Q & A with MPP Piccini At New Year’s Levee
MPP for Northumberland – Peterborough South and Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, David Piccini held a New Year’s Levee at the Art Gallery of Northumberland in Victoria Hall on Saturday, January 19, 2019.
The room was full of people for the event including most mayors across Northumberland County.
During the event Piccini spoke with Today’s Northumberland about the event and looking forward for his riding.
TN: Tell me about today.
DP: It’s been great and it’s great to see so many people brave our first real snow storm to make it out today. We talked about steps our government has taken to stay true to our commitment, to really make life more affordable with a number of initiatives we’ve introduced from “Making Ontario Open for Business Act” that’s lowered taxes and created incentives for businesses to invest in our community.
Lowering tuition – making a post secondary education more affordable for our next generation and ensuring we have sustainable structure for those who need it most.
To supporting broadband connectivity which is a roundtable we had this morning that went really well.
We’ve got a lot more work to do yet, but we’ve hit the ground running.
Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we’ve made a number of moves to make sure this Province is moving forward and we’re tackling the debt and deficit that has so handcuffed our ability in Ontario to succeed.
Politics is a team sport, it’s a two-way street and to have such positive engagement with our community, great feedback. To have people who don’t vote for me, who never will, come and challenge me, makes me a better MPP and it’s great to have such constructive dialogue with all walks of our community.
TN: It’s coming out now about the 10% reduction in tuition, but will that hurt universities and such?
DP:I want to deal with that head-on. This is the first time in Ontario we’ve seen a 10% reduction in tuition. This is the first time, we’ve seen a government put students first. It doesn’t corelate the 10% reduction in tuition because operating grants the ministry administers are staying consistent through this year. So the real difference to universities is about 2.5%. And just like so many small businesses in our community can handle that and take that cut and we’ve had municipalities tighten their belts, we as a government have tightened our belt and I make no apologies for putting students first. I make no apologises that over the past 15 years, when Liberals jacked up tuition, 100% on students, who stood up for low-income families when their tuition would go up 20%. We’re talking about 2.5% to multi-million dollar universities. They are innovators, the Presidents, the Boards are going to do great work. We’re going to work with them to overcome that. I make no apologies for low-income families who have had to deal with those massive increases and they operate with a much smaller budget then those universities.
TN: What’s the future hold in this riding for David Piccini?
DP: The future holds tackling hallway healthcare, ensuring long-term beds, sustain ability to support an aging population. It includes investments, service based industry, supporting our vital ag community as we expand and grow. Supporting small business investment in our community. Job creation. Broadband connectivity for our rural community. That round table was an eye-opener to see so many people passionately engage. We’ve got a great announcement coming up soon and we are working with the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus on that. So the future entails a lot more work to ensure that we create jobs, that we work to preserve our rural nature of our community, protect ag-land and I’m really looking forward to working with our community in 2019 and keeping the doors in my office open as always.
PC Government Lowers
Student Tuition by 10 per cent
First ever province-wide tuition reduction will make college and university more affordable and accessible for students and families, while empowering students to choose how fees are spent
January 18, 2019
TORONTO, ON – For the first time in Ontario’s history, students at every publicly-assisted college and university will see their tuition rates go down by 10 percent thanks to a province-wide tuition rate reduction introduced by Ontario’s Government for the People. The tuition rate reduction is the latest step in the Ford Government’s plan to keep more money in the pockets of Ontario students and families.
“We believe that if you’ve got the grades, you deserve access to an affordable postsecondary education,” said David Piccini, MPP for Northumberland – Peterborough South and Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. “By lowering tuition across the entire province, our Government is ensuring that all qualified Ontario students will have more affordable access to high quality skills, training and education.”
As part of its overall reform of postsecondary education affordability, Piccini joined Minister Merrilee Fullerton in also announcing that that the Government will be refocussing the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to ensure it remains sustainable and viable for future students while directing a greater proportion of OSAP funding to families with the greatest financial need.
“The previous government believed in handing out OSAP money to some of Ontario’s highest income earners with virtually no meaningful criteria for success,” said Fullerton. “It is no surprise that student enrolment has remained flat while tuition rates skyrocketed. Instead of using OSAP to indirectly subsidize future rounds of tuition hikes, we will focus our resources on the families in greatest need while challenging our partners in the postsecondary sector to deliver better value for the high tuitions they already charge.”
The Minister also announced a Student Choice Initiative through which every individual student in Ontario will be empowered to choose which student fees they want to pay and how that money will be allocated. Fees for essential campus health and safety initiatives will continue to be mandatory.
Student fees in Ontario can range as high as $2000 per year and, too often, force students to pay for services they do not use and organizations they do not support. The opt-out initiative will ensure students have transparency and freedom of choice regarding the campus services and organizations which get access to their money.
Reducing tuition and increasing the affordability of college and university is part of the government’s plan to help people get the training they need to get good paying jobs.
“We are making postsecondary education more affordable through these historic reforms, refocussing supports to our students and families who need it most,” said Piccini. “These changes give students the freedom of choice about how their money is spent, and restores accountability, affordability and access to postsecondary education while giving more of our students opportunities to find a job and build a career right here in Ontario.”
Quick Facts
· The government’s historic tuition reduction for 2019-20 represents the first time Ontario student tuition has decreased across all funding-eligible programs.
· Average university tuition in Ontario has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and is currently the highest in any Canadian province.
· A student attending Sir Sanford Fleming College enrolled in a Heavy Equipment Techniques program would see a $970 reduction in their 2019-20 academic year tuition.
· A student attending Sir Sanford Fleming College enrolled in a Practical Nursing program would see a $470 reduction in their 2019-20 academic year tuition.
· An arts and science undergraduate student at Trent University would see a reduction of $700.
· A student attending Durham College enrolled in a Pre-service Firefighter Education and Training program would see an $880 reduction in their 2019-20 academic year tuition.
· An engineering or information technology undergraduate student at the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology would see a reduction of $1,000.
· Students pay fees in addition to tuition, which can range from approximately several hundred dollars to $2,000 per academic year.
· The Auditor General recently tabled a report highlighting concerns with the way OSAP was administered, as well as drastic overspending. The report concluded that despite the previous government’s excessive spending, OSAP did not result in proportionately higher enrolment.
· The government will administer a fund to help smaller, Northern institutions adjust to the tuition rate reduction.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love