You know, in 2018, when the member was elected, one of the first things that this Conservative government did was rip up a grant program that existed to help students from low-income families go to university in an affordable way. We continue to see families—bright, ambitious students—facing massive financial barriers to go to university or colleges. Again, students in Ontario pay the highest tuitions in all of Canada.

Does the member believe that financial barriers to education should exist for our students?

Thank you for your response.

The member from Humber River–Black Creek, please.

The Minister of Colleges and Universities, please.

Further debate?

Thank you to my colleague. Despite the fact that this question is not related to the inclusion environment in the campus or preventing discrimination or supporting freedom of speech—you are talking about the OSAP changes, which is—actually, we did put OSAP where it was. Before the election, the previous Liberal government tried to prepare for the election by bribing voters, saying, “We’ll give you free programs.” When we took over, we just put back OSAP as a loan system, which students can—every student can make use of OSAP and pay back the money in 20 years, which is—

There are three main ones: Collège Boréal, which is a French college; Cambrian College, which is an English college; and Laurentian University and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. I would say what we see the most in my area is really targeted towards Indigenous people. There is still a lot of systemic discrimination facing First Nations, Métis—we don’t have too many Inuit people, but we have a lot of First Nations and Métis who come to our community. They often come from First Nations, where they were surrounded by other First Nations people, and it is a hard transition to come to Sudbury, either to Collège Boréal—

Do colleges and universities need resources? Do they want to support their students’ mental health? Yes, absolutely; they all want to. They all want their students to succeed. That’s why they exist. And they do a great job of it, but without the resources, it is really difficult. When the blue-ribbon panel tells us that you need a minimum of $2.5 billion and they get only half of this; when we lose another $1.5 billion because of the international students not allowed in—then where are those resources going—

For some, they will face discrimination. For some, they will face barriers to transition. But I must say that both colleges and both universities, as well as l’Université de Sudbury, know about this. They try to support them, but unfortunately, yes, some students still face discrimination.

Report continues in volume B.

Thank you to my colleague from Nickel Belt for her presentation. I was particularly interested in the comments about community mental health resources.

With Bill 166, the title seems to suggest that this will provide greater supports for students.

But I think of my riding, where we have great institutions like Western University, King’s University College, Huron University College, Brescia University College—unfortunately, which will be eventually amalgamated. This represents a massive influx of individuals into the riding of London North Centre, and it puts a tremendous strain on the already meagre community mental health resources that are available.

Will Bill 166 adequately address the huge lack of community mental health resources for students?

I want to ask a little bit about consultation. During the time we spent with delegates, there was a concern that we didn’t have a lot of data, consultation with different groups. Folks brought that feedback. Can you speak a little bit about your impressions related to that?

I want to thank the member opposite for her comments and for her boasting about her relationship in her community with the post-secondary education institution. I know in my riding of Simcoe–Grey, Georgian College has a big presence there, and I was a part-time professor there and enjoyed it. Those institutions are a critical part of our communities, but they also have their own bureaucracy and are in charge of their campuses.

We know recently, from unfortunate geopolitical events, that racism and hate has been a growing issue on campuses. We have 120 nationalities and over 300 distinct languages represented at our post-secondary education institutions. I’m wondering if the member opposite can talk about the importance of these institutions enforcing anti-hate rules and regulations, particularly in light of what we’re seeing. U of T recently just cancelled their graduation because they have an encampment on their facility, and I’d like the member to speak about the importance of universities and post-secondary schools stepping up to enforce anti-hate.

To the member opposite: I appreciate your reference to the very small communities and the transition for the students as they go to the larger communities to pursue their education. My riding is very similar and has a lot of very small little communities and a different lifestyle than that they encounter as they move on to those post-secondary institutions.

But all those institutions—all of them—care significantly for the mental health of the student. Will the member opposite please state their support to make sure that every student will easily find the support that they require?

I’m having trouble understanding what this bill really does.

I look at the last piece of legislation that the government tried to impose on colleges and universities—students took them to court, and they won.

We know that there are mental health services and anti-racism policies already in place.

I feel like the reason this government wants this bill to move forward is because they actually want to give directives where they shouldn’t be—because we heard the Premier say he doesn’t agree; then he flip-flopped and now he agrees.

Do you think there’s a court challenge that could happen around this bill, like they had with the student unions bill—and they lost there too.

It is. Thank you.

Questions, please.

Questions, please?

Questions?

Question?

Further questions?