Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP are fighting back against Doug Ford’s latest attack on post-secondary education, launching the Save OSAP campaign to stop a plan that leaves young people behind:

“Ontario’s young people are trapped in a vicious cycle,” said Stiles. “With the highest youth unemployment in Canada and a sky-high cost of living, and now Ford’s OSAP cuts – this is a policy that will hold an entire generation behind.

“This isn’t just bad for students, it’s bad economics. People will be graduating into debt instead of opportunities and stuck with a lifetime debt sentence for simply trying to build a future.

“You cannot build a strong economy on the backs of a generation buried in debt. While Ford is busy insulting young people trying to get an education, students and their families will be forced to bear the costs of his cuts.”

The Ontario NDP is launching SaveOSAP.ca to amplify student voices and fight back against these cuts.

“Doug Ford is famous for his flip-flops,” Stiles concluded. “Together, we can turn this around. You deserve a government that has your back, not one that holds you back.”

After a Freedom of Information request by The Trillium revealed the true extent of Ontario Health atHome’s 2024 supply shortage, Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles blasted the Ford government for leaving home care workers with inadequate supplies, causing patients to die in pain.

“This is an absolute disgrace,” said Stiles. “Nurses had to use wreath hangers instead of IV poles. They had to “barter” for supplies to give their patients the care they needed.

“These are human beings. Even children suffered in pain because of pure incompetence by Doug Ford and Sylvia Jones. This is the present, and the future of health care under this government; underfunded, understaffed, and nowhere close to the quality of care that
Ontarians deserve."

Peggy Sattler, Shadow Minister for Colleges and Universities, says the Ford government is asking students and families to pay more for education at a time when young people are already struggling to afford rent, food, and basic living costs.

"Under Doug Ford’s watch, young people simply can’t get ahead,” said Sattler. “It’s harder than ever to make ends meet, find a good job, or even afford a home. Ford’s plan to hike tuition and cut OSAP grants will make it impossible for young people to build a future in Ontario. He is downloading the costs of his cuts to students and families.

“This is about the future of this province, and right now this government is actively making it harder for young people to build one,” said Sattler. “When young people cannot afford to go to college or university, or graduate buried in debt, we are not just hurting students, we are damaging Ontario’s economic future. The Conservatives are trying to bring American-style policies to our public institutions, saddling young people with debt for decades, and making it impossible for them to succeed.

“You cannot claim historic investments while telling schools and students to do more with less. Today, the Minister was telling colleges and universities they will still need to ‘find efficiencies.’ How is that even possible if this is supposed to be historic, sector-saving funding? If the funding was actually meeting the need, we would not be seeing cuts, layoffs, and higher costs being pushed onto students.

“Young people are already facing record-high unemployment, and are asking whether they can afford rent, groceries, or making a living here in Ontario,” concluded Sattler. “Instead of fixing the affordability crisis, this government is telling them to take on more debt and hope things somehow work out. Young people deserve better than that. Students deserve real affordability, real stability, and a government that actually has their back.”

Following the latest report by Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO), NDP Shadow Finance Minister Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale), and Shadow Minister for Economic Development Catherine Fife (Waterloo) say that the message is clear: Ontario is continuing to fall further behind under Doug Ford.

“This Premier’s record is one of pink slips and layoffs,” said Bell. “Doug Ford is a jobs disaster.

“No amount of spin from Minister Bethlenfalvy can hide these staggering unemployment numbers and a record-high provincial debt. We need a plan that brings significant investments into infrastructure and public services — from schools to hospitals — to strengthen Ontario’s economy and create good jobs.”

“Ontario’s youth unemployment rate is now the highest in Canada,” said Fife. “After eight years under the Ford government, people are losing hope, and young people are being hit the hardest.

“By refusing to fund sectors like health care as our population ages, Doug Ford is continuing to compromise our economy. This will lead to more layoffs, and longer wait times to access care. Ford is failing to support municipalities and local economies, while he uses our tax dollars for misleading commercials and long-term projects that will take years to create jobs. Ontario needs jobs, and we need them now.”

BACKGROUND:

• The province set a 30-year-high in long-term unemployment (not including the pandemic) as a growing number of Ontarians are finding themselves without a job for upwards of six months.
• Youth unemployment also continues to soar, while Ontario’s health care system struggles under the weight of chronic underfunding.

Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles says it’s time for Doug Ford to get serious about protecting workers and tell the Prime Minister to stop taxing severance pay of workers’ impacted by tariff job losses:

“This Premier is a jobs disaster,” said Stiles. “Ontario lost 67,000 jobs in January, and manufacturing alone has lost 51,000 in the last year. Tens of thousands more workers are starting a new year filled with anxiety and uncertainty, while they wait for Doug Ford to finally come up with a jobs plan.

“The least that the Premier can do is demand that the Prime Minister stop taxing laid off workers' severance pay. Thousands of workers were handed pink slips while Doug Ford stuck to his wait-and-see approach. It’s time to show up for these workers and their families. It’s time to fight like hell to protect their future and their families.

“These workers need a lifeline. The Premier has the opportunity to be serious for once and use his power to deliver relief instead of more empty promises.”