Hundreds of students rallied at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, protesting the Ford government’s proposed changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.
The Ford government’s recent assault on Ontario’s school boards and newly announced changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is about far more than governance or efficiency; it is emblematic of a deeper attack on democracy and the dignity of everyday Ontarians. Students, unionized workers, families, and local communities are all caught in the crossfire of policies that treat public education not as a public good, but as a political battleground. Ontario’s school boards remain among the most direct forms of democracy most families will ever encounter. Elected trustees are accountable to their neighbours. They reflect local priorities and realities in decisions that affect more than two million students across 4,850 publicly funded schools. These institutions connect provincial policy to the lived experience of classrooms and communities.
But that connection is weakening. Increasingly, authority is being centralized at Queen’s Park, while local decision making is constrained. Trustees are left with less meaningful power, and communities are left with less meaningful voice. Decisions that shape daily learning environments are no longer rooted in neighbourhood realities, but in provincial political priorities.
At the same time, the government’s changes to OSAP are making access to post-secondary education more financially uncertain. Beginning in Fall 2026, students who previously received up to 85 per cent of their aid as non-repayable grants will now receive as little as 25 per cent, with the remainder delivered as loans. In practical terms, a student receiving $10,000 in annual assistance will now graduate with roughly $6,000 more debt per year than under the previous structure. It is a direct financial burden, putting this debt on the shoulders of Ontario's families during an affordability crisis.
Education is a right. It is the foundation upon which individuals build stable lives, and upon which provinces build competitive economies and democratic societies. When access to education becomes defined by debt rather than opportunity, that foundation weakens.
Ontario families need less student debt, not more. That begins with restoring meaningful grant support and pursuing debt write downs on the provincial portion of existing student loans, which the province directly controls. At a time of tariff wars and economic uncertainty, Ontario should be investing in its greatest strategic advantage - its people. We should be doubling down on our promise to Ontario’s students, ensuring that education remains a pathway to mobility, not a lifelong financial constraint.
Education workers see this shift firsthand. Teachers, educational assistants, custodians, and support staff hold schools together, often under increasingly strained conditions. Their experience and expertise should guide policy. Instead, they have too often been sidelined. Just ask the more than 10,000 education workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who were on strike last Summer. Their fight was not simply about wages. It was about the quality of public education and the role of schools as the beating hearts of our communities. Attacking unions is not just an economic choice; it is a political one, signaling a disregard for the dignity of workers who keep Ontario’s public institutions functioning.
Students and families feel the consequences most directly. Larger class sizes, fewer supports, and growing financial barriers to post-secondary education create uncertainty about the future. Public education has long been Ontario’s greatest equalizer, a system that allowed talent and hard work, not wealth, to determine opportunity. Weakening that system risks weakening the province itself.
Ontario’s more than one million post-secondary students represent not only the province’s future workforce, but one of its most powerful democratic constituencies. A student strike across the province would send a message that access to education, and the dignity that comes with it, cannot be quietly eroded.
The fight for Ontario’s schools is a fight for democracy itself. We must stand with those who educate, those who learn, and those who care deeply about the future of our communities. Our schools, our students and our province, deserve nothing less.
When access to education narrows, so does the promise of Ontario itself.
Frank D'Amico is the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Trustee for Ward 6. Vikram Handa is Director at the Maya Group, a housing provider in Toronto, with a background in human rights law. He is considering a bid for Liberal leader.