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Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over recent cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) Tuesday, telling them to “not pick basket-weaving courses” and to invest in education that gives people in-demand jobs.
Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Ford said he received “thousands of calls” from students over the long weekend, who expressed concerns about the province cutting the amount of grant money students can receive through OSAP.
“I mentioned to the students, you have to invest in your future, into in-demand jobs,” he said.
“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there.”
The changes to OSAP were announced by Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities Nolan Quinn last week. Starting this fall, the amount of money eligible students can receive in the form of OSAP grants will decrease from a maximum of 85 per cent to 25 per cent.
That change has sparked worry among many incoming and current students, who say it will strain their finances and put them in more debt after graduation.
Ford said taxpayers want to know that the courses students are picking — and that they’re paying for — are going to help an in-demand jobs sector in the province. He mentioned trades, healthcare and STEM-related fields as those that would provide jobs to graduates.
He acknowledged that students are “probably upset right now,” but also said he’s heard some “nightmare stories” about kids going out and “buying fancy watches and cologne,” supposedly alluding to students misusing their OSAP money.
“That doesn’t fly with the taxpayers, I’ll tell you that right now,” said Ford.
Comments ‘shocking’
Omar Nusir, a second-year student at Western University studying medical sciences, called Ford’s comments “shocking.”
“In-demand fields are higher in cost,” said Nusir, who wants to go to medical school and become a diagnostic radiologist. When he looked at tuition fees at Western for medical school, he said tuition was north of $20,000 a year.
“If I listen to Doug Ford’s advice about choosing in-demand fields, I am actually [going] farther into debt,” he said.
WATCH | Ontario announces tuition changes, OSAP cuts:
Ontario lifts tuition freeze, cuts back OSAP for post-secondary students
Ontario is giving colleges and universities billions in new funding, while lifting a seven-year tuition fee freeze and cutting back on the amount of student assistance grants.
Nusir got OSAP funding in both his first and second year of university. A large chunk of that funding came from grants. OSAP funding is only given out to eligible Ontario residents who are either Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons, according to its webpage.
“I come from the Middle East. I’m of a low-income family,” he said. “My grants were even higher than my [OSAP] loans because I was perceived as a very low-income student.”
Now that OSAP was cut, Nusir said he may not be able to afford to go to medical school, which he hopes to get into in his fourth year of university.
“[Premier Ford] is putting pressure on people that are choosing the STEM courses that he advises us to take,” said Nusir. “That seems to be a bad decision financially for me because these courses are more expensive than other faculties.”
The Ford government did introduce a program called the Learn and Stay grant in 2023, which provides funding for students in priority postsecondary programs — such as nursing — in certain parts of the province.
The grant was expanded to include covering costs for would-be family doctors, but it only kicks in for medical school students who agree to work in family medicine and take on a full roster of patients upon graduation.
Nusir said next school year, he may have to cut back on his volunteering roles in the community, like his volunteer work at St. Joseph’s hospital in London, Ont., to increase his working hours at his paid job.
“I have a lot of friends and students that I know that are doing the same thing, because we’re left with no other option,” he said.
