TORONTO — Ontario politicians returned to Queen’s Park Tuesday after a 147-day recess, with the handling of the Ontario Student Assistance Program dominating the first Question Period of a short session.The house is scheduled to sit for roughly 23 days. The Progressive Conservative government delayed the return, citing municipal election campaigns. Opposition parties say the extended break allowed problems to build without daily scrutiny.At the centre is the province’s pause on OSAP payments to all students at private career colleges and other private post-secondary institutions. Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced the pause on Oct. 6 after a KPMG audit flagged serious concerns.The ministry referred preliminary findings to the Ontario Provincial Police. In-person inspections began at eight unnamed career colleges. Payments are not expected to resume until a strengthened validation process is in place, likely in the new year..Data obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request showed seven career colleges received approximately $385 million in OSAP grants in 2024-25. That matched the amount that went to students at all publicly funded colleges combined. Provincial OSAP grants to career colleges nearly doubled from the previous year and reached almost $1 billion.Career Colleges Ontario first raised warnings about suspicious activity at a small number of schools in 2023. The government did not cut six schools off OSAP eligibility until May 2026. Critics, including interim Liberal leader John Fraser and post-secondary critic Tyler Watt, say the delay allowed hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to continue flowing while public university and college students faced earlier cuts that shifted more aid from grants to loans.Premier Doug Ford told the legislature that a “couple of bad apples” and a “bunch of fraudsters” exploited the system and would be “going to jail." He said the KPMG audit continues and that innocent students were caught up in the pause. Liberals have called for Quinn’s resignation.The government has said the previous high proportion of grants was unsustainable and that the broad pause protects taxpayer dollars while investigations proceed. Some private colleges have suspended operations. Students have reported difficulties covering tuition and living costs, while legal challenges from affected institutions are underway.The return of the legislature puts the government’s oversight of OSAP spending under direct questioning after months without daily accountability at Queen’s Park.
