Yesterday, PC Leader Tim Hudak announced that he would provide more funding for Ontario students, by diverting funds away from the Ontario Trillium Scholarship program.
The Ontario Trillium Scholarship program was created by the McGuinty government in 2010 to attract doctoral students from other countries to study in Ontario, by providing them up to $40,000/year in scholarships. The program would attract 75 of the worlds brightest students to Ontario to study, allowing Ontario universities to compete on a global scale with leading international institutions. The program would cost the Ontario government $20 million over four years, and would cost universities a further $10 million. Universities appear to be in favour of the program, as University of Toronto President David Naylor said the scholarships would “help [them] attract the very best talent from around the globe to Ontario.” He added, “That’s good for our universities and good for the future of this province.”
Hudak claims that this program is a waste, and unfair to Ontario students who are not eligible to receive this funding. He is promising to divert the money from the program to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), allowing Ontario students with a family income of less than $65,000 an extra $300 per year.
As a university student, I agree that OSAP could still use improvement, but $300/year is not likely to help me out very much. OSAP is already one of the most generous student aid program in the country, dispensing over $500 million to Ontario students each year.
So now we look at the options. A McGuinty government who has proven their commitment to education over the last 8 years and will continue to provide Ontario students with over $500 million/year while attracting 75 of the brightest international students to Ontario, or a Hudak government that promises not to cut education while providing Ontario students with an extra $300/year and squashing the Ontario Trillium Scholarship. Keep in mind that Hudak’s platform has $14 billion in unfunded spending with no mention of how they are going to cover this shortfall. Perhaps its Common Sense (Revolution)? Lets ask Mike Harris.
