WATERLOO - University of Waterloo students are dismayed by the university's plan to bow out of the annual campus Canada Day celebration.

"It's not something we should reduce or hand off," said Seneca Velling, secretary of the Federation of Students council. "I would love it if there were more structured events like this."

The university announced last week that this year's party will be a scaled-down version with just fireworks, rather than the usual daylong celebration with live entertainment and activities that attracts upwards of 60,000 people to Columbia Lake. After that, the university is hoping a new host will take over the July 1 celebration.

Velling said students were not given any notice of the decision.

"The student council, at least, wasn't informed," Velling said.

The Canada Day bash has been held on the Waterloo campus since 1984, run first by student government and then taken over by the university in 2013. But the university said the event was unsustainable, citing the growing cost now reaching $250,000.

The federation, which is the undergraduate student union at Waterloo, adopted a resolution at its Sunday council meeting calling on the cities of Waterloo and Kitchener, UW, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and their student groups to develop a plan to hold a joint Canada Day celebration.

Now the student executive will reach out with the aim of getting everyone to come to the table to discuss the event's future. The federation would like to see the celebration continue at Columbia Lake.

"If we can get new partners involved with it, then scaling it up would be nice," Velling said.

He said the university should recognize the value to students, both in nurturing good mental health and connecting them to the broader community.

"I think generally this is something students do want to see," Velling said.

It's also a great alternative to unsanctioned student gatherings like St. Patrick's Day and homecoming on Ezra Avenue, which university and city officials are trying to shut down due to concerns over safety, law breaking and rising costs, he said.

Waterloo Regional Police reported spending more than $550,000 managing street parties at Laurier in 2018. The cost for St. Patrick's Day alone reached nearly $714,000 for police, the city, paramedics and the universities.

"Here's a great example of a sanctioned gathering," Velling said of the Canada Day event.

The celebration is structured, safe and fun - and not just for those on campus, but also for many residents in the region.

"It's definitely more than the student community that enjoys the opportunity."

Both the mayors of Waterloo and Kitchener said last week that they'd be interested in discussing the future of the event, perhaps spreading celebrations throughout the community.

While Laurier is not considering the opportunity to host at this time, the university said it looks forward to continuing its partnership with the city, UW and community members to look for new opportunities for public engagement through the city's neighbourhood strategy.

A University of Waterloo spokesperson said Wednesday that talks are already underway with the city.

"We have started discussions with the City of Waterloo on how we can engage local leaders to reimagine how the community wants to celebrate Canada Day. We will continue to find ways to engage students in the dialogue to find sustainable new community solutions," Nick Manning said in an email.

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