It happened to Laurentian.

I just met with Brock University. I have a really good rapport with both the university and the college, because I think that’s important, even though Brock is not in my riding. It’s actually in Jeff Burch’s riding. He represents Brock.

Our proud institutions, pillars of knowledge and progress, now stand on the face of crisis. It seems like every time we stand up here, we talk about a crisis. Whether it be food prices, whether it be housing prices, whether it be the homeless, whether it be encampments, it just seems we’re always talking about a crisis. And guess what? Who has been in power for six years? The Conservatives. Yet, every time I stand up here, I feel like I’m talking about a crisis.

For Bill 166 to be a solution to the challenges facing our post-secondary education system—it falls short of addressing the magnitude of the issues at hand. While it may contain some terms, it lacks the ambition, the foresight and the commitment necessary to truly meet the moment that we are in.

The reality is stark: Our colleges and universities are at a breaking point. Years of neglect and underinvestment have taken their toll, leaving our educational infrastructure crumbling and our students and our faculty struggling to make ends meet. This is not a problem that we can sweep under the carpet or under the rug—or take half measures. We need a serious solution, and we need it now.

It’s very clear that the current government’s approach is insufficient. As a matter of fact—I’ll just get off a little bit, and we already had some questions on this—your own blue-ribbon panel said that you needed to invest $2.5 billion in universities and colleges. And what did you do? Half. It reminds me of some of the marriages—you get half. That’s usually the way it works.

What they didn’t say on the question—because it was a question from our side about it—right now, our colleges are at 44% of the national average; universities are at 57%. Do you know what that makes us when it comes to funding, Madam Speaker? I’m going to tell you what it is. It makes us the lowest-funded colleges and universities in the country. So when they stand up and say they’re investing, they’re investing, they’re investing, it’s not completely accurate. Quite frankly, it’s probably—well, it’s not the truth. I guess I can’t say they’re lying; that wouldn’t be nice. But they’re certainly not telling the truth.

Further, we must take a look at the exploitation of international students, who have become increasingly vulnerable in the face of rising tuition costs and precarious living conditions. I already mentioned that they’re paying three to four times higher than domestic students. I’m not making that up. You can look it up. It’s another point that’s not in my speech—to a point that Niagara College in my riding, going back a few years, under then-president Dan Patterson, set up a school in Saudi Arabia. Because they were so underfunded, they had to find different resources to try to get funding in Saudi Arabia. He took a lot of hits for that, because of some of the human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia. You think about that. He had to do that. By the way, I’m glad you heard about it, because they’re still in there. They’re still there.

The international students contribute immensely to our diversity, vibrancy on our campuses. Yet, too often, they are treated as cash cows. That’s why they want international students. Think about that. Instead of inviting them to our country and enjoying the country or the province—no, they’ve got to pay three to four times more, instead of being a valued member of our community. We must strengthen the oversight to ensure that they are protected from the exploitation and abuse.

I want to be clear on this: The NDP stands firmly behind our world-class post-secondary institutions. Let’s be clear on that—including Laurentian. I know my good colleague from Sudbury fought very hard about that. We recognize the positive impact that they have not only on the individuals who study and work within their walls, but also the surrounding communities, and quite frankly the province as a whole.

We’re committed to ensuring that everyone who lives, works and studies at post-secondary institutions in Ontario has the support they need to thrive. Well let’s be clear: This is not just about the institutions themselves. It’s about the future of our province, our economy, our society and—I’ve already mentioned, because the young kids were here—the kids and our grandkids. A strong and vibrant post-secondary education system is essential for building a prosperous and equitable Ontario for all.

Madam Speaker, it brings me to another issue. It’s not just the institutions that are struggling. It’s also the students, and it’s a big problem. It’s affecting a lot of people. First off, I’ve talked a little bit about it. Let’s talk about the money. The cost of living is going up. That includes things like groceries, which I meant, rent—gouging by the Weston family. For students who are already trying to juggle tuition fees and other expenses, this can be a huge burden. It’s getting harder and harder to afford the basic necessities, and that’s not fair. There’s the rent. Rent prices are going through the roof not just in Toronto by the way; down in Niagara is the same way. I believe Ottawa is the same way. Windsor, I would think—Hamilton is the same way. Rents are going through the roof. There’s not enough protection in place to keep them in check, like putting rent controls on new builds that haven’t been there since 2019—big, big mistake. That means students are being forced to pay more and more for housing. Often on top, there are already high tuition fees. It’s tough to focus on your studies when you’re worried about whether you’re going to be able to afford the rent the next month.

Let’s not forget about mental health, which has been raised here a number of times. And we know there’s not enough money. University—and I learned this from my daughter who went to university. It’s a really stressful time, and students need support more than ever. But the sad truth is there aren’t enough resources available.

Mental health services are often minimal and hard to access, leaving students feeling overwhelmed and alone. There’s not enough support on campuses. Then if you go off campus, you know there’s over a year wait to go and see if you have issues with mental health, including—I might as well raise this now; I’ve got a couple of minutes left.

We put forward a bill to the minister in Niagara asking for 24/7 services for those with mental health, because do you know what? Mental health doesn’t stop at 4:30 in the day. And we were promised that he’d bring it into Niagara. Here, that was two years ago. It still hasn’t happened, and we’re like everywhere else. Mental health is really in a crisis—crisis.

What can we do about it? Well, for starters, the provincial government needs to step up and start prioritizing the needs of post-secondary students. That means taking action to make sure groceries are more affordable, implementing rent controls to keep housing costs down and investing more in mental health supports. These seem to be three very reasonable things that they could do today—today, Madam Speaker.

Right now there seems to be a pattern from this government when it comes to education in total. The lack of commitment to post-secondary education also seems to be a case in our high schools and our elementary system, even encouraging some students not to finish high school. The failure to ensure Ontarians have access to good-quality education goes right across the board with the government.

Let’s take a look at the recent cuts to education funding in Ontario. I think that’s important. I probably won’t get to it all, but it’s important.

It seems like the government is trying to hide what they’re doing with the money. That’s not right. Let me break it down for you, Madam Speaker. In the past few years, the government has been setting aside money in something called a contingency fund. This allows them to play around with the numbers and make it look like they’re spending more than they actually are. It’s like using an accounting trick to make things seem better than they really are. This isn’t just happening with education; it’s happening in a lot of public services in the province of Ontario as well. It’s not fair to the people who rely on those services.

Take education, for example: In the budget of the 2019-20 school year, there was a line that was called “unallocated amounts.” It wasn’t a lot of money; it was $82 million. But then the following year, that line disappeared and instead they started putting money into something called a “planning provision.” Here’s the thing about the planning provision: School boards can’t actually use the money for anything.

I know that’s my time. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.