Liberals ask Ontario auditor to probe spending, oversight of OSAP at career colleges

The Ontario Liberals are asking the auditor general to investigate provincial student financial aid spending at private career colleges.

The request from colleges and universities critic Tyler Watt comes after reporting by The Canadian Press showed that a rapid increase in Ontario Student Assistance Program spending was concentrated within a small number of career colleges.

Career Colleges Ontario has warned the provincial government for years about concerns it had with those increases, and ministry inspectors found what they alleged was unusual activity.

Three Academy of Learning locations have taken the government to court over a decision to deny them OSAP loan eligibility for this year, and deny most of the ministry’s allegations, saying they have taken concerns seriously.

Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn earlier this year said the cost of OSAP was becoming “unsustainable” and dramatically reduced the amount of grants that students at universities and publicly funded colleges can receive, while also making career college students only eligible for loans.

Watt says the government took a hatchet to a problem that required a scalpel, and he wants the auditor general to investigate, among other questions, whether the government was properly overseeing OSAP spending at career colleges.