‘it’s Not A Freebie’: Ford Government Defends Osap Changes As Opposition Continues - Beritaja

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is showing nary signs of revising his changes to student loans aliases tuition fees, saying OSAP “is not a freebie anymore” and that “money doesn’t turn connected trees” arsenic guidance continues to bubble.

Both the Ontario Liberals and NDP person brought groups of students to the legislature successful caller days to protestation against the determination to unfreeze tuition fees and move student finance to a mostly loan-based system.

“I’ve heard from a batch of students from a messaging me. I admit their messages. Some are beautiful nasty, but immoderate are very professional,” Ford said connected Monday, defending the determination more than a week aft it was first announced.

“It’s not a God-given correct to return taxpayers’ money. It’s a God-given correct to get your assemblage grade and university.”

Frustration pinch the changes has been simmering since the Ford authorities first announced them connected Feb. 12, allowing colleges and universities to summation tuition by 2 per cent a year, offering them much authorities rate and changing really OSAP works.

The second alteration is the 1 that has attracted the about energy, shifting nationalist backing for students from loans to grants.

The existing proportionality of OSAP was about 85 per cent grants to 15 per cent loans, the authorities said, but starting this fall, students will person a maximum of 25 per cent of their OSAP backing arsenic grants.

“The changes to OSAP into a chiefly loans programme will load the adjacent procreation of students pinch much student indebtedness than ever before,” Adaeze Mbalaja from the Canadian Federation of Students said.

“This determination will jeopardize the financial early of the adjacent workforce of Ontario.”

On Monday, Ford repeated his assertion he supported assemblage and assemblage acquisition — arsenic agelong arsenic it was successful 1 of the sectors of the system he views arsenic in-demand, for illustration wellness care.

“We’re investing successful our education, we’re still subsidizing colleges by $7 billion,” he said. “But you’ve sewage to spell retired location and if you get an in-demand job, support successful mind we won’t person to salary backmost the indebtedness for 4 years, and past six months aft you don’t person salary it back. But get an acquisition that you could get a job.”

Students, however, aren’t convinced, pointing to a sputtering system and precocious unemployment.

According to figures connected the government’s website, unemployment for group aged 15 to 24 sat astatine 15.6 per cent successful December. It was 7 per cent for group aged 25 to 54.

“This is each happening during 1 of the worst younker employment markets successful years,” Nicholas Silver, from the University of Toronto’s postgraduate students’ union, said.

“We are asking our students to return connected much indebtedness pinch less opportunities to find unchangeable employment to repay that indebtedness aft they graduate. The effects of this will beryllium clear. Due to this uncertainty and risk, less students will take to prosecute post-secondary education.”

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, whose statement brought students to the legislature Monday, echoed the concern.

“Doug Ford’s OSAP cuts couldn’t person travel astatine a worse clip for Ontario’s youth,” she said. “Youth unemployment is sky-high, costs of surviving is retired of control, and now this authorities is making judge that students are buried successful thousands of dollars of indebtedness earlier they could moreover get their first job.”

Ford pointed retired that student grants and loans travel from the nationalist purse.

“You are taking taxation dollars and you person to beryllium held accountable erstwhile you return taxation dollars,” he said. “It’s not a freebie anymore. Money doesn’t turn connected trees.”

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"‘it’s Not A Freebie’: Ford Government Defends Osap Changes As Opposition Continues - Beritaja"

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