The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, today delivered the Throne Speech outlining the Government of Ontario’s priorities ahead of the provincial election. Though the speech did not contain specific commitments, it did touch on some topics of concern to college students. Here are five key areas of investment we expect will be addressed in Budget 2018, as outlined today:
Expanding access to mental health care and helping ensure people can get the support they need in school.
Reducing the cost of child care, which has long been a stumbling block for growing families with parents who may be returning to school.
Expanding OHIP+ to include other parts of the population, meaning people without a drug or dental benefits plan could have access to more affordable prescription drugs and dental care.
Growing the free tuition program to make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible for those from all backgrounds.
Additional investments will be made to train more apprentices, including in new and emerging fields.
Through direction from our members, CSA has already been advocating for these priorities. For example, our collaborative mental health paper, In It Together, calls on the government to ensure all post-secondary students, regardless of location, should be able to access mental health services and supports that are timely, effective, and flexible. With the release of Budget 2018 quickly approaching, CSA is looking forward to see if impactful changes to these priorities, among others, have been put in place to make life easier for college students. Read our 2018 pre-budget submission: http://bit.ly/CSA2018PreBudget
