Ford continues to defend OSAP cuts despite student outcry
CBC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford stood by his decision to cut funding to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), when asked Wednesday about pushback from students.
“What we were doing was unsustainable,” the premier said after a reporter asked if he would consider scaling back on the cuts if he heard from enough people.
Ontario's Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn announced the changes to OSAP last week. Starting in the fall, the maximum amount of grants eligible students can receive from OSAP will decrease from 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
Ford said the 25 per cent maximum grant is still “taking care” of the most vulnerable and said there are additional grants available through the schools themselves or the federal government.
“The people that don't have the money, I'm all for it. Take care of the students, take care of the families,” said Ford. But, he said, he doesn’t believe in giving money to a family that earns over $200,000 a year.
According to the province's OSAP aid estimator for this school year, a student whose parents earn a total of $200,000 could only qualify for loans, not grants.
Since the announcement, petitions and plans for organized protests opposing the decisions have popped up online. Despite the outpouring of students criticizing the move, Ford defended the cuts on Wednesday. He said the OSAP grants are funded by taxpayers.
“The taxpayers expect the students to go through courses that are going to drive economic growth,” said Ford.
He said students should pursue “jobs of the future,” naming jobs in STEM, health care, trades and tech as examples. Ford said jobs in these sectors are in demand, and students should focus their studies there as opposed to taking “basket-weaving courses.”
However, as students have pointed out, STEM courses are often more expensive than other faculties.
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