TORONTO — Hundreds of students from Ontario colleges and universities across Ontario gathered at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto on Friday to demand reconsideration to recent changes made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) by the Conservative government.
Students marched to Queen’s Park in a procession that was loud but orderly and sent a clear message about students’ disagreement with the cuts made to post-secondary education. They chanted, “We the students, will never be defeated!”
“Education is our right as students and we know that OSAP makes it possible for thousands of students every year to attend university. They can’t just cut our right to education,” said student Deanna Allain. “So I’m here from McMaster University because I care about education. I care about my access and my friend’s access and everyone’s access across Ontario. And we’re going to keep fighting until we get that.”
“Our message to the Ford government is to reverse the cuts,” said Mohammad Ali Aumeer, spokesperson for Ontario Students United. “This is going to cripple colleges and universities. It’s going to cripple student organizations. We need these cuts reversed and we need actual proper funding of post-secondary education. The cost of tuition is great, but if it’s not met with putting money into the system, it’s not going to fix anything. Tuition keeps going up, class sizes keep going up. We need the government to step in and properly fund every college and every university in Ontario.”
— with files from Kaitlyn Mullin, Spoke News
