ON Premier defends postsecondary funding changes

Government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended his recent changes to postsecondary tuition and the Ontario Student Assistance Program this week following “thousands” of calls from students over the weekend. Ford explained that keeping tuition frozen was no longer sustainable, and that pressure from institutions ultimately led him to unfreeze it. Speaking on changes that increased the proportion of OSAP loans relative to grants, Ford said: “I’m always saying we have the brightest and best students and best colleges and universities in the world, but when you’re in the hole $2.5B [the previous grant allocation] wasn’t realistic.”