Ontario Liberals seek OSAP audit as students struggle with rising costs

The Ontario Liberals are asking the auditor general to investigate provincial student financial aid spending at private career colleges, after a rapid increase concentrated within a small number of schools.

Liberal colleges and universities critic Tyler Watt requested a value-for-money audit, looking at the spending increases and whether the government was properly overseeing the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

In the meantime, students at McMaster University, who continue to struggle to make ends meet while going to school, spoke with CHCH News about the challenge juggling school work and finances can be for many students.

Some say they are limited to what their student meal cards can cover, and both grocery prices and rents are continuing to climb.

READ MORE: Liberals ask Ontario auditor to probe spending, oversight of OSAP at career colleges

As of Aug. 1, the province sharply cut student assistance grants citing “unsustainable” costs and the lifting of a seven-year tuition freeze has made schooling more expensive.

“I do have to work, like, 30 hours a week to afford gas to come here,” said Silvio Gojsic, a McMaster University student.

Gojsic commutes to Mac from Grimsby every day, and says he’s had to pick up more shifts at work.

“Yeah, and OSAP got cut for me as well this year,” said Gojsic. “Last year, I was on 20 hours and then I had to up it to 30 and it’s taken study time away, so it’s pretty hard.”

READ MORE: $385M in OSAP grants sent to students at 7 career colleges last year, documents show

Other students say it’s getting increasingly more difficult to make ends meet, with the cost of just about everything going up.

One person told CHCH News that they’re working almost full time hours while also going to school.

“Eight hours on Saturday and Sunday, and then I had to make my schedule around it just so I could work during the year — I had to make sure I had two days off of school, and then stack my schedule, so I had to be here from 8 to 6,” said Gojsic.

Provincial Liberals are asking the auditor general to investigate OSAP spending at private career colleges.

READ MORE: Court records show Ontario’s ‘serious concerns’ about three career colleges

A recent report showed that a rapid increase in OSAP spending was concentrated within a small number of those schools.

“My issue here is, is that these students don’t deserve to be victims of this policy change, simply because of this government’s incompetence, or complete mismanagement of OSAP,” said Liberal colleges and universities critic Tyler Watt.

It doesn’t look like an audit will happen anytime soon, however.

Auditor General Shelley Spence’s office said all 2026 audits for this year have already started, but it would keep Watt’s request into account for future audit planning.

READ MORE: Ontario was warned of ‘suspicious’ OSAP activity at a few career colleges: documents