Centrepiece of Liberal re-election platform gets shredded as gov’t fights cash crunch
The Ontario government announced this morning that it will be cutting back it “textbook and technology grant” starting next year.
Stay tuned for more details later this afternoon.
I asked the government the following two questions, and you can read their responses below.
1) The release states “The grant is $150 per academic year.” Can you confirm that the government remains committed to its previous promises and the grant will be increasing in size for the 09/10 academic year?
A government spokesperson says the grant will remain frozen, but that they will not be increasing the size of the grant.
2) Can you provide the government estimate of how many students will no longer qualify for the grant and the amount of money the government expects to save next year?
Between the freeze and changes to the textbook and technology and distance travel grants, the Ontario government anticipates it will save $103 million next year.