Ontario Election: How it Affects You

Although it’s already been pushed out of most people’s minds, remember it or not there was a provincial election in Ontario on October 6th. Despite the recent Conservative swing seen in the recent Federal election back in May, especially within the Greater Toronto Area, the provincial level ‘jump-to-the-left’ was not as strong, with the Conservatives picking up only 12 more seats and the Liberals hanging on to a minority government that’s only one seat short of a majority. Speculation about the Conservative party’s attack add tactic to lingering wounds from the days and destruction of Premier Mike Harris has been made to try to explain this, but despite the reasons behind it, this is the government we are now left with. The question now remains, how does this Liberal-Conservative mix with a side of NDP (who are acting as a third party with a total of 17 seats won) affect students?
Leading up to election day, the general topic of education was brought to the forefront by most parties, with emphasis this time around on post-secondary education.  Even before the election began, it’s become increasingly clear how out of control tuition in Ontario has gotten. Ontario boasts the highest average tuition rates in the country, and they are also the highest they have ever been. Previously, the provincial government would contribute more funds to each institution’s operating budget than fees, but some Ontario schools (Waterloo being one of them) now collect more of their funds from their students than the government. Waterloo Engineering has had a long standing reputation of being one of the top programs in the country, along side one of the overall top undergrad tuition rates as well – apparently we have to win in all of the categories. Thankfully, the provincial parties did recognize the value of post-secondary education this time around and chose to address the tuition problem. How they would address this problem, however, varied greatly from party to party.
If the Liberals in past years have made anything clear, it’s their obvious obsession with an arbitrary tax and grant system. I’m always perplexed as to how occasional cheques for arbitrary amounts of 30-something dollars from the government is supposed to offset a 13% tax on everything I buy, but nonetheless it’s the essence of the system that the Liberals choose to implement. Right out of the gate, the Liberals announced a plan for a grant that would cover 30% of average tuition for both college and university programs. They also assured that this would not affect OSAP coverage in any way, nor would it reduce the Ontario Student Opportunities Grant, which covers OSAP costs above $7,300 in efforts to reduce student debt. Full time students from families with an income of $160,000 or less would be eligible for the grant, and if elected it could be brought in as soon as January 2012. On the surface it appears to be a great plan that would be helpful to students under the current tuition crunch, but specific details regarding the funding of this grant as well as what limitations on overall tuition increases would be implemented are still unclear.
The Conservative party took a much different approach and primarily targeted OSAP in hopes of reducing the required parental contribution to funding tuition. By eliminating the 75 Trillium scholarships the province offers to international PhD students, greater loan amounts (and grant amounts as well in some cases) would be allowed for students applying to OSAP in the mid-range family income brackets. No mention of adjusting or freezing current tuition rates was made by the party, although they have pledged to increase the total number of post-secondary education ‘spaces’ (read: higher enrollment rates). What the Conservatives failed to mention is that these changes would result in greater opportunities for OSAP loans, and not necessarily grants. This plan would reduce the crunch to pay off school expenses now, but only for the burden to return with interest later on.
Although there is often fear of lack of action in a minority government setting, being only one seat short of a majority should not hamper the Liberal’s tuition plans too greatly. The NDP’s plan was primarily focused on creating a tuition freeze at the current rates and to eliminate provincial interest from student loans, so it’s safe to say they’re more likely to steer clear of the Conservative’s OSAP loan-based plan and support the Liberal grant system. The issue now remains as to whether or not the system can be implemented by the proposed January 2012 date, and whether or not the current gaps in the plan can be bridged so it could be implemented at all. At the end of the day, despite the typical lack of student interest in politics – take note! We could be seeing a positive outcome in more ways than one on our next tuition bill.