Colleges and Universities Minister refuses to resign as opposition hammers student aid freeze

TORONTO — Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn refused to resign Wednesday after interim Liberal leader John Fraser and other opposition members pressed him in Question Period over the government’s pause on Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to private career colleges.“I will not be resigning,” Quinn said. Progressive Conservative MPPs responded with a standing ovation.The exchange continued the pressure that began Tuesday, when the legislature returned after a 21-week break. Opposition parties have called for Quinn’s removal over the decision to freeze OSAP for students at private post-secondary institutions after a KPMG audit flagged serious concerns.Provincial OSAP grants to career colleges nearly doubled in a single year and approached $1 billion in the most recent period, driven largely by a small number of schools. .Quinn has said the pause was required to protect taxpayer dollars and that the file has been referred to the Ontario Provincial Police. He and the government have acknowledged hardship for honest students caught in the middle while directing criticism at what they call bad actors among the private colleges.Premier Doug Ford defended Quinn on Tuesday, saying he is doing “an incredible job” and that he feels “terrible” for students trapped in the system. The government has said the system-wide pause will remain in place while the audit continues.Opposition members said the ministry had received warnings about vulnerabilities and unusual activity in the career college system as far back as 2021 and 2023, but did not act decisively until the system-wide pause.They argued the freeze now punishes legitimate students — including working adults near the end of their programs — for a failure of government oversight.

Colleges and Universities Minister refuses to resign as opposition hammers student aid freeze

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