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Island post-secondaries support students reservists

Post-secondary students in Prince Edward Island who are members of Canada's Reserve Force have been given a major show of support from the institutions they attend.

During a ceremony held on January 11, 2006, at the Queen Charlotte Armoury in Charlottetown, the Presidents of Holland College and the University of Prince Edward Island, as well as the Executive Director of the Société éducative de Île-du-Prince-Édouard, signed declarations that their institutions will grant student-reservists such considerations as they may require to serve in the Canadian Forces.

Subject to maintaining the academic integrity of the institutions, the considerations student-reservists may receive include deferments of assignments and exams when they conflict with military training schedules, and guaranteeing students re-admission to their program of study when they take a year off school to participate in military operations.

The Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC), a group of Canadian business leaders, who volunteer their time to promote the Reserve Force within the workplace and education sector, conducted the ceremony. Council members believe that civilian enterprises benefit from the skills reservists gain through military training and operational experience, and therefore encourage employers and educators to grant reservists time off for military service without it creating negative consequences for their job or academic status.

The CFLC launched a major national campaign on October 1, 2005, to secure the support of educators at the post-secondary level. The signing ceremony in Charlottetown was a direct result of that.

The CFLC's PEI Chairman, Mr. Robert Bateman, said educational institutions in the province have a long history of supporting the reserve military careers of staff members, adding that extending this support to students was a logical progression. "The support for student-reservists that the three educational institutions are providing today is highly symbolic and will have lasting impact on the operational capability of the Canadian Forces," said Mr. Bateman. "Post-secondary students constitute approximately 32 per cent of all reservists in Canada. Without the support of their school administrators, these reservists would not be able to train for and mobilize in the defence of Canada and its international interests."

"In the case of PEI, we have 100 per cent support for this," he added. "This is a first in Canada, although we certainly hope it will not be the last."

For more information contact:
Robert M. Bateman
CFLC Provincial Chair
902-566-4488

LCol Don Walsh
CFLC Provincial Liaison Officer
902-892-1284 Ext.302

For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2006