LONDON — Shadow Minister for Colleges and Universities, Peggy Sattler (London West), challenged the Premier in Question Period today over OSAP changes that are making it harder for students to pursue careers in health care, while Ontario is in the midst of a shortage of health care workers.
“Our health care system is in crisis, and we desperately need more doctors, nurses, and primary care providers,” Sattler said. “Yet this government’s OSAP changes are making it harder for qualified students to access training, especially those who aren’t coming from wealthy families.”
Sattler pointed to the experience of Julia, a first-year medical student, president of her class, and active with the Ontario Medical Students Association, paying $25,000 a year in tuition. “Julia is worried that OSAP cuts will make it financially impossible for qualified students from diverse backgrounds to become physicians,” Sattler said. “Why is this Premier making it harder for qualified students to access medical training?”
“The Ontario Nurses Association estimates we will be short more than 30,000 nurses by the end of the decade, and OSAP cuts will make things worse,” Sattler added. “Ontario desperately needs more nurses. Will this government reverse its damaging cuts to OSAP so we can graduate the nurses we urgently need?”
Quotes:
"As medical students, we already face higher tuition, longer training, and substantial debt compared to other programs, and recent changes to OSAP only add to that burden. Increased financial pressure risks limiting access to medical education and may discourage students from pursuing primary care at a time when it is needed most in Ontario.”
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Julia, medical student and member of the Ontario Medical Students Association