Upset students came together by the hundreds outside Ontario’s legislature on Wednesday to voice their concerns over cuts to financial assistance grants.
They’re angry about the Ford government’s choice to allow tuition fees to rise and convert Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) grants into loans.
Organizers claim these changes are a huge setback for students, while the Ford government argues they are needed to maintain the financial health of student support programs.
The student-led “hands off our education” campaign is demanding that the Ford government reverse its decisions regarding tuition and OSAP.
Opposition leaders showed their support for the demonstration.
“If you talk to young people anywhere in this province, if you actually take 5 minutes and listen to them you’ll find out they are struggling to feed themselves,” said Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
WATCH MORE: Mc Master students rally in protest of Ford’s unpopular OSAP changes
“Putting more burden on students and their families is the wrong thing to do,” stated Ontario Liberal House Leader John Fraser.
A similar protest took place in St. Catharines, where high school and university students walked out of classes at noon and marched toward NDP MPP Jennie Stevens’s office.
Some students mentioned that they have no other options for post-secondary education besides OSAP.
One student passionately defended basket weaving as “the basis of humanity,” explaining that “art is who we are – it is who we are in our hearts and if I wanted to go into that, I should have the opportunity to do so.”
This comment was a response to Premier Doug Ford’s recent critique of basket-weaving courses while justifying his government’s new approach.
“You’re picking basket weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there,” remarked Ford.
The backlash against these changes has been increasing since they were announced three weeks ago.
WATCH MORE: Ontario boosting post-secondary funding, lifting tuition freeze, altering OSAP loans
The changes entail: ending the tuition freeze; allowing tuition increases of 2 percent annually over the next three years; and shifting OSAP from grants into loans.
The funding formula for OSAP would change from 85 percent grants and 15 percent loans to 25 percent grants and 75 percent loans.
CHCH News reached out to the Ford government about criticisms from demonstrators, which led them to release a statement saying, “…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 Colleges and Universities Minister Bianca Giacoboni said, “…our government is aligning Ontario’s student financial support framework with other jurisdictions across Canada.”
A spokesperson for her department provided figures showing how Ontario’s new plan compares with student support systems in other provinces – indicating it aligns more closely with western provinces but not those in Atlantic Canada.
The rally at Queen’s Park grew tense later in the afternoon when numerous police officers lined up at the entrance of Legislature as a precautionary measure.
Toronto police informed CHCH News that two individuals were arrested for mischief, assaulting a police officer, and obstructing law enforcement personnel.
WATCH MORE: Students and critics urge Ford government to reverse OSAP changes
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