Education is a great equalizer because it lifts people out of poverty by enabling them to gain qualifications that lead to better-paying jobs and more opportunities. OSAP is an investment in Ontario's future, and we need to protect it.
Transcript:
Hi, I'm Catherine Fife. I'm the MPP for Waterloo.
In February, Doug Ford's government announced devastating changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program, slashing the grants that eligible students receive from a maximum of 85% to 25%. The remaining 75% will be made up by loans.
This will affect many who rely on OSAP to continue the post-secondary education they've already begun and act as a deterrent to those from low-income families who were counting on these grants, uh, for their future studies.
Education is the great equalizer. It lifts people out of poverty by enabling them to gain qualifications that lead to better-paying jobs and more opportunities, and actually strengthen the province. The loss of OSAP grants will have an impact that will last more than a generation.
I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education, which my family and I would not have been able to afford without the financial help I received through OSAP.
The life I have now, the work I do now, both personally and professionally, is built on the foundations of that investment.
Doug Ford is making life more difficult now than when I attended university. Ontario has some of the highest tuition rates in Canada and the lowest per-student funding.
We don't know when, or even if, these OSAP changes will be voted on at Queen's Park, just that Ford plans on bringing them into effect in August of 2026.
We need this government to walk back its restructuring of Ontario's post-secondary education system. It is unnecessary and unfair what they are doing to students right now.
My official opposition colleagues and I will keep speaking out and fighting for a more equitable student aid system and real affordability for students and families, because that's what you deserve.
Sign the petition at www.catherinefife.com/stop_osap_cuts.