Money should never be taken from students to give to other students, yet the 30 per cent tuition rebate promised by the Ontario provincial government is doing exactly that.
According to the Canadian Federation of Students, the Ontario government has cut nine provincial scholarships since October 2011. By quietly cutting scholarships like the Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top scholarship, which is awarded to students with financial need and high marks, the provincial government has been able to provide this money rebate to arguably more students.
But with all of the parameters placed on the rebate, students with too much financial resources and students with lower incomes are often not able to get the rebate. This juggling of student funds has taken money away from those who need it the most and has given it to middle-class students.
This rebate was marketed to students by the Liberal Party in a manner that made people believe funds would be created to decrease tuition rather than taken away from those who can hardly afford an education to be given to those who can almost afford it.
Students should be made a real priority in politics and not just used as a voting tactic. When changes like this are being made to student resources, the government needs to be more transparent and make it clear how they plan on funding these endeavors.
All Ontario students deserve to be paying less tuition, yet the Ontario government forgets that some need more help than others.
