Open Letter Regarding Cuts to OSAP
Dear Premier Ford and Minister Quinn,
Ontario students are being forced to shoulder a burden the province once shared. That’s why the Civic Clarity Foundation is writing to express our opposition to the fundamental restructuring of OSAP.
While we acknowledge the investment into the Post Secondary Education sector, the changes to OSAP that followed are a significant departure from previous administrations and reveal a growing shift in priority against student prosperity. The decision to significantly reduce grant funding from 85% to 25% and increase loans to fill that gap means that students will be graduating with significantly more debt than previously seen in decades. To quote Toronto Metropolitan University’s newspaper, the Eyeopener, “This means that if a student owed $20,000 in student loans, they were eligible for up to $17,000 in grants that they don’t need to pay back. Starting this September, they would only be eligible for up to $5,000.”
The announcement has been made at a time when youth unemployment in Ontario has reached a peak of over 14%, according to Statistics Canada, the highest seen in 15 years. This is part of a larger trend of the provincial government downloading financial burdens onto the citizen. The direct results of these policies include delayed-home ownership, suppressed spending due to financial uncertainty, and an acceleration of brain drain.
We stand in solidarity with student union groups across Ontario in calling for an immediate reversal of these damaging cuts to OSAP for the success of students and youth in this province.
Sincerely,
Civic Clarity Foundation
