The Toronto Star recently investigated Government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s claims that the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) needed to be overhauled due to abuse of the system. According to the data, $8.3M in student assistance funding was wrongly issued last year, relative to $2B in total student assistance disbursed through OSAP in the 2024–25 fiscal year. The Star notes that in the past two years, approximately 1,800 cases of wrongly issued funds were investigated, of which 530 were deemed to be egregious violations. However, data was not provided as to how much funding had been recouped. While ON Colleges and Universities Minister Press Secretary Bianca Giacoboni stated that misuse of funding is “unacceptable,” Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario Chairperson Cyrielle Ngeleka said the claims of abuse are being used to justify austerity measures.
