Student fees, which can add as much as $2,000 a year to post-secondary costs, fund numerous on-campus activities and clubs, including newspapers.
Only programs that support transit, health and wellness — like athletics, walk-safe programs or counselling — and career services will be mandatory.
Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter (Scarborough-Guildwood), the former post-secondary minister, said Ford “knows literally next to nothing about student unions.”
“He seems to think his opt-out plan will help students and de-fund radical organizations. What he will actually de-fund are diversity clubs, student newspapers, (LGBT) centres, food banks, walk-home programs, Indigenous centres, and other important programming,” said Hunter.
“Under Ford’s plan only the wealthiest Ontarians benefit — those who never qualified for OSAP in the first place.”
The College Student Alliance has already reached out to post-secondary minister Merrilee Fullerton about the PC fundraising appeal.
“It’s disappointing to see the language used toward democratically elected bodies, as we know the value of on-campus student representation,” said Brittany Greig, president of the alliance that represents college student associations across the province.
“Student unions provide essential services, like academic appeal assistance and food banks, that will be missed should they no longer exist. We urge the government to reconsider the ‘student choice initiative,’ and we are dedicated to helping them develop a better policy.”
Greig also said alliance members are concerned about the government talking about students “opting in” to fees they want to pay, rather than having them opt-out of those they don’t want — worried that would further erode support for different activities.
When the government announced the move to end mandatory fees, student groups said they had not been consulted on changes that have a huge impact on campus life.
At the time, Greig had said that student associations are there to “hold institutions accountable for decisions surrounding fee increases, programming, or strategic plans,” and warned that breakfast programs, student government and other clubs and activities could disappear.
Coincidentally, Ford’s own parliamentary assistant, MPP Stephen Lecce (King-Vaughan) was president of Western University’s student council in 2008-09.
Some 26 former Western university students’ council presidents sent Lecce an open letter three weeks ago urging him to convince the premier to reconsider the fee change.
