The chants could be heard multiple streets over as students rallied outside of Queen’s Park shouting, “Education is a right, We will not give up the fight.” Doug Ford’s government recently announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) has raised their concerns about the future of education.
Hundreds gathered during the afternoon on March 4. Among them were high school students, post-secondary students, political parties and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
Trixie Sault is a senior in high school, and planning to go into the paralegal program at Humber Polytechnic. The OSAP cuts have left her feeling nervous. She comes from a low income background so she relies on OSAP to get higher education.
“My mom is a single mom of three and we don’t exactly have all the funds. We don’t have college savings or anything,” she says. “I’m going to have to pick up a job or it’s like two jobs, maybe three jobs, just to get through it.”
In a press release on Feb. 12, the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security announced changes to the maximum amount of student loans and grants.
According to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report, grants were previously capped at 85 per cent. Under the new model grants will be capped at 25 per cent. The other 75 per cent will be made up of loans.
As a hypothetical example, previously if a student received $100 in funding, grants could make up $85 whereas now, it would be a maximum of $25 and the remainder would be a loan.
The new model of OSAP, which takes effect this fall, also allows schools to increase tuition by two per cent for each of the next three years.
According to the government press release the changes aim “to strengthen the long-term sustainability of OSAP,” and “ensure financial assistance remains available for future generations.”
Sault feels many won’t be pursuing post-secondary education, “because they don’t want to start their lives off in debt.”
Verlaj Bains is a student at York University studying kinesiology. He is worried about what the cuts will mean for his finances. Even with a part-time job, the income is only enough to cover his personal expenses.
“I don’t know if I would want to pursue my education if it becomes too expensive for me,” he says.
For Bains, there isn’t enough money being spent on education. He says there needs to be a change in the government’s budget.
He mentions the over-budget light rail transit Line 5. “It’s been under construction for 15 years. “That’s a massive waste of taxpayers’ money. And there’s no accountability there.”
Jaycob Jacques, youth co-chair for the Green Party of Ontario was also at the rally chanting with students.
He says the new changes could be detrimental and “burn” students with debt.
The Government of Ontario reports that OSAP had funded 494,000 full time students in the 2024-2025 school year, with some media reporting $301 million spent on loans, representing a 153 per cent hike from 2020.
Student group IGNITE reports that at the University of Guelph-Humber, nearly 55 per cent of students depend on OSAP.
Miloš Vasić is the president of the Humber Faculty Union. Vasic was at Queen’s Park along with some other OPSEU members.
Vasić says the government does not care about students because the cuts worsen the rising cost of living.
“This is an incredibly expensive province. Rent is not cheap. Living in general is not cheap,” he says, “so to add more debt to the mix, I mean, it’s unconscionable.”