Ontario has recently made college and university more accessible and affordable for low- and middle-income students.
The province has eliminated provincial student loan debt for students whose parents earn less than $50,000. In addition, the province will be providing the majority of students whose parents earn $83,300 or less with enough in grants to more than cover their tuition costs.
Lakes District News asked the B.C. Minister of Advanced Education if the province would consider implementing similar changes to B.C.'s post-secondary education system.
Advanced education minister Andrew Wilkinson said B.C. is “watching with interest” the changes to Ontario’s student grant program along with its specific details.
However, he points out that there are a few differences between Ontario's and B.C.’s public post-secondary education systems.
“There are a number of differences - in B.C., the average undergraduate tuition fees are $5305 in 2015-16, while in Ontario, average annual tuition is almost 50 per cent higher at $7868.”
According to Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Ontario is home to the highest tuition fees in Canada and the lowest per-student funding.
“Post-secondary education has become largely out of reach for Ontarian low-income families, with students from the lowest income quartiles barely accounting for 10 per cent of university and college enrolments,” says a CFS press release.
Wilkinson said the public post-secondary system in British Columbia is both affordable and accessible, offering a mix of loans and grants. He said B.C. has also maintained a two per cent cap on tuition increases since 2005, unlike the three per cent cap in Ontario that expires in 2017-18.
In addition, Wilkinson said approximately 70 per cent of all eligible public post-secondary students do not make use of B.C. government student loans to finance their higher education for undergraduate and diploma studies.
Ontario’s announcement came following the Canadian Federation of Students’ national lobby week, where student representatives from across the country met nearly 200 MPs and senators to present their priorities ahead of the 2016 federal budget, including a pathway to eliminating tuition fees in Canada.
“Students across Canada are celebrating this victory in Ontario,” said Bilan Arte, National Chairperson of CFS. “We’re looking to the upcoming federal budget and saying, ‘Your move, prime minister Trudeau;’”
Last year Newfoundland and Labrador also announced that the province would be eliminating student loans and replacing them with a system of non-repayable grants. Newfoundland was the first province to eliminate the loan system, a move that was applauded by students across the country.