On February 12th, MCURES (the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security) made a significant announcement impacting post-secondary education and students in the province.

The good?

The post-secondary education (PSE) sector received a much-needed and long-overdue investment. The provincial government is immediately investing $6.4B over the next four years (that’s $1.6B per year) to boost operating funds for the sector.

 In addition to the $5.4B already allocated, this will come out to $7B per year, with further focus on Northern, French-speaking and Indigenous institutions.

This is good, although it is twenty years overdue, and is in line with many demands and recommendations from the Federation. But it’s clear that students did not have a seat at the decision making table.

The bad?

Removal of the domestic tuition freeze. Since 2019, the tuition freeze has helped make education more accessible and tuition fees more predictable for students and families in Ontario. However, this was still a temporary solution. And yesterday’s announcement has proven that without a consistent plan to publicly fund post-secondary education, the floodgates have officially opened on all tuition fees in the province. 

Allowing institutions to raise tuition fees by up to 2% per year for the next three years, then adjusting for inflation. In the midst of an economic crisis, the decision to start increasing tuition will be catastrophic for students. The sector is underfunded, but students cannot be held responsible for the government’s shortfalls. 

Turning OSAP from a grants-program to a loans-program. Yes, the OSAP program has been struggling, but this was due to the province’s negligence. Now, they’re attempting to fix their mistakes by eliminating grants, and putting students under debt. Capping the available grants to a maximum of 25%, while opening up to a minimum of 75% loans, is a devastating blow for students.

Bill 33 is…

  • An attack on YOUR students’ unions, student-run services, student jobs, and your campus

  • Bill 33 is a dangerous precedent for exclusionary education policies, targeting marginalized students

  • Bill 33 is an overreach by the government to curb academic freedoms

  • An increase in policing and surveillance

  • A distraction from the underfunding of our colleges and universities

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario announced the Fight the Fees: Hands Off Our Education! campaign to organize students, workers, community members and solidarity partners to oppose the major cuts to post-secondary education, Bill 33, and call for public funding for public post-secondary education.

Tell me more

FAQ

  • Does the Federation plan to pursue a legal challenge against the Ford-government, like the Student Choice Initiative?

    At this time, no.

    In 2019, the Federation alongside the York Federation of Students took the provincial government to court twice and won both at the Ontario Divisional Courts and Court of Appeal levels, where the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) was deemed unlawful as it was a policy and not a legislation. Bill 33 aims to create legislation, providing the provincial government with a legal avenue to continue its attacks on education; therefore, at this time, a legal challenge will not be beneficial.

  • Instead of a campaign, why doesn’t the Federation aim to lobby the provincial government?

    Our fight against Bill 33 includes both a campaign strategy and a government relations strategy. While lobbying the government can be helpful to get strategic policy changes, it cannot and will not be our only avenue to stop Bill 33. The Hands Off Our Education! campaign aims to continue building student power across the province while agitating and putting pressure on the government to reject Bill 33!

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