Rally attendees included political leaders, students, and other people demanding the reversal of recent changes to the province’s student assistance program. (Courtesy: Now Toronto)
Thousands of students and supporters gathered at Queen’s Park on Wednesday afternoon to protest recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) and tuition policies.
Since lifting the tuition freeze and adjusting OSAP grants and loans in February, Premier Doug Ford has faced criticism, with many arguing that his policies do not support students’ interests.
The “Hands Off Our Education Rally” took place at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario around noon and was organized by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFSO). In an Instagram post, the group called the Ford government’s actions unacceptable.
“The Ford government’s decision to open the floodgates to tuition increases AND the decimation of OSAP will destroy what’s left of education in Ontario,” the CFSO said. “Enough is enough – it’s time to take to the streets and flex the true power of students in the province.”
Protesters carried signs and chanted slogans such as “Hands off our campuses, OSAP and education.”
The Toronto Police Service confirmed via email that two people were arrested around 3:07 p.m. Twenty-two-year-old Rohtansh Saini of Toronto was charged with mischief causing damage under $5,000, and 21-year-old Mason Wallington from Hay River, Northwest Territories, was charged with assaulting a peace officer. Police did not provide an overall attendance count.
On-the-ground reactions
Second-year university student Len Makriyannis told Now Toronto that the cuts will affect both her education and career aspirations.
“I had dreams, and Ford is stripping it away from me,” she said. “I wanted to become a professor, but with these OSAP cuts, it’s stopping me from pursuing something I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid, and it’s heartbreaking because it’s taking away so many opportunities.”
Makriyannis also highlighted the impact of rising living costs:
“OSAP has helped me pay for my rent, helped me buy groceries, pay bills, it’s like a cushion to help me live. And not only that, but the rent prices that are going up right now are absolutely astronomical. I had an old unit, and now my old unit’s at $2,700 and it’s the size of a shoe box, so [these cuts are going to] be affecting me significantly.”
She had a pointed message for the premier:
“You gotta f*k off, man. You do not know the sh**t that we’re going through. You do not know how hard it is already to live as a student in Canada. It is ridiculous that you’re doing this.”
First-year student Jayden Meertins expressed frustration at Ford’s broader governance:
“I’ve come out because of the amount of immense corruption that Doug Ford has been doing in terms of housing, with the Greenbelt, with the science center, with the Skills Development Fund. There are so many different levels of corruption that we’ve seen going on in this province and continuing, and this is just another layer being added on top of everything I’ve listed.”
Meertins, who relies on OSAP for basic living expenses, added:
“My OSAP goes to transportation and it goes to my housing costs and groceries. That’s the real reality for students across this province. It’s very disheartening as a student and for students here, for them to hear that the money that [the government] gives us, [Ford’s] claiming we use it on designer watches and jewelry and clothing, when in reality, we don’t.”
Political leaders join the protest
Ontario New Democratic Party leader Marit Stiles attended the rally and criticized Ford’s spending choices:
“When it comes to any of his pet projects, his vanity projects, he suddenly has money growing on trees, right? And he accuses students of misspending OSAP on things that they just simply don’t have. He’s making young people look like they’re the bad guys but at the end of the day, this is about choices. He has a choice that he can make, and he’s choosing to spend this on things like luxury spas in downtown Toronto, billions of our dollars, instead of actually supporting young people and their futures.”
John Fraser, MPP and interim leader of the Liberal Party, also spoke out:
“Doug Ford and the government have to reverse this change. That’s step number one. They have to realize that this is an affordability crisis right now, and putting more pressure on students and their families is the wrong thing to do.”
Fraser added that the cuts affect not only students but their families:
“I think the government is really underestimating the power of youth and how important this is to people in the middle of an affordability crisis, how putting more burden on students and their families is the wrong thing to do.”
Stiles said she hopes the legislature will vote on OSAP and tuition changes when it next sits on March 23.
