Cuts made by to Ontario post-secondary school funding were the cause of protest for Wilfrid Laurier students Tuesday afternoon.
Dozens attended the rally at Veterans’ Green in Waterloo with the goal of making their voices heard.
“Education is really, really important to students,” said Laurier student Aqsa Naveed. “The future of this country will be run by today’s generation, and just giving us the resources to come back to school…we need OSAP to come back to school and be able to pursue our education.”
Among the proposed changes are the scaling back of the student assistance program. This means there will no longer be what the former liberal government called "free tuition".
Students with a family income of $140,000 or more will now only be eligible for loans, and others from low income households, $50,000 or below, will get a larger percentage of grants.
The provincial government has also eliminated a six-month grace period for loan interest payments. Students will now pay the province interest on their loans, starting the day they graduate.
"Our government made a promise to restore Ontario’s financial health, including making the Ontario student assistance program sustainable again," said the province in a statement.
They added that by restoring OSAP’s financial stability, “it can get back to doing what it is supposed to do: supporting the students who need it most.”
“I think it’s incredibly important for students to stand up for our rights, demonstrate that the youth are not someone to be pushed, and that Doug Ford should not be cutting education, because it’s incredibly important to our future,” said fourth year Laurier student Brooke Dietrich.
Some students say they hope the government repeals their decision and consults them in any future changes.
