Fight to reverse Ontario Student Assistance Program changes brought to Queen’s Park

The Ford government is being forced to defend its decision to change the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) as MPPs return to Queen’s Park.

Opposition MPPs are calling for a reversal of the changes that reduced the grant portion of funding to post-secondary students from 85% to 25%.

NDP leader Marit Stiles told the legislature that the impact is already being felt.

“A lot of students are deciding that they’re going to have to give up on university or college, and we’re talking PSWs and ECEs and teachers and healthcare workers,” says Stiles.

“They’re turning down their offers because they cannot afford it.”

Universities and Colleges Minister Nolan Quinn says the move was necessary to keep the program in place.

“The changes we’re making to OSAP are to ensure it is sustainable so that this program can be around for the next generation of students behind these students,” says Quinn.

“They’ll continue to get the support they need when accessing higher education. If our government had not acted like myself and the Premier have clearly articulated, we would have decimated OSAP, putting student access at risk and a massive burden on the taxpayer.”

He notes that the grant portion is still greater than it was 10 years ago.

The government was also presented with dozens of petitions signed by students calling for OSAP’s funding formula to be restored to what it was.