Good morning, Speaker. Our public colleges and universities are nearing the breaking point after decades of underfunding, while for-profit career colleges have been seeing a massive expansion under this government.

Yesterday, we got a hint about why in a report that was done by Trillium. They found out that government members have raked in more than $151,000 in political donations from private college operators since 2018. One of the biggest beneficiaries? The local campaign of the Minister of Colleges and Universities herself. That’s thousands of dollars in donations from the very same insiders who stand to benefit directly from her decisions as minister.

To the Premier: Is it acceptable for the Minister of Colleges and Universities to take donations from people lobbying her office on behalf of private colleges?

Interjections.

Private colleges have existed for years, but under this government, they have exploded, so much so that even the Auditor General flagged it. Speaker, is this really how things are going to be done in today’s Ontario?

Interjections.