Did someone put Bernie Sanders in charge of Ontario’s budget?
Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, students from low-income families will not have to pay tuition for college or university in Ontario. The costs will be covered by the new Ontario Student Grant.
It’s a part of the provincial government’s plan to eliminate the “sticker shock” that deters so many from going on to post-secondary education.
Reza Moridi, minister of training, colleges and universities, says money will be available upfront, before tuition bills are due, for families earning less than $50,00o.
Before you attack the Liberals’ reckless spending, consider that the scheme doesn’t actually put new money into post-secondary education. $145 million in funds for the Grant, which will cover the first year, will come by cancelling the tuition tax credit and education tax credit.
The move is just one of several in an education spending reshuffle.
“Our plan increases access for everyone and benefits the middle class,” said Minister of Finance Charles Sousa in his budget speech. Additional low-interest and interest-free loans to students of more affluent backgrounds will also be negotiated.
With tuition rates in Ontario the highest in all of Canada, the strategy lessens the burden students of all backgrounds have to take on.
“The government really took all the recommendations from students groups and included them in one budget,” said Jeff Scherer, president of the College Student Alliance. “We are really excited to see (the changes) — college students are generally from low-income homes and this will drastically affect a lot of them.”
The initiative is especially important given that a student from a family earning $30,000 per year has a little over one in three chance of going on to post-secondary. Students from families earning over $110,000, meanwhile, have a two in three chance.
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