High school students in Ottawa’s east end walked out of class Tuesday to protest proposed changes to Ontario’s student financial aid program, saying the changes could leave future students graduating with significantly more debt. Dozens of students from École Secondaire Béatrice-Desloges and nearby schools gathered with signs and chanted outside a local MPP’s office, calling on the provincial government to reconsider the changes. “My message to the Ford government is stop the OSAP cuts because education benefits every single student and every single person in Ontario,” said student organizer Magali Girard. Students say they are concerned about the potential impact on their ability to afford post-secondary education. “Some students have already accepted their offer. Some students are going away for school, and they thought they had support, but now you’re just pulling the carpet out from under their feet,” another student Mighty Debebe said. Under the current Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) model, students can receive up to 85 per cent of their funding through grants, which do not need to be repaid. The remaining 15 per cent comes in loans. Under the proposed changes, the balance would shift significantly. Only 25 per cent of funding would come through grants, while 75 per cent would come through loans that must be repaid. For students like Ariel Mwanga, who hopes to become a neurosurgeon, the possibility of graduating with heavy debt is concerning. “My family, we’re not well off, so the OSAP grants really help fund our education,” Mwanga said. In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence says 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. Our government has been clear, 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.” “As we make historic investments in the post-secondary sector, including an additional $6.4 billion, our enhanced Student Access Guarantee will ensure qualified, low-income Ontario students continue to receive enough financial aid to cover tuition, books, and mandatory fees to offset the modest tuition increase. If OSAP funding does not cover these costs, the institution provides additional support.” “Our government has also launched numerous student financial support programs, including the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant, which has covered the full cost of tuition, books, and other educational costs for 12,800 healthcare students across the province and the First Nations Resource and Development scholarship which covers the cost of tuition, books, and other educational costs for First Nations students pursuing careers in our mining sector.” According to the province, the program cost $2.7 billion this fiscal year and could rise to more than $4 billion by 2029 without changes. Critics say the shift toward loans could leave many students graduating with significantly more debt. “The concern is students are going to go into their post-secondary life with extremely high tuition and come out drowning in debt before they can even find their first job,” said the president of the Orléans NDP, Mazen Husseini. Ottawa South Liberal MPP John Fraser also criticized the changes, saying they could make it harder for young people to access education. “Highly skilled, highly trained, healthy people are the most valuable thing in the global economy,” Fraser said. “Instead of making it harder for people, the government should be making it easier for people to get the skills and knowledge they need.” Students at Tuesday’s rally say they hope their concerns will reach Queen’s Park before many of them graduate and begin planning their next steps after high school. More demonstrations are expected in the coming days.
