Liberals allege Ford government has political ties to career colleges under OSAP probe - BERITAJA

As the Ford government grapples pinch a increasing OSAP ungraded astatine private profession colleges, the Progressive Conservatives are facing caller accusations of having governmental ties pinch the operators of immoderate institutions that are nether scrutiny.

In early October, the authorities said it had suspended six backstage profession colleges from their OSAP eligibility and launched a sector-wide audit into the imaginable misuse of payer dollars, aft soul investigations recovered the actions of immoderate colleges whitethorn person progressive criminality.

The authorities referred the findings to the OPP, which is presently determining whether to motorboat a afloat criminal investigation.

Ontario’s Liberal Party, however, is questioning why the authorities didn’t enactment sooner contempt receiving warnings arsenic early arsenic 2023 from a profession assemblage defense group, and accused the Progressive Conservatives of turning a unsighted eye.

Tyler Watt, the Liberal professional for universities and colleges, alleged Wednesday that furniture ministers attended the field opening of 1 of the suspected colleges specified months aft the schoolhouse was probed by authorities inspectors.

Elections Ontario records show that the founders of 1 backstage profession assemblage besides donated to the PC Party since 2024. Public lobbying records show that the aforesaid schoolhouse hired lobbyists who antecedently worked successful the premier’s office.

“At best, it is incompetence and mismanagement. At worst, it’s imaginable corruption,” Liberal leader John Fraser told reporters. Fraser and Watt are besides calling connected Nolan Quinn, the province’s colleges and universities minister, to resign.

“He has not done his job, and that’s why he needs to measurement down. We request personification who’s really going to return power of this absolute dumpster fire,” said Fraser.

The accusations travel arsenic the authorities took further steps to mitigate the damage.

BERITAJA reported Wednesday that Quinn barred 3 profession colleges from being capable to connection publically funded student assistance until 2030. Previously, those colleges were only blocked for the year.

There are presently 242 profession colleges that are eligible to person OSAP successful Ontario, each of which person now been trim disconnected from the provincial program. Those actions person near students without promised backing conscionable weeks into their schoolhouse years and person near galore without intends to salary lodging and nutrient costs, said Fraser.

Career Colleges Ontario, the relation representing hundreds of institutions, is urging the Ford authorities to reinstate student financial assistance for students who were already approved.

Quinn said past week an soul investigation recovered “unusually precocious concentrations of OSAP applications submitted from the aforesaid geographic locations” and besides pointed to the engagement of “immigration services firms” being straight tied aliases co-owned by immoderate of the probed profession colleges.

The authorities referred those findings to auditing patient KPMG for a further probe and Quinn said the authorities has besides reported “it to the OPP and the Auditor General.” While the OPP is deciding whether to investigate, Ontario’s Auditor General told BERITAJA the agency only received a “notification” from the government, but that the state stopped short of requesting a general value-for-money audit.