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TIM HUDAK
THE ANALYSIS
AFFORDABILITY
The promise to create up to 60,000 new spaces is identical to the promise made by the Liberal government in the 2011 Ontario budget. If these spaces are created by 2015-2016, the estimated cost for this initiative would be $300 million annually. While increasing the physical capacity of colleges and universities in Ontario is necessary to keep up with demand, students are concerned that such a promise is being made without addressing the high cost of attending college or university. The PCs have barely addressed the issue of affordability by promising to raise the parental income benchmark for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) eligibility. It is unclear whether this means that more students from middle-income families would have access to grants or simply more student debt. The PC platform makes no mention of tuition fees. This is a significant gap in their education policy. Ontario students pay the highest tuition fees in the country and have been faced with a 34 to 59 per cent increase in tuition fees since 2006. There is also no mention of upfront financial assistance for students, nor any significant changes to OSAP that would reduce student debt.

2011 ONTARIO ELECTIONS REPORT CARD

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

The PC party released their platform in May, 2011. They have made one announcement since then that related to post-secondary education. For the full copy of their platform, visit ontariopc.org or go to take-it-over.ca.

OVERALL GRADE:

As a result of being silent on tuition fees, the PC platform receives an F from students for this item. The announcement to extend OSAP to more middle-income students, without any details about whether this support will be in the form of more grants rather than loans, the PC platform earns a D. The PCs receive an overall grade of D- for affordability.

Tim Hudak A government will create up to 60,000 post-secondary spaces in Ontario.

We will raise the FUNDING & QUALITY threshold on financial support to make The PC promises to fully fund 60,000 new student spaces in the GRADE: it more accessible post-secondary education sector. D+ for middle-class However, they do not commit to creating a funding framework for families to send their the sector. Since Ontario spends 24 per children to college or cent less per student on post-secondary education than the national average, the university.
lack of a substantial plan is of concern for Ontarios students. The platform also lacks any mention of how a PC government would improve the quality of education in colleges and universities. There is no mention of hiring more professors or addressing large class sizes.

Students have identified that ballooning class sizes and less face-time with faculty leads to a reduction in the quality of education provided at institutions. Because

NOTE Each of the report cards have been created with the most up-to-date

content at the time of printing. If there are additional announcements that affect students throughout the campaign period, the report card may change accordingly. Visit take-it-over.ca for updates throughout the election campaign period.

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CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO

the PC platform did not address quality, but does promise to fund growth, their platform has received a D+ on funding and quality.

RESEARCH GRADE:
The PC platform makes nearly no promises that relate to research D or graduate students. Under the current government, graduate students pay the highest tuition fees in the country and research opportunities have become harder to obtain. The PCs have made no indication that they would invest in graduate studies or publiclyfunded research.

We will end the Dalton McGuinty Liberals foreign scholarship program that puts foreign students ahead of Ontario students. We will reinvest those funds in our students instead. Tim Hudak A government will create more than 200,000 new apprenticeship spaces over four years. We will reduce the ratio of journeymen to apprentices, making it 1 to 1 to put more skilled workers on the job.

Students are encouraged by the PC pledge to review boards and commissions for waste, and the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario will be among those examined. For this, students give the PCs a D.

STUDENT RIGHTS & PROTECTION

The PC platform does not address any of the issues that students are concerned about rights, protections or accountability.

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CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS-ONTARIO

While students have been calling to extend Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage to international students, the PCs have been aggressive in their opposition to providing any funding to international students. The PC platform does have a broad policy on government accountability and innovation, but the components of the policy will not likely affect the postsecondary sector. The only indication that the PC party will support some protection for students was the support of the PC caucus for a vote to extend the purview of the Ontario Ombudsman to include university oversight, in May 2011.

TIM HUDAK
OVERALL GRADE

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE

Because of the support that the PC caucus has given to extending the oversight of universities to Ontario universities, the PC party receives a D.

2011 ONTARIO ELECTIONS REPORT CARD

TAKE IT OVER!