NEWS:

TORONTO — Today, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak was joined by Ontario PC candidates for St. Paul’s, Christine McGirr and Trinity Spadina, Mike Yen, to announce that an Ontario PC government will make Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding available to more middle-class Ontario families.

Under Dalton McGuinty, many middle class families cannot get fair access to OSAP support. As a result, too many struggling parents cannot afford higher education for their kids. Instead, Dalton McGuinty’s priority was to offer $40,000 taxpayer-funded scholarships that, incredibly, are only available to foreign students. Ontario families need not apply.

A Tim Hudak Ontario PC Government will cancel Dalton McGuinty’s $40,000 foreign scholarship giveaway, and will use the money to give more Ontario families badly needed support. We will adopt the same fair standard for OSAP eligibility that the federal government uses to determine how much parents have available to contribute, improving OSAP access for students from middle-class families.

QUOTES:

“Dalton McGuinty’s signature post-secondary education policy is to spend Ontario tax dollars on $40,000 a year scholarships that are only available to foreign students. Ontario families need not apply.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“Dalton McGuinty believes middle class families are too rich to get fair access to OSAP loans. And for too many families, that puts college or university out of reach. To me it’s simple – if your kid can get the grades, you should be able to give them the education they deserve.”
– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

QUICK FACTS:

• Under Dalton McGuinty, students from middle class Ontario families who apply for OSAP support are not treated fairly. By adopting the fairer parental contribution formula that the federal government already uses, a student from a middle class Ontario family earning $65,000 would receive $300 more in OSAP loans. A student whose parents earn $39,000 and $46,000 would get about $2500 in provincial OSAP support, but Dalton McGuinty gives that family no OSAP at all.
• On November 4th, 2010 Dalton McGuinty flew to Hong Kong to announce that he would be handing out $40,000 scholarships to entice foreign students to pursue advanced studies in Ontario. Ontario families who apply for this funding will have their applications rejected.
• An Ontario PC Government will raise the threshold for financial support to make OSAP loans accessible for middle-class families. Specifically, an Ontario PC Government will use the fairer federal parental contribution formula to calculate the level of support that Ontario provides.