Well, we absolutely should be treating our international students with respect, but not only is Germany the same way, Finland is as well, and so is Sweden, and both those countries actually have the highest union representation in the world because they’re paid fairly, they get vacation time, all that stuff.

So absolutely, I agree with you. International students shouldn’t be looked at as cash cows; they should be treated with respect and dignity, and when they come to this country, that’s exactly how we think—and when we go to Germany, they should treat us the same way: with respect and dignity when it comes to paying for universities or colleges.

No one could argue against anti-racism, mental health or fee transparency policies. They all make perfect sense. Everyone deserves a safe and welcoming post-secondary experience. The challenges our students are facing are real, and they deserve real support, real advocacy and strength, funding and respect.

Putting out a piece of paper with policies but no money attached is wrong. This government needs to invest in safety from racism, help to overcome challenges in mental health, and the security of financial transparency.

The money this government has allocated to post-secondary recently is just half of what was recommended by the government’s own experts, and that’s even before the international students were capped.

Speaker, anti-racism and mental health both touch vulnerable and marginalized communities. The fact that this government wants to hand down policies without consultation, not only is awful for academic freedom, but I believe it’s a reckless approach to policies that will have serious consequences on people’s lives. This lack of consultation is completely unprecedented.

When the previous Liberal government asked post-secondary institutions to have sexual harassment policies, there was a defined and rigorous consultation process that led to good policy. That’s what we need. We need good policy.

The Premier himself even said, “Universities and colleges are really good, and it’s up to the dean to govern their universities.” I wonder, what makes it that a minister will know more about how to deliver good programs for students than the people that are on the front lines in those institutions every day. Speaker, all of these institutions already have these policies. They just need proper funding.

Also, the minister has repeatedly refused to state how they plan to penalize non-compliant institutions. Will the minister financially penalize institutions? We can’t say. This is the glimpse in the lack of transparency that we can expect in the future. This bodes poorly for this bill. When the government mandated free speech policies in 2018, it was explicitly with the threat of funding cuts. I’m a little worried that they’re refusing to give the details this time around.

This government’s approach to this bill, with no formal consultation taking place, is not the way forward for dealing with complex social issues that require input from across a broad spectrum of stakeholders. We could end up hurting people if we don’t do this right, so why not take the time to actually listen to those experts, listen to people with experience in mental health and other things? How do we prevent these policies from being hijacked for personal benefit or political gain? What processes are there in place to make sure that that doesn’t happen? I don’t see them, Speaker, and that worries me.

These policies currently exist, and I think that the universities and colleges did a good job of creating the kind of policies they need. Could they be improved? Absolutely. Now, that would have been a bill, to mandate that the policies that are in the universities and colleges need to be reviewed every three years, every two years. Now, that would make sense, because that would make sure that they’re addressing the most current issues that are out there and that things that we’re learning about today that we had not thought about five years ago are included in the policies. That’s something that would make sense, and it would also make sense in terms of funding if we’re funding mental health.

We don’t even know what these policies will look like if they’re handed down from on high. What one college in northern Ontario needs and a university in southern Ontario could be two different things. We don’t know. But I would like to see that whatever money comes into these kinds of policies, which I think—I think they are really important; they’re absolutely essential if we are going to do a better job of making our education system more inclusive and more welcoming and more open and more successful to more people.

I believe that the experts are at the coalface, as we would say in the military. They are on the front lines, are at the colleges and are at the universities, and are at the mental health agencies. We need to listen to the people who know, and I worry that these decisions will be taken up to the minister’s office without that consultation we need in order to make them as good as they could possibly be, in order to make them so that they will serve the greatest number of people and serve them well.

I don’t think that handing down extra policy requirements is addressing the reality of the current situation. The government is happy to tell you that our students are their priority, but I’ll tell you what, Madam Speaker: Show me your budget and I’ll show you what you care about. We’ll say that over and over again. Coming up with policies of this nature that are so instrumental—can be instrumental—in people’s future without transparency, without consultation and without funding is just plain wrong.

In closing, no one could argue against anti-racism, mental health or fee transparency policies. Everyone deserves a safe and welcoming post-secondary experience. The challenges our students are facing are real, and they deserve real support, real advocacy and strength, funding and respect.

Next question?

Further debate?

I enjoyed in particular the member for Niagara Falls talking about international students because I’m very concerned about them. I see an incredible amount of international students in Ottawa using food banks and who are very housing-insecure, and I just want to zoom out for a minute because there are other places in the world that treat international students very differently.

I want to cite in particular Germany. Germany is a place with over 300 public post-secondary institutions, and you can study there as a Canadian for free, for minimal tuition; there are nominal fees here and there.

The German economy is one of the most successful economies. I had the occasion to go there for some conferences when I was a student. I learned a lot from people I met over there about how particular industries run in that country, and I’m wondering if we could actually convince this government to financially contribute to colleges and universities. Why couldn’t we treat international students with more respect?

The independent Liberals and the opposition routinely vote against every measure that our government initiates to make life more affordable, and of course, the member opposite who just made her submission is a former member of a government that brought us a dreaded carbon tax.

I wonder, since this bill, Bill 166, is about increasing transparency, allowing students to make more informed choices and, of course, maintaining the principle behind the lower tuition rates for students—it’s about putting students first, supporting students and creating and improving transparency—will the member commit to voting for transparency and the core principles of this bill, which is about students?

There’s 40 seconds, Madam Speaker—

Next question?

Further debate?

I hope this question is not too personal for the member. You may have heard me mention the gravy train a bit earlier and how the Premier has 48 people on the sunshine list in his office and how he’s added another person to work for him in Ottawa—actually, the candidate that you beat in the last election is going on the sunshine list and probably making more money than any minister is here. But that’s not the point.

Actually, that office is going to cost $1.7 million a year for someone who you beat, and we all know the reason for doing that is that’s what the Premier wants to spend to try and get the seat back. Don’t you think it would be smarter for the Premier actually to just invest that money in the things that we’re talking about here?

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for letting me join the debate on Bill 166, the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024. Once again, what’s clear is that our government is putting students first, with a continued focus on accountability, efficiency and financial sustainability in our world-class post-secondary education system: nearly $1.3 million in new funding, while maintaining the tuition fee freeze to keep costs down for Ontario’s students and their hard-working parents.

If passed, this legislation will support student mental health, safe and inclusive campuses and allow for increased transparency of fees.

Speaker, I have two universities in the region of Durham. One is Ontario Tech and the other is Trent Durham, and I also have a community college. But I’d like to share with the House—because I think it’s material to our debate today—what Trent Durham had to say about the legislation before us:

“As an institution that has advocated for wraparound supports for our students, Trent is pleased by the news of investments in enhanced mental health supports for students.” They went on to say, “Renewed support for capital repairs and equipment will help Trent maintain its world-class facilities for teaching and research.”

They concluded by saying, “The new funding will allow Trent to continue our role as a key contributor to the well-being of our communities, driving regional innovation and economic growth, and providing our graduates with the skills and abilities to support the complex workforce needs locally, nationally and internationally.”

Speaker, Ontario Tech also had this to say: “Happy to see Minister Dunlop commit to additional funding for students in STEM fields.

“With Ontario Tech’s focus on STEM and health programs linked to labour-market needs, we hope this will create more opportunities to prepare our students for rewarding and in-demand careers.”

Speaker, this suite of measures also includes initiatives that will help connect students to rewarding careers to build Ontario’s skilled workforce. One of the skilled trade centres is situated in Durham College, which I share with the Honourable Todd McCarthy. He has part of it in Oshawa, and I have part of it in Whitby. If you’ve ever toured that skilled trade centre, you’ll see the impact that it’s making on the lives of young men and young women, potentially, as they move forward with their career.

What’s clear to me and my colleagues is that it has never been more important to keep costs down for students and hard-working parents. Instead of burdening hard-working families in Whitby and other parts of the Durham region with higher tuition, we’re making historic investments to stabilize colleges and universities. Whether it’s Ontario Tech, whether it’s Trent Durham or whether it’s Durham College, we’re doing that. We’re doing that to support students and their families.

Ontario is extending the tuition-fee freeze for public assisted colleges and universities for at least three more years, which is significant overall. Institutions will be able, though, to increase tuition by up to 5% for out-of-province domestic students. At the time the freeze was first introduced and accompanied by a 10% reduction in fees, Ontario had the highest university tuition rates in the country. Since then, students and parents have saved an estimated $1,600 per year on average for university and an estimated $350 per year on average for community college compared to what they would have paid under the previous policy that allowed 3% increases each year.

I’d like to provide some examples of how this legislation stabilizes post-secondary institutions. The Ontario government is investing:

—$903 million over three years through the new Postsecondary Education Sustainability Fund, starting in 2024-25, including $203 million in funding for top-ups for institutions with greater financial need;

—$167.4 million over three years in additional funding or capital repairs and equipment; and

—$10 million in additional one-time funding through the Small, Northern and Rural Grant for colleges and the Northern Ontario Grant for universities in 2024 and 2025.

This funding will support financially vulnerable institutions while the government works with them on efficiency initiatives. And with respect to efficiency initiatives, there are many universities, like Ontario Tech, who have been spending time looking at efficiency initiatives in their particular sector.

There’s $15 million over three years beginning in 2024-25 through the Efficiency and Accountability Fund to support third-party reviews that will identify actions institutions can take to drive long-term cost savings and positive outcomes for students and communities, and $100 million in 2023-24 to support STEM program costs at publicly assisted colleges and universities with enrolments above currently funded levels.

I have some quotes from some of the universities and community colleges that I’d like to share with members in the Legislative Assembly right now, starting with Brock University’s Lesley Rigg, who is the president and vice-chancellor: “We have heard directly from industry that there’s a significant need for STEM workers, both in the Niagara region and across the province. We are very appreciative of the provincial government’s investment in STEM students, who will go on to fill labour market gaps and contribute to the future of Ontario’s economy.”

Long-time president at Seneca College, David Agnew: “We’re delighted that the government has recognized the value applied master’s degrees can bring to the Ontario economy, both for existing businesses and those who can attract the province. These degrees bring a practical, career-focused approach, building on the years of experience we have in offering students skills-based graduate education.”

And then there’s $65.4 million to support research and innovation, including $27.4 million for the infrastructure refresh of Ontario’s advanced research computing systems and $18 million for their ongoing operations and maintenance; and, importantly, $23 million to enhance mental health supports, including $8 million for the post-secondary mental health action plan over three years.

Now, Speaker, when I first came into the Legislative Assembly in 2016, I was appointed by the then-Leader of the Opposition to be the critic of colleges and universities, and then, subsequent to that, the critic for education. In those roles, I travelled the province visiting campuses, both community colleges and universities, and what I heard continually was the need for more mental health supports from students and from some of the faculty. That’s the importance of this $18 million for ongoing operations and maintenance, but $23 million to enhance mental health supports.

There are universities like Ontario Tech in Oshawa, which has been a leader in providing mental health supports for students for quite some time. And why is that? Well, they use a stepped care approach to mental health services that triages students to intake coordinators and wellness coordinators who serve the population, in the course of that reducing wait times for service and using the lowest level of intervention necessary. They’re also advantaged, Speaker, by the assistance of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, and Durham mental health, as well, but it’s a model that could be adopted in other areas as well.

If passed, this particular legislation would allow the minister to issue directives requiring colleges and universities to provide information about auxiliary fees and other student costs, including costs for textbooks or other learning materials. Importantly, to provide additional transparency as it relates to tuition, the province will also engage with colleges and universities to create tuition fee transparency to help students and their families better understand how tuition fees are used

The legislation would also, if passed, require colleges and universities to have policies in place related, as I just described, to mental health and wellness supports and services and require colleges and universities to have policies in place to combat racism and hate, including but not limited to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The province is also introducing measures to protect students and improve the integrity of career colleges. The province will better integrate enforcement efforts across ministries to strengthen the oversight of career colleges and will ensure timely responses to concerns and complaints by improving data management, document processes and the efficacy of compliance investigations.

As recommended by the blue-ribbon panel, the government will be working with colleges and universities to establish certain core competencies for board members, including financial literacy and risk management.

Now, to help more students find jobs, the province intends to allow colleges to offer applied master’s degrees in areas of study that will help students graduate with in-demand skills, expertise and credentials. This approach will also provide local employers access to more industry-ready employees that meet labour market needs in specialized fields such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and animation.

Speaker, when I meet with the chamber of commerce and other chambers across the region of Durham, this has been a long-standing ask of these employees. We’re approaching close to a million people in the region as I speak here this afternoon. Meeting this particular need is going to make a big difference with the local business community.

The province is also going to launch a career portal to help students understand labour market needs and make informed decisions on post-secondary education.

Speaker, I wanted to talk a little bit more about financial sustainability, because in the discussion that has taken place thus far this afternoon and earlier debates on this bill, there’s been a diversion of opinion. The long-term financial sustainability of our post-secondary institutions is a top priority, moving forward. However, the sustainability and viability of our sector is a shared responsibility. Increasing operating dollars so schools benefit on the backs of taxpayers or increasing tuition on students is not the solution. And we’ve heard that. We’ve heard that at delegations from students.

When our government invests over $5 billion of taxpayers’ dollars annually in operating funding for our colleges and universities, we need to ensure that money is being spent wisely. That doesn’t account for the billions in tuition, including over a billion through OSAP, that students and their families are spending on education each and every year. Our government’s response to the blue-ribbon panel report demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that college and university education will not be funded off the backs of students. Our government has committed to keeping the cost of post-secondary education low for students while providing the largest investment in over a decade to schools to provide them with the predictability and stability they need for the future.

Speaker, the members of the Durham four, which include myself; the Honourable Todd McCarthy; our finance minister, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy; and our representative from Ajax, Patrice Barnes—we’ve heard this regularly when we meet, as we do regularly, with the presidents of Ontario Tech and Trent Durham, and we certainly do from the new president of Durham College. So, once again, our government is committed to keeping the cost of post-secondary education low for students while providing the largest investment in over a decade to schools to provide them with the predictability and stability they need for the future.

I talked a little bit earlier about sector accountability, and I can’t overemphasize that point: the importance of ensuring that colleges and universities operate transparently and are accountable to students and taxpayers about how their money is spent. In my region, and I know that Minister McCarthy will attest to this as well, they do that well. They do that well. They have KPIs and other measures to ensure that the money is being spent and is accountable to students and taxpayers.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has already begun working with institutions on a financial accountability framework that will allow for early detection of financial challenges and require immediate action where challenges exist going forward. From governance practices, program offerings, day-to-day operations and everything in between, colleges and universities across the province need to become the very best possible version of themselves, and I know that Ontario Tech and Trent Durham and Durham College are striving to do that every day, every month. My colleagues in Durham region see evidence of that, and I’m confident that other colleagues here in the Legislative Assembly see evidence of that as well.

This is not a change that’s going to happen overnight, but it’s one that’s necessary so that students, families and taxpayers can have confidence that every dollar is being allocated appropriately and with complete transparency. Because at the end of the day, when it comes to ensuring a bright future for our students—and I know we’re all committed to that—we cannot afford to provide anything less than a first-class education that is efficient, accountable and puts the needs of students first.

In summary, what I’ve described today are the first of many actions the government is taking as the government introduces a path forward where all partners, like Ontario Tech, Trent Durham, Durham College and the region of Durham, play a pivotal role in contributing to financial viability and creating supportive learning environments that prepare Durham students for great careers and, yes, success.

The province is supporting the financial sustainability of the post-secondary sector, as I said, and will provide all institutions with an inflation-based increase to their operating grants as well as offering more targeted support for the financial sustainability of publicly assisted colleges and universities. We’re going to work with the post-secondary institutions to create greater efficiencies in operations, program offerings and sustainability of the sector so that they can continue to provide financial relief and predictability for students and families seeking access to affordable post-secondary institutions overall.

The government is continuing to work to ensure students have access to the right conditions to support their well-being and achieve success at colleges and universities. This legislation, if passed, will enhance student mental health supports, increase auxiliary fee transparency and help students plan early for their educational costs and, at the end of the day, help prepare them for great careers and their longer-term success as contributors to our economy.

I thank the honourable member for his question, but I think it’s really dangerous, Speaker, and I think it’s dangerous to all of us. If we put a bill forward, we put policies forward, with no money attached, then the danger becomes that it’s just performative and it’s only just to make a point; it’s not to make a difference. And I think that’s what all of us here want to do: We want to make a difference.

So, I think it’s very dangerous to put forth policies without funding because it creates expectations that you’re not going to be able to fulfill.

If we centralize all of that power, all of that influence, over our colleges and universities inside the minister’s office, that is not the right way forward when it comes to academic freedom, when it comes to the kind of future and what we want for our students.

I thank the honourable member for her question.

Well, Speaker, through you, I’ve already indicated in my comments that the investment that we made is the single largest in Ontario’s post-secondary system in over a decade.

What’s also clear, though, is that under the Liberals, college and university ballooned in cost, with students having to pay for the increases. Unlike the Liberals, propped up by the NDP, we’re not going to fund colleges and universities off the backs of students.

This also means ensuring that they follow the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Criminal Code, and ensure the protection of academic activities where students could share ideas in good faith. And Speaker, I know that would be your expectation as well.

We know that some institutions have not treated all professors and students and employees the same and can create multiple standards that members of the institution are held to, but by and large, there’s a limited publication of the results of non-academic conduct cases, specifically the way that cases are handled and ensuring that there’s a meaningful conclusion at the end of the process.

Something that often came up during her consultations was that even at institutions with quality mental health services, students still had difficulty navigating the number of supports available to them. Bill 166 is intended to build off those consultations and would require institutions to have a mental health policy, publish it and, if necessary, allow the minister to intervene and issue directives—

Questions?

Response?

I asked a similar question earlier today, but when I was coming down Sunday, I had the exiting and the new rector of a university on the train with me coming to Union Station, and they were telling me how financially difficult it is and the government not following the recommendation of the blue-ribbon panel. But what they were telling me is that they received a new budget with an increase of $13,000—$13,000 for a university that is struggling. We have, what, three universities in French, and this government can’t see the vision of giving more for our universities so that they can better serve the community?

So I ask you, $13,000—you seem to have all the answers, so I’m going to ask you: What do you want them to do with the $13,000, and how can they be more financially autonomous with $13,000 and give good service to their francophone—

I want to ask my friend from Whitby a question about student and staff mental health, because it’s an issue he cares about, and I care about it too. I just recall an anecdote from my time as a university educator. I remember a student all of a sudden not coming to class. It was once, it was twice, and then on the third occasion I managed to get in touch with the student and found out that she’d had a very debilitating lapse, a mental health lapse. When I worked with her to get her an appointment at Carleton University’s mental health and wellness services, we found out that there was an over six-month waiting list. And I thought, for someone in an abject crisis, that’s unacceptable. We have to do something about that.

One program we have in the city that would work for Carleton University students, staff, faculty is called Counselling Connect. It runs through our community health centres. It gives you up to three psychotherapy sessions online or in person, and the intake is within 48 hours. That’s the goal. It’s serving about 700 people a month right now.

So I want to ask the member if he’s willing to think about an amendment to this bill to make sure we have community mental health services that can respond on that basis when someone is in crisis, within 48 hours.

I very much appreciated the member’s comments this afternoon—as usual, very well researched. And I appreciated as well his comments, the direct feedback he’s had from some of the academic institutions in his area that’s very, very relevant and direct. And I certainly also appreciated his comments and experience he reflected—his time as critic.

But I wanted to ask him a question about freedom of speech. It’s intertwined with the academic mission of post-secondary institutions, but far too often, fears of professional or even personal retributions stand in the way of individuals expressing their views and opinions. So my question to the member is: What will the government be doing to protect freedom of speech on campus?

Thank you. Next question.

I was listening quite intently to my colleague’s remarks. He said that this was the biggest investment in post-secondary education in a decade. That’s 10 years. That means that we spent more money 10 years ago, but everybody is saying that this is a historic investment. If he could sort that out for me, what that means, I’d like to know, because I do know that if you take a look at the investment into the campuses between 2003 and 2015, it’s pretty significant investments that went into post-secondary education.

I guess the thing is—

Interjection.

How would you describe saying you’re going to do something great, but not putting real money behind it? What would you describe that as, my esteemed colleague?

Speaker, that was a very long preamble.

What I want to say—I’m reading from Hansard, and this is from our minister: “We provided $1.3 billion in new funding for the sector. But to help institutions, we also provided the efficiency fund of $15 million so that they can apply directly to the fund to be able to do those audits,” if that’s what they want to do. “The shared responsibility for the students—we didn’t see a tuition increase” at all. “We want to ensure affordability for students....”

I’ve provided the rationale for that. I provided the rationale for that. We don’t want the education to be funded off the backs of students going forward.

I’ve talked at length about mental health policy and implementing best practices, but overall, I fully support removing obstacles in the way of students, particularly getting the help they need and the support that they need, which is why I’ll be voting in support of this important, groundbreaking legislation.

I remember fondly the by-election campaign in the winter of 2016, when the member for what was then the riding of Whitby–Oshawa, now the riding of Whitby, was elected for the first of three times. Now, of course, he’s number 9, as the Minister of Finance likes to point out—the Maurice Richard number; the Gordie Howe number; the Norm Ullman number, as I recall, for the Maple Leafs.

He always stood with the students of Durham region. What does he have to say, then, about the transparency of this bill in terms of issuing directives, the proposed issuance of directives to colleges and universities on student costs, on textbook costs, on tuition fee costs? Is that a key part of this bill that motivates his support for this bill?