My question is to the Premier. Speaker, last month, Fleming College abruptly announced the closure of 29 programs in Peterborough and Lindsay, following the loss of $40 million in international student tuition and years of provincial underfunding. With the college sector facing a projected $3-billion revenue loss over the next three years, Fleming is likely the first of many colleges to slash programs and possibly close campuses, which will be a huge blow to the communities and local economies that rely on graduates of college programs and the jobs that colleges provide.

Speaker, will this government act now to pause the program closures at Fleming and commit to a permanent increase in post-secondary base funding before it’s too late?

I want to recognize Huron University College, which is located in London. They are launching a new degree program this September in animal ethics and sustainability leadership. It’s the first program of its kind in the world, and it’s thanks to the vision and passion of Dr. Kendra Coulter, who is a globally recognized expert in animal welfare advocacy.

One of the concerns that Dr. Coulter has raised in Ontario is the need for more PAWS Act inspectors, so that cases can be thoroughly and quickly investigated. She has also called for more training and protective measures for inspectors.

So, Speaker, my question to the minister: Right now, we have about 100 inspectors under the PAWS Act. How does the minister expect the new PUPS Act to be properly and effectively enforced if we don’t have enough inspectors to proactively inspect and do the enforcement necessary?

I know that my colleague the member for Hamilton Mountain has some outstanding post-secondary institutions in her riding. There’s Mohawk College, McMaster University. The post-secondary sector is really in a state of crisis right now in terms of the financial stability of the sector.

The government made an announcement in February; nothing additional was announced in this budget. Can the member comment on whether the path that this government is on is going to ensure the stability that our post-secondary institutions need?

My question is to the Premier. Yesterday’s budget showed that this government’s completely inadequate funding for post-secondary education, coupled with a 50% decrease in international study permits, will mean a $1.4-billion revenue loss for colleges in 2024-25 and an additional $1.7-billion revenue loss in 2025-26.

Not only that, the government’s inadequate funding ends after three years, which will mean even deeper losses for colleges and universities down the road. Why is this Premier choosing not to increase post-secondary operating grants and deliberately allowing colleges to fail?

Why did this budget not include the permanent, significant increase in operating grants that would move Ontario out of last place in the country in per-student funding and that is desperately needed to keep the sector afloat?

Interjections.

The minister knows full well that the funding that was announced won’t come close to keeping Ontario’s post-secondary system afloat. And all the while, the clock is ticking on the international student study permits that have been effectively subsidizing our post-secondary system in this province. Colleges and universities are in limbo, unable to plan until they know how the permits will be allocated, leaving students’ futures up in the air. Queen’s and Guelph have already announced program cuts. More programs—even campuses—may have to close.

My question is, does the Premier understand how serious the consequences are of refusing to properly fund our colleges and universities in Ontario?

I appreciate the question from my colleague across the way. One of the reasons that I spent so much time at the beginning of my remarks in providing a context for the financial situation that Ontario colleges and universities face is to emphasize that no policy, however perfect it is, is going to be effective if there are no resources to implement it. We have reached a situation, in the post-secondary sector, where our post-secondary institutions are literally on the brink.

We heard from the government’s own research report that was released in January 2024 about mental health supports on campus that universities and colleges are already struggling with the ability to resource the mental health supports that are supposed to be available. So we need to have that funding—

As lots of research has highlighted, financial stress is very much a contributor to student mental health issues.

We know that investing in OSAP, in making student financial assistance much more accessible to students would go a long way to removing the financial barriers that students face, not just to enter post-secondary education, but to continue their studies.

As I mentioned, we have seen post-secondary students, international students among the largest group of food bank users because of their struggles with food insecurity, because the affordability crisis that we are seeing in this province is affecting—

She goes on to say, “This commitment does little to tackle the serious lack of investments in Ontario’s post-secondary sector and continues to burden students, especially international students, to fund the quality of post-secondary education.”

So while they may be supportive of the requirement to have mental health policies and racism and hate policies, students are very concerned about this government’s failure to address the fundamental—

This bill requires colleges and universities to develop and implement policies on student mental health and also anti-racism and hate. The government has committed $8 million over three years for the student mental health piece, which, with 47 institutions in Ontario, means $57,000 per institution for each of those three years. There’s no additional funding for colleges and universities to implement the anti-hate policies.

How does the government expect institutions to be successful in developing and implementing these policies when there are no additional resources, and our sector is already in such a financial crisis?

I listened with interest to the minister in her lead speech on Bill 166. As the minister said, this bill was introduced as part of a package of announcements that the government claims would stabilize colleges and universities, who are facing a financial crisis in this province as a result of years of chronic underfunding and cuts that have been made by this government.

The government’s financial investment was $1.3 billion over three years, which is half of what the government’s own expert panel said was needed just to keep the sector afloat, which was before the international student cap was announced, which will make the financial pressures in the sector even worse.

My question to the minister is, why did this government ignore the advice that they received from the expert panel that they struck?

I am proud to advance this petition that has been signed by thousands of college and university students from across the province. It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas since 1980, whilst accounting for inflation, the average domestic undergraduate tuition has increased by 215%, and the average domestic graduate tuition by 247%; and

“Whereas upon graduation, 50% of students will have a median debt of around $17,500, which takes an average of 9.5 years to repay; and

“Whereas the average undergraduate tuition for international students has increased by 192% between 2011 and 2021, and in colleges, they pay an average of $14,306 annually compared to the average domestic fee of $3,228; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario made changes to OSAP and student financial assistance in 2018-19, resulting in over a $1-billion cut in assistance to students; and

“Whereas the so-called Student Choice Initiative was defeated in the courts, students need legislation to protect their right to organize and funding for students’ groups;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, support the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario’s call and petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to commit to (1) free and accessible education for all, (2) grants, not loans, and (3) legislate students’ right to organize.”

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Isaac.

My question is to the Premier. From the greenbelt grab to MZOs to private evangelical colleges, this government has shown that if you are a friend of the Premier, you will get their special attention.

A phone transcript has revealed that the previous Minister of Colleges and Universities, who is the current chief government whip, had assured the Premier’s friend Charles McVety that McVety’s private evangelical college would get university status regardless of the independent application review process. At the same time, that minister was telling this House that they “don’t meddle with procedural fairness” and that there was “no way to stand in the way of an independent process.”

Speaker, did the Premier know what his minister was promising to Charles McVety?

My question is to the Premier. Speaker, 60 students are about to graduate from Conestoga College in Kitchener, ready to become licensed electricians. But they can’t start—

Interjections.

Speaker, Ontario needs skilled trade workers if we are to get desperately needed housing built in this province. What—

Interjections.