIMN management tries to stay hopeful but are left feeling powerless in this situation. All is left in the hands of the students. Nothing can be done until the spring 2000 election, except to educate the campus on the need of a radio station to voice their opinions and to share with the community.

Onl

by Jesse Clarke Controversial

right of landing fees cause uproar at World University of Service Canada

TORONTO (CUP) - Canadians are warm and wel- coming to refugees. Many of us would agree with this state- ment, even in light of the negative public response to the recent influx of Chinese migrants on the West Coast. It is a state- ment our government would also like Canadians to believe.

In some ways this statement is

accurate. Relative to many countries,

Canada has an open and progressive refugee policy.

However, many advocates for refu- gees and immigrants believe our policy falls short in certain key areas. Some critics argue that Canada’s refugee policy may even violate the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Hu- man Rights and Convention on Refu- gees.

The source of this harsh criticism is a little-known fee charged to all refu- gees and immigrants

cy!

seeking landed immi- grant status in Canada. The Right of Landing Fee is $975, and it must be paid by every person over 19 seeking landed immigrant status. Canada is the only country in the

world which charges this fee to refugees as well as immigrants. Since this fee was first charged in 1995, revenues from newly arriving Cana- dians, both immi- grants and refugees, have increased from $134.4 million to $363.2 million. Newcomers arriving in Canada in 1993 paid $460 on average, only one third of the $1526 fee

faced by today’s new

arrivals. The shameful secret behind the

immigration system’s rising revenues is inspiring political action from a wide range of individual Canadians.

Stephanie Connolly, president of the Victoria Uni- versity Student’s

‘T thought they would postpone repayment until we're done university, but

he told me that we are sup-

posed to begin repaying right away.”

-Charles Conteh

World University Service Canada sponsored refugee student

Administrative Council, and Rebecca Dolgoy, a student commissioner at the University of To- ronto, are two such individuals who are taking an interest in the rights of immi- grants and refugees. The two stu- dent leaders have been inspired by the plight of their friend Charles Conteh, a World University Service Canada (WUSC) sponsored refugee student at Victoria College. Conteh, like all

$975 to become a Canadian?

WUSC refugee

students, automati-

cally received a

Canadian government

loan of over $2000 to

cover his landing fee

and transportation

costs. Conteh de-

scribes how he be-

lieved he would be

given extra time to

repay the loan, since

he was a student.

“T was shocked when I had a conver- sation with one of the immigration offic- ers,” explains Conteh. “I thought they would postpone repayment until we’re done university, but he told me that we are supposed to begin repaying right away.”

Soon after settling in Canada, finding a place to live, and registering for classes, Conteh began to receive notices of repayment.

“They sent me some forms and indicated that I was i supposed to retun & them with a cheque,” < Conteh says. “I don’t A know the conse- y quences of not pay- ing, but it’s illegal, \ the message is clear.”

The message was also very clear for Connolly and the rest of the WUSC Committee who were

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