Minister attacks opposition leaders as student loan questions continue at Queen’s Park

TORONTO — Question Period at Queen’s Park on Monday stayed focused on the Ford government’s handling of Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to private career colleges, with Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn responding to opposition questions by attacking the leaders of both the NDP and the Liberals.The issue has dominated the short fall sitting since the legislature returned last week after a 21-week break. Provincial grants to private career colleges roughly doubled in one year to nearly $1 billion. The government later paused OSAP for students at those institutions after an audit flagged integrity problems and referred concerns to police. Opposition parties have criticized the delayed response and the impact on students who were cut off from aid.During Question Period on Monday, Quinn pushed back hard. The minister accused NDP Leader Marit Stiles of not being present in the House and of not listening to answers. He also asked the NDP when it would “fire” Stiles after recent election results, in response to her suggestion that he be fired for his handling of the OSAP case. Quinn separately criticized interim Liberal Leader John Fraser, saying Fraser “doesn’t even have the confidence in himself to be the full-time leader.”.The exchanges continued a line of questioning that began when the House returned. Opposition members have pressed the government on when it first received warnings about suspicious OSAP activity at some private colleges, and what happens to students caught in the pause. The government has said it acted once the scale of the problem became clear, and is bringing forward new rules.The NDP is using an Opposition Day motion to keep the pressure on. The motion, moved by Stiles, calls on the government to produce a plan within 14 days for immediate relief for students affected by the OSAP changes and the private career college issues.It cites the cut in the grant portion of OSAP, the end of the tuition freeze, and the oversight failures that left students without support.

Minister attacks opposition leaders as student loan questions continue at Queen’s Park

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