Ontario NDP promises to freeze tuition

Edited by John Stokes

As students head back to school across the province, NDP Leader Howard Hampton offered college and university students a survival guide for this year and beyond.

“Increasingly, daughters and sons of working families can’t afford to go to college or university in Ontario because of rising tuition fees and crippling student debt. Ontario graduates owe an average debt of $22,589,” said Hampton.

“Ability to pay should not determine whether or not students can pursue their studies. Fairness means no one is deprived of college, university or an apprenticeship because they can’t afford it,” he said.

The NDP Fair Deal for Students would freeze tuition fees at pre-McGuinty levels. For the average Ontario undergraduate university student, this will mean a reduction in annual tuition of about $460. In 2005-2006, the average undergraduate tuition was $4,900.

This year, it’s estimated to climb to $5,360. For undergraduate students at the University of Toronto, where Hampton unveiled his plan, freezing tuition at pre-McGuinty levels will mean a savings of $389. University of Toronto law school and medical school students will save about $1,500.

“Dalton McGuinty had time to give himself a $40,000 raise but he failed to keep his promises to students. He said it was wrong to make students drown in debt. He promised to freeze tuition for two years, but then, as soon as he was elected, he announced massive tuition hikes of up to 36 per cent,” Hampton said.

McGuinty also promised to eliminate classroom fees for apprenticeships, which average $400 a session for apprentices at worker training centres or colleges. Another broken promise: the fees are still there. Hampton pledged the NDP would scrap those fees. Students and their families deserve better. McGuinty’s post-secondary education policies get a failing grade.

“On October 10, you can count on the NDP to stand up for a fair deal for students. McGuinty got it wrong. New Democrats will make it right,” said Hampton.

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