Ontario proposes OSAP crackdown as Toronto-area career college draws scrutiny

The facts

TORONTO The Ontario government said Thursday it plans to introduce legislation to strengthen oversight and enforcement of private postsecondary schools that participate in OSAP, according to a news release from the province. Quinn told reporters at Queen's Park that the bill would be tabled next week.

The proposal would cap the rate of growth in OSAP-funded enrolment, exclude programs that are mainly online and require career colleges to disclose their ties to recruiters and immigration firms. It would also call for stronger identity and enrolment checks, automatic inspections and make institutions responsible for funding tied to fraud or serious non-compliance.

"These measures will strengthen OSAP integrity, hold institutions to higher standards and ensure public funding supports high-quality education and better outcomes for students," Quinn said in the release.

Investigators found outsiders completing coursework for students, exams finished in minutes and thousands of applications coming from the same IP addresses, Quinn said, CBC News reported. He said Career Colleges Ontario had removed 24 more schools from its membership, was reviewing 13 and had concerns about backdated enrolment at 33.

Last month Ontario froze OSAP payments to private career colleges, and an external audit continues. CBC reported that the province also alerted the Ontario Provincial Police and the auditor general.

Figures The Canadian Press got through a freedom of information filing, published by CityNews Toronto, show the Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology, which has four campuses, had 562 students on OSAP in 2021-22 and 17,157 in 2024-25. One of its four campuses went from 74 recipients to 4,481, an increase of 5,955 per cent, and received $39 million in provincial grants.

Across the four campuses, students drew about $151 million in grants in 2024-25. More than 97 per cent of those on OSAP that year studied online, up from six per cent in 2021-22.

The college was missing from the six schools Quinn made ineligible in May. Those schools saw increases between about 650 and 1,375 per cent. Neither the college nor its president responded to requests for comment.

NDP critic Peggy Sattler said that if the ministry missed such growth, it points to "total incompetence and mismanagement." CBC also reported that OSAP grant spending rose by $465 million between 2023-24 and 2024-25, with 95 per cent of the increase going to private career college students.

Who is affected

The funding pause affects all 242 private career colleges in Ontario, according to Global News. Students at the colleges have told reporters they are struggling to cover rent, food and childcare costs.

Muraly Srinarayanathas, chairman of Computek College, which has locations in Toronto and Ajax, said the freeze cut off the school's revenue. "After 35 years, we did layoffs for the first time Monday," he said. He said the college is audited and inspected every year and has asked the ministry to inspect it first.

Quinn also said Ontario is working with banks to provide low interest loans to affected students, but he had no details to share Thursday.

What it means

The government says the bill is intended to protect students and taxpayers. Opposition parties say it offers little help to students who have already lost funding.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser called it a "cover your ass bill" and argued that Ontario should restore money to schools that show they operate properly instead of waiting for passage. Liberal critic Tyler Watt said the legislation finally addresses loopholes the government left open.

The Toronto-area college's case raises questions about how the province selected the schools whose funding it cut. A spokesperson for Quinn would not say whether the college had been on the government's radar. Career Colleges Ontario said the college's membership ended Sept. 1 but did not explain why.

What happens next

The legislation is expected to be introduced Monday, CBC and Global News reported. Quinn said the government would ensure funding reaches students by the new year if it gets opposition support to fast-track the bill. He would not say whether the money would arrive before Jan. 1.

The Liberals and NDP have said they will support the bill if it gets money to students faster. Quinn said officials cannot yet say how much OSAP funding they may seek to recover because the audit is ongoing.