Dear Members of Provincial Parliament,
My name is Adam Chambers, and I am a student at the University of Ottawa. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) announced by the Ford government.
These changes fundamentally shift OSAP away from grants and toward loans, forcing students to take on significantly more debt to access an education. At the same time, the government has lifted the tuition freeze and allowed tuition increases. Taken together, these decisions make it unmistakably clear that students are being asked to pay more, borrow more, and shoulder the burden of a system that the province is choosing not to fund properly.
Premier Doug Ford and his government claim to support students and the future of Ontario, yet these decisions were made without meaningful consultation with students and directly contradict the lived reality we face. Students are already struggling with rising housing costs, food insecurity, and an uncertain job market. Increasing student debt is not a solution; it is a barrier.
This concern is only deepened by the Premier’s dismissive rhetoric toward post-secondary education. Comments suggesting students should avoid so-called “basket weaving” courses, alongside repeated messaging that students should choose STEM or healthcare pathways, trivialize entire fields of study and the students who pursue them. Such remarks do not reflect a serious or respectful engagement with education policy.
As a Philosophy student, I chose my program out of passion and purpose, not because it was easy or inexpensive. The implication that students should abandon the humanities or fine arts in favour of government-preferred disciplines sends a dangerous message: that education only matters if it fits a narrow economic narrative. Ontario’s post-secondary system should support students across all disciplines, not devalue those that foster critical thinking, ethics, creativity, and civic engagement.
These changes are not happening in partnership with students. They are happening to us.
Students across Ontario are angry, disappointed, and mobilizing. Organizers are preparing what is shaping up to be one of the largest coordinated student protests or strikes in Canadian history, not out of hostility, but out of deep concern for the future of accessible education. Students are speaking out because we feel unheard.
As students, we are asking for your support as we oppose these changes. We are asking you to stand with us in defending accessible, affordable post-secondary education and to help ensure that students are not left carrying the long-term consequences of short-sighted policy decisions.
I look forward to hearing your response and sincerely hope to receive a thoughtful and substantive reply, not a generic automated response like those I have previously received from the Conservative Party. Students are paying close attention to who is willing to listen and engage meaningfully.
If this government truly believes in investing in Ontario’s future, it must start by working with students, not against us.
Sincerely,
Adam Chambers
Adam Chambers
University of Ottawa Student