High school students in Kitchener protest OSAP changes

CTV’s Jeff Pickel speaks to high school students who added their voices to protests against OSAP changes.

High school students in Kitchener added their voices to the growing call for the provincial government to scrap upcoming changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

Hundreds of students marched in downtown Kitchener on Wednesday to make their message heard.

“University costs a lot and I would love to have that help,” Sarah, a student from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute, told CTV News. “I think this is something we need to fight for.”

“I grew up poor so it feels like a specific threat to those who aren’t as privileged,” Kody, an Eastwood Collegiate Institute student, said.

Last month, the provincial government announced it would be giving colleges and universities a major funding boost, lift a seven-year tuition freeze and decrease grant funding through OSAP. The change means many students will need to rely on loans to pay for their schooling.

Previously, approximately 85 per cent of OSAP funding was achieved through grants, but starting in the fall, students will receive a maximum of 25 per cent as grant money.

“As far as I understand, it is a really significant amount of money that’s being taken away from students,” Ben, an Eastwood Collegiate Institute student, said. “It’s not only a deterrent, but it’s also just that much harder when you’re actually there.”

Some students believed the changes would limit them from pursuing post-secondary education altogether.

“I’m not going to be able to go to school without OSAP, without the funding,” Natalia, an Eastwood Collegiate Institute student, said. “Nursing is such an incredible thing, I want to go into it, but it’s so expensive.”

However, the province has previously said the changes are necessary.

“To restore sustainability to OSAP and ensure its availability for future generations, our government is aligning Ontario’s student financial support framework with other jurisdictions across Canada,” Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary for the office Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, said in, in part, in a statement. “The Premier and the Minister have been clear that, due to billions of dollars of pressure on the program from the federal government’s decision to remove grant eligibility from students at private career colleges, coupled with increased program uptake in recent years, the OSAP framework was no longer sustainable.”

The statement also said the enhanced Student Access Guarantee will ensure low-income students continue to receive enough financial aid to cover tuition, books and mandatory fees.