The newly announced 2018 provincial budget promises better care for Ontarians, but falls short in delivering key investments in post-secondary education that students and their allies have been calling for.
Students recognize that investments in public services create the conditions for success in this province. Several aspects of this budget respond to the calls to action in the Federation's Fairness for Students campaign, such as diverse and well-funded mental health resources, free child care for children aged two-and-a-half to kindergarten and stronger legislation to protect workers.
However, this budget fails to find a solution for the unresolved issues in post-secondary education like per-student funding, full-time faculty support and interest on existing student loans. Institutions in Ontario receive the lowest levels of per-student funding in Canada, at roughly 32% below the national average. The existing changes to OSAP, reiterated in this budget, do not address the fact that students will continue to pay the highest tuition fees in the country for the ninth consecutive year.
"Only one third of the student population in post-secondary education has benefited from the recent changes to OSAP. There are still marginalized students, namely part-time students, students in professional programs and international students, who cannot access financial support in this province," explained Nour Alideeb, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario. "Though students are excited about the investments in public services, they need a commitment from the government that will deal with the root issue of government underfunding."
This budget has expanded on the government's Mental Health Matters announcement made last week, which promised the single biggest investment in mental health and addiction services in Ontario's history. Students are excited to see a portion of this new funding will be allocated to creating supports for Indigenous, racialized and francophone communities, yet remain concerned that there is no mention of funding allocations to support existing counselling and peer support services on campuses across the province.
"The expansion of community mental health services in the province presents a step in the right direction," said Sami Pritchard, National Executive Representative of the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario. "However, it remains unclear how effective these services will be in addressing the lack of on-campus services for students. We know that students' mental health is directly linked to the challenges associated with accessing post-secondary education, in particular the stress of taking on unprecedented levels of debt to finance their education."
