Students Across Ontario Concerned About Bill 33 - Ask Government to be Heard

October 16th, 2025

TORONTO - Today, student leaders from colleges and universities across Ontario have come together at a press conference at Queen’s Park to share their concerns about the proposed Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act. Speakers from the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), the College Student Alliance (CSA), and Ontario Student Voices (OSV) - three major organizations representing hundreds of thousands of postsecondary students across the province - urged the government to work alongside student unions to ensure no unintended harm comes to vital student services.

If passed in its current form, Section 21.1 of Bill 33 would give the provincial government authority to regulate student union fees, which fund critical supports that contribute to students’ health, well-being, and academic success. Student unions provide services such as campus food banks, emergency housing supports, mental health and peer support programs, student-run transit, athletic centres, legal aid, equity centres and more.

“These supports are run by students, for students, funded by the very fees Bill 33 Section 21.1 seeks to regulate,” said Logan Routhier, President of Centennial College Student Association. “Undermining those fees is not just a financial risk - it’s a direct threat to student agency, representation, and equity on our campuses.”

The three organizations are calling for formal government consultation with student unions before the bill proceeds further. Specifically, they urge:

• A meeting with Minister Nolan Quinn to directly discuss student concerns

• Referral of Bill 33 to the Standing Committee on Social Policy for a full review

• Review of Section 21.1, which enables regulation of student fees without student consultation

“Students are ready to be constructive partners in this process - but we need to be at the table - after all, students are the users of the system.” - Bella Fischer, College Student Alliance

""Bill 33 arrives at a critical moment, posing potential risks to the stability of existing student support systems, the very ones they fund out of their own pockets to support themselves." - Rajveer Singh, Ontario Student Voices

Contact:

Media Contact: 

Wasiimah Joomun

Executive Director, CASAPhone: (343)558-7189

Email: ed@casa.ca