Do Ontario students get free tuition? The short answer is no. In this episode, Nora and Sandy go through the long answer, which is also no, but much more passionate and funny than the short answer.
Episode 16: Ontario’s free tuition lie
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The liberals never said they would provide free tuition for everyone. They said that there would be free tuition for those who qualify. I think most people understand that this is what they meant. A quick search shows that on March 2017, they annouced that “Ontario is now accepting applications for the new Ontario Student Assistance Program, which is making tuition free for more than 210,000 students.” That is for college and universities, and represents a significant portion of enrolment, but not all enrolment. Their pamphlets highlight free tuition but have qualifiers.
I guess what I am saying is that the contradictions you present “free tuition” but “votes to increase tuition” are not contradictions at all. You can increase tuition and still have free tuition for those who need it most. This podcast is not being fair or reasonable. It seems rather biased actually. If you are going to criticize them, and there is plenty of space to do it, you should do your research and be factual. For example, do you really know that Obama was the inspiration for “free tuition”? Can you provide some evidence that actually links both events?
What we have in Ontario is a progressive tuition system for full-time students. The poorest receive free tuition + additional grants for living expenses (+ maximum amount of loans for living expenses), and then aid decreases based on income.
What are we suggesting with free tuition for everyone? That the government write a check to people who can afford it? In that situation, the richest would get a complete subsidy for tuition. How is that going to affect funding to the poorest? (assuming that government funds are limited, of course, and that there are other priorities) Do you think Chile provides grants and loans for living expenses to its students?
And, to be clear, I received the maximum amount of aid allowable to OSAP, because I was really poor at 18 and by myself. Yes, the debt was difficult to pay back, it doesn’t change the fact that I received more non-repayable grants than I paid for tuition (and some extra non-repayable grant money too) and I did so because I was really poor and my assessments showed that.
It works quite well for me