During the ongoing OSAP storm, Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn said provincial spending on the Ontario Student Assistance Program was unsustainable. After seeing how students live under this new ‘"sustainable" method, Humber Et Cetera says student life under the Ford regime isn’t either.
By the Ontario government’s own admission, OSAP is meant to help students gain financial aid to fund their education.
That is no longer the case and deserves to be changed drastically.
OSAP grant funding dropped to 25 per cent from 85 per cent of the provinces total funding budget while loans increased to 75 per cent from 15 per cent.
That significant drop turned out to be unwarranted through the efforts of a Canadian Press discovery that released earlier this month.
The Canadian Press Freedom-of-Information request said 95 per cent of the grants provided were to pivately-owned career colleges in 2024-'25. Seven of the career college grants equaled the total amount provided to all public colleges in Ontario including Humber, at $385 million.
The Canadian Press reported fraud in OSAP funding after government officials investigated three career colleges and found evidence suggesting third parties were completing student coursework and a few students who couldn’t name their school or program.
These claims, which the schools deny, hasn't been tested.
The Freedom-of-Information request opened a larger scale audit of the province's finances and has since been handed off to provincial police to investigate. It may also be prudent to conduct a value-for-money audit as requested by Liberal colleges and university critic Tyler Watt to determine whether the government is properly overseeing the financial aid program.
The Canadian Press report shows that the province needed to solely cut spending for career colleges, which it has by removing grants all together, without touching public post-secondary grants, which had a small piece of the pie and likely would not have made a difference in the provinces crusade for "sustainable" spending.
Alma Ariaz, a bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing student at Humber says she’s balancing part-time, minimum-wage work, with six courses and splits her expenses with her boyfriend but she is still struggling to pay her bills.
“It’s practically impossible to work enough hours to be able to afford basic necessities without savings or other financial support,” she said. “OSAP gave me one less thing to worry about, and that thing ended up being pretty massive. Life as a student is very stressful without it.”
She says the added "financial stressor" is taking away from her ability to learn and gain the valuable education she's paid for.
"Completing a degree takes clarity, peace of mind and a massive amount of work," Ariaz said. "You have to prioritize your education, but it's hard t odo that wthout OSAP."
Humber’s Financial Aid office provides services to help students in low income or in need of emergency funding, but Ariaz said the office is not accessible.
Ariaz says she works exhausting hours in her limited time on top of her school work and class time. It's next to impossible to cut through the buraucracy that didn't exist when simply applying for OSAP.
“Despite being on campus 5 days a week, by the time I finish class or work their office is closed. The last time I called them I was on hold for over an hour, which is difficult to find time for,” she said.
Brett Francis, manager of Humber’s financial aid, said it uses all its resources to reach as many students as possible and help students under “financial duress.”
Ariaz has not seen any of those resources and calls for Humber to step in for OSAP’s shortcomings.
“Humber should make a greater effort to support students in need through larger bursaries and more lenient scholarship opportunities. Post-secondary education should favour students, not profit,” she said.
Associate Registrar of Student Financial Services Daniel Castillo-Sanchez said the province provided an additional $6.4 billion to public post-secondary schools across the province, but it came at a cost to the students.
Castillo-Sanchez said low-income students are receiving a 70 per cent reduction in the needs-based program and loans have increased by 446 per cent.
“Luckily, the federal government hasn't cut anything for our students. Actually, we're seeing an increase in those grants,” he says. “There were no changes to the (federal) program. So, I would say that this is attributed to increased domestic enrollment.”
Federal grants are automatically included when applying for OSAP and are not made to replace the grants that have been cut.
“I don’t think Doug Ford really believes the OSAP is unsustainable, he just saw an opportunity to cut costs, and he took it. But that comes at the cost of our future,” Ariaz said.
"Remember, remeber the fifth of November." A day synonymous with opposing tyranny lives on as university students in Ontario are planning a one-day strike on Nov. 5 to protest the OSAP cuts and austerity agenda of the provincial government.
College students should join them.
The negligent mismanagement of OSAP funds begs the call for the Colleges and Universities Minister’s resignation. Also needed is a complete restructuring of OSAP to ensure students that need financial support for the right of education, receive it.
