Let's talk OSAP.

I had dreams. Our youth should too.

I had dreams.

When I was a student, I had dreams and plans. I was reminded about that by the many students who took the time to write to me about their families, their paths to post-secondary education, and their plans for the future.

I am very appreciative of those who articulated worries about the Ford government’s changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), describing their circumstances and how the increased burden of loans over grants will affect their ability to pursue post-secondary studies and their life after graduating.

I don’t want any of you to fear that your dreams and your plans are at risk.

Now is the time to speak up and make sure Premier Doug Ford’s government hears you loud and clear because the provincial budget is due at the end of March.

Thank you, students, for raising your voices and for contacting Premier Ford himself. He has been forced to acknowledge you, however awkwardly, saying recently that students should go into STEM rather than basket-weaving. I believe, and I don’t think the Premier appreciates, that it’s not the exact discipline you pursue in your college and especially university studies, but it’s the rigour that trains you and makes your future work valuable. My first permanent political staffer when I was an MP in Ottawa did not study politics. She earned a PhD in history, and she was an exceptionally strong staffer.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities, when questioned by a reporter, did not support Ford’s line of argument but instead said that this was an issue of financial sustainability. By one estimate (higheredstrategy.com), about half of the increased funding for post-secondary institutions is coming from changing OSAP grants to loans. What it looks like to me is that the Ford government responded to calls to better fund our colleges and universities, and they are going fund it by asking lower-income students (who rely more on grants) to pay for half.

The Ford government has, apparently, forgotten about the education system’s role as a foundation for equality of opportunity.

My Ontario Liberal colleague and critic for post-secondary education (Tyler Watt, MPP) put out a statement soon after the OSAP changes were announced, which I hope you have seen (I encourage you to read it if you haven’t):
https://ontarioliberal.ca/ontarios-post-secondary-system-in-crisis-saddling-students-with-more-debt-will-cost-ontario-in-the-long-run/

He will be leading our caucus’ FIX OSAP ASAP! campaign to push back against this policy change. It was under the previous Ontario Liberal government that OSAP support reached 85% grants to help support the next generation. Ford’s changes will lead to a declining workforce, a stalled economy, stagnant growth, and suffering public institutions. The last Ontario Liberal government built the project up, and we have an extra incentive to work to ensure that Ford doesn’t tear it down.

I encourage all students to let me know how the Student Access Guarantee changes affect you personally. The new funding is supposed to include an increase in SAG, but I want to know how that trickles down to actual individual students.

The Ontario Liberal caucus is glad that per-student operating funding for post-secondary education will be increased in the coming years, after much hue and cry. Perhaps you signed one of the petitions which I presented in the Legislature. However, I would note that per-student funding in Ontario is still the lowest amongst the provinces, so much work remains to ensure that post-secondary education in Ontario is world-class. Nothing less will suffice to protect Ontario in these unstable times.

Let me conclude by saying that funding is only one side of the equation; the other side is costs. The cost of housing is high, especially in Kingston. That is why I have supported the creation of a City of Kingston student housing strategy. I have been pushing Queen’s University to build more on-campus upper-year housing, and to take advantage of a recent law which exempts universities from the planning act, which could cut the cost of building by up to 20%.

To all students: follow your dreams and your plans, and your hard work will bear fruit.