College and university students across the province plan to walk out of class this afternoon to protest the government’s changes to post-secondary funding.
The Progressive Conservative government eliminated free tuition for low-income students in January and made several once-mandatory student fees, such as those that fund campus organizations and clubs, optional.
Today’s protest is organized by the Canadian Federation of Students’ Ontario chapter.
The group is calling on the province to provide more grants rather than loans and to eliminate tuition fees for all students.
The previous Liberal government had increased the number of grants and made it possible for low-income students to attend college or university free of cost.
Under that program, low-income students could qualify for grants large enough to cover the full cost of tuition under the previous plan, but now a portion of the funding they receive will be a loan.