[finklej]

The Government of Ontario announced that they will begin streamlining the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Students will now have to fill out fewer forms and everyone that completes an OSAP application will automatically be considered for Student Access Guarantee funding. According to the government, this will open more funding for tuition, books and living expenses. This builds on the OSAP changes introduced last March which included an $81 million OSAP reform package. These changes, such as the six month interest-free grace period, along with an increase in the amount students can earn while collecting OSAP, were fought for and recommended by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), of which the MSU is a member.

Perhaps tellingly, this comes the same day that TD Canada Trust released the results of their Education and Finances Survey. The findings reveal that 69% of students believe that they will graduate with debt and only 27% have access to Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP). According to the results, 41% of students state that they are currently spending more money than they save, and 17% believe that their debt will exceed $25,000 upon graduating.

The MSU has been working with OUSA and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) to improve the financial literacy of students. A recent study by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations entitled The Illiteracy of the Literate showed that the survey found 75% of respondents failed the financial literacy test. Among upper-year government loan recipients, the failure rate was 54%.

For more information please contact:

Joe Finkle
VP (Education)
[email protected]
905-525-9140 ext. 24017


TD Canada Trust release

National Post article

Government of Ontario release


A special thanks to Heather Fisher and James Steels.