Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty announced a new scholarship program for international doctoral students Nov. 4, despite vehement opposition from other parties in the Ontario legislature.

The province is planning to award 75 renewable $40,000 scholarships to international doctoral students, who will be chosen on a merit basis by universities, according to the program website.  

The opposition NDP has been disputing the scholarship, saying it pits students against each other and worsens existing problems in Ontario’s education system.

"It's not what they're doing [for international students]," said Rosario Narchese, NDP Critic for Education Issues. "It's what they're not doing for local students."

Narchese said he believes the province is weighed down with many post-secondary education issues of its own that the scholarship would exacerbate.

"On average, students in Ontario will graduate with approximately $25,000 in debt," said Narchese. "Young men and women leave with incredible burdens on their shoulders.”

Narchese said another problem that has arisen in Ontario’s education system is the quality of the education. He said that is another thing the scholarship program does not take into account.

“The quality of our education is diminishing by the year,” said Narchese. “And the burden of our students is increasing by the year.”

“The idea of inviting international students to our country and giving them scholarships would not be such a bad idea in normal circumstances,” he elaborated. “But it will simply add to the saga of underfunding to our university and college systems.”

The NDP are not alone in their feelings on the matter. Tim Hudak, leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party (OPC) and Jim Wilson, PC education critic, have begun to circulate a petition urging McGuinty to rethink his announcement.

In a recent article in The Globe and Mail, Wilson said, "The number one complaint we get from students is high tuition fees. No one asked for this [scholarship]."

By contrast, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) expressed its pleasure.

"We're talking about attracting some of the most talented doctoral students in the world to Canada," said CFS-Ontario organizer Joel Duff. "If we don't have this money available, then these students are going to go elsewhere."

Duff said he believes that the scholarship should not only be based on scholastic merit, however. He said it should be equally dependent on financial need.

"We'd like to see this program implemented in a way that improves access for international students with financial needs,"said Duff.

According to Duff, the opposition parties  "are not actually trying to defend the interests of domestic students.
“All they're trying to do is attack the McGuinty Liberals," he said.