Premier Dalton McGuinty Calls for Open Ontario

On Monday, March 8th, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty outlined his seven step plan for pulling Ontario out of its $24.7 billion budget deficit. The plan focuses on reforming the health and financial sectors of the government, furthering natural resources, and unexpectedly, expanding post-secondary education in Ontario. The Premier called the plan ‘Open Ontario’; a name that hints both at expansion of industry and unusual business practices. The plan looks into furthering Ontario’s mining industry up north and possibly joining the provincial enterprises (Hydro One, LCBO, Ontario Power Generation etc.) into one Super Corporation. The plan also calls for reforming health care and taxes, and concentrating on green energy (such as wind energy) sectors and post-secondary education.

It is no secret that Ontario’s universities and colleges are suffering from budget constraints. Post-secondary institutions are coping with the effects of the recession and of Ontario’s budget deficit by increasing tuition fees.

Ontario now has the highest tuition fees in all of Canada, with a net increase of 21% and 44% over other provinces, for undergraduate and graduate students, respectively.

To accommodate the increasing tuition fees in Ontario universities and colleges, the Premier proposes to increase the number of students in Ontario universities; specifically, international students. The ultimate goal of Open Ontario is to increase the number of international applicants by 50% over the next five years. Premier McGuinty’s strategy is to aggressively promote Ontario universities and colleges to international students.

Quick facts about the 38,000 international students currently residing in Ontario:

· They spend cumulatively $1 billion/year on rent, groceries and clothing.

· They pay a tuition of $20,000 – $30,000 per student per term in University of Waterloo.

In addition, the Open Ontario plan laid out a five year process for raising the rate of post-secondary education from 62% to 70%. The equivalent of this 8% increase is adding 180,000 more students to Ontario’s post-secondary institutions. Open Ontario will start by providing funding for 20,000 more applicants (roughly the size of University of Guelph) in Ontario universities and colleges this fall.

The supporters of Open Ontario highlight the fact that Ontario is finally focusing on the needs of its post-secondary education, whereas the nay-sayers state that Premier Dalton McGuinty is using international students as means of money.

Criticizers of the plan also point out that while increasing tuition may benefit the province now, it is forever disabling the future consumers of Ontario. This huge debt of post-secondary education will affect the financial situations of all those graduating now and in the next ten years.

While it does seem like a legitimate plan, it must be considered that this is a gamble. Promoting Ontario universities to international students, while the world is in recession, might not prove fruitful. Whatever the outcome, Premier Dalton McGuinty is calling for a open mind for his Open Ontario.