
Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report January 18, 2019 Quotation of the day “If it’s good enough for Justin Trudeau, we’ll align with the feds on this.” Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Merrilee Fullerton announces a raft of changes to post-secondary tuition and OSAP, including charging interest for the six-month grace period after graduation. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule Government House Leader Todd Smith denied rumours from three government sources that told Queen’s Park Today the House will be recalled early. MPPs are still slated to return on February 19. In the park The precinct was buzzing with MPPs on Thursday with the PC caucus and cabinet holding meetings in Macdonald Block. While staking out the cabinet meeting, media crossed paths with deputy minister Mario Di Tommaso, who reportedly didn’t have a comment regarding the Ron Taverner drama. Ontario rejigs OSAP Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Merrilee Fullerton rolled out changes to Ontario’s post-secondary tuition fee framework and OSAP Thursday. “We’re making sure that OSAP is sustainable for future generations,” Fullerton said, slamming the previous Liberal rulers for “subsidizing higher-income earners.” Here are the highlights: ● As was reported earlier this week, Fullerton officially announced tuition fees at colleges and universities are getting cut by 10 per cent in 2019-20 from current levels, and then frozen the following year. The minister confirmed schools won’t receive provincial funding to fill the budget hole created by the decrease, which the Toronto Star has reported is estimated to cost about $440 million. ○ Fullerton noted universities are “autonomous” and colleges are “relatively independent” and said “they will make choices in terms of what they need to do” to make up the gap. ● The Liberal-established Ontario Student Grant, or the so-called free tuition program, which has been fully covering tuition for low-income university or college students since 2017, is coming to an end. Under the incoming PC system, eligible students will get some combination of loans and grants. ● The OSAP eligibility ceiling is decreasing. Students reporting a net family income of $140,000 and under will qualify for financial support. Under the Liberals the threshold was $175,000. ● Students whose families pull in a net income of $140,000 or more will only receive support in the form of loans, not grants. Those with families earning $50,000 or less will get a slightly bigger slice of the pie in grant funding. ● Interest will now be charged during the six-month grace period for new graduates, which the government says will “reduce complexity for students.” Fullerton said this matches up with how the federal government collects student loans. “If it’s good enough for Justin Trudeau, we’ll align with the feds on this,” she said. ● The minimum income threshold is being lowered. Students will have to start paying back their loans once their paycheck hits $25,000 annually. ● Students will be allowed to opt out of certain student fees, such as those that fund student unions, LGBTQ clubs, and campus newspapers and radio stations. Fees for programs related to health and wellness will still be mandatory. The idea, Fullerton said, is to empower students to decide what matters to them. “Students are adults and we will be treating them as adults,” she said. ● There will be no reduction in operating grants for post-secondary institutions and a “contingency” plan for northern universities — which will be hit harder by the tuition cut since they attract fewer high-paying international students. (International students and students in professional programs are not receiving a tuition cut). Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s latest annual report said the cost of the Liberal-established “free” tuition program was on track to balloon to a much higher-than-expected $2 billion per year. She also said there was little evidence showing the system led to higher enrollment. “A bad day for students”: Critics raise concern about rising debt Opposition critics, students, unions and advocates say they’re worried the PC’s changes will leave students dealing with higher debt after getting their diploma. “The government’s decision to charge interest right away, to do away with the grace period, is completely appalling. New graduates need time to get on their feet,” said Liberal MPP (and a former education minister) Mitzie Hunter. She contended the PCs are giving the wealthiest students a break at the expense of those who are most in need. “Needy students will see next to no benefits because under the previous program they were already being provided for. Wealthy students, who never qualified for OSAP in the first place, are being given a 10 per cent tuition cut even though they can afford it the most.” NDP MPP Chris Glover said leaving post-secondary institutions to fill the budget gap created by the tuition-fee cut will hurt students in the long run. “Students will pay for this with larger classes and fewer professors.” Green Leader Mike Schreiner said making fees for programs besides tuition optional “reduces the capacity for student representation and advocacy.” The Canadian Federation of Students’ Ontario chairperson Nour Alideeb said the Ford government “attempted to spin this announcement” but in reality the move “will increase out-of-pocket costs for students, diminish the quality of education students receive and undermine crucial student supports on campus.” “The reality of loans-based financial aid programs is that students from low-income families pay more for their education in the long-run,” she said. CFS is planning an “emergency rally” at Queen’s Park this afternoon to protest the move. Today’s events January 18 at 11 a.m. – Toronto Lindsey Park, the parliamentary assistant to the attorney general, will make an announcement about online charitable raffles at Scotiabank Arena alongside representatives from Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment Foundation and athletes. January 18 at 1 p.m. – Toronto The Canadian Federation of Students will hold a demonstration regarding student union autonomy on the Queen’s Park lawn. Upcoming events January 21 at 11:30 a.m. – Toronto Premier Doug Ford will address the Economic Club at a luncheon speech. The Economic Club’s website previously listed the event as sold out, but as of Thursday there are tickets available. January 24 at 6:30 p.m. – Toronto Equal Voice Toronto is hosting a panel on campaign communications featuring NDP MPP Catherine Fife, Navigator’s Lanny Cardow and the Canadian Beverage Association’s senior director of government affairs Gabrielle Gallant. iPolitics reporter Marieke Walsh is moderating. Topics of conversation ● The CBC and Toronto Star are reporting a major restructuring of Ontario’s health care system is on the horizon. The Tories are looking to swap out the current 14 local health integration networks (LHINs) for either “no more than five regional oversight bodies,” or, eliminate them entirely, according to the CBC’s sources. ● Those who spoke to the Star said the PCs want to dismantle the 14 LHINs, as well as eHealth, Cancer Care Ontario and over 20 other agencies, and morph them into one “super agency.” ● The Star’s Robert Benzie managed to catch up Health Minister Christine Elliott who did not deny dissolving the LHINs. ○ LHINs operate on a local level and are in charge of coordinating health-care services and funding at hospitals, long-term care homes, mental health and addiction agencies and community health centres. ○ Per the CBC, the Tories believe the LHINs haven’t achieved the goal of improving integration of local health services, which was then-premier Dalton McGuinty’s vision when he established them in 2007. ○ At pre-budget committee hearings this week, the Ontario Hospital Association suggested the government allow hospitals and home-care providers to work together to coordinate patient services sans third-party bureaucracies like the LHINs. Under Wynne, Community Care Access Centres (which previously coordinated home care) were folded into LHINs after a damning report from the auditor general over access and red tape. ○ OHA President and CEO Anthony Dale told the committee “it’s now time to allow hospitals and home care providers to work directly together,” and argued the problems plaguing the CCACs were carried over to the LHINs. Without the LHINs, “hospitals and home care organizations can wrap services around the needs of patients. In doing so, of course, we’ll have to overhaul the antiquated contracts that currently govern home care today, that prevent them from modernizing services in an effective manner,” Dale said. ● Out-of-towner MPPs may be upgrading their pads after the Board of Internal Economy quietly agreed to raise members’ monthly rental housing budget by 20 per cent, according to documents dug up by the Canadian Press. MPPs whose home ridings are at least 50 kilometres from the pink palace are now entitled to $2,300 a month for rent, up from $1,910. Ministers and opposition leaders are giving themselves a cash bump too — raising their monthly accommodation allowances to $2,383, up from $1,993. ○ Community Safety Minister Sylvia Jones, a voting member of the Board of Internal Economy, told CP the change was made to address the increased cost of rent in Toronto. ● Meanwhile, a better commute to Queen’s Park may be en route. Toronto Mayor John Tory announced a $162-million injection to the capital budget for the downtown relief line that, if approved, will fast-track construction by two years. Torontonians could see relief by 2029 instead of 2031. ● Democracy Watch, a citizen advocacy group, sent a letter to Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake calling for an investigation into whether Premier Doug Ford violated conflict-of-interest rules when he recommended his former principal secretary Jenni Byrne for a full-time board position at the Ontario Energy Board.
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