Possible legal action is looming over the Gallant Government from the New Brunswick Association of Private Colleges and Universities over the new tuition program.
It’s charged that the Tuition Access Busary, or TAB program, is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it excludes students who attend private colleges or universities. President of McKenzie College in Moncton Dale Ritchie says this is unprecedented.
“They’ve never been excluded before from student loans or bursaries or anything like that,” says Ritchie. “So we’re seeking legal advice on this because we think it’s, you know, discriminatory.”
The association says they decided to consider legal action after trying and failing to get the department of Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour to move forward with a TAB working group they’d both agreed upon.
“We’ve had a lot of calls from parents and students saying this is unfair, it’s not right, it’s discriminatory and we feel they certainly have a case,” says Ritchie.
They’ve retained lawyer Mike Murphy who ran against now-premier Brian Gallant for the leadership of the provincial Liberal party.
