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March 25, 2020

Toronto, ON - Today, the Honorable Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, presented Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan and an Economic and Fiscal Update. The update includes important investments to support those most impacted by COVID-19 and addresses some of the financial challenges faced by post-secondary students and graduates navigating the current landscape in Ontario.

March 18, 2020

Toronto, ON - Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a six-month interest-free moratorium on Canada Student Loans as part of the country’s economic stimulus package in light of COVID-19. This announcement comes after the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) released a letter calling on the federal government to implement this necessary measure. OUSA commends the federal government for taking quick action to address the challenges Canadian post-secondary graduates will face in making Canada Student Loan repayments as a result of the income barriers that COVID-19 presents.

To download a pdf version, click here

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough 

Minister of Employment, Workforce, Development and Disability 

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Qualtrough & Minister Hussen,

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), alongside the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities (UCRU) and the College Student Alliance (CSA), is writing in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the ability of Canadians to make Canada Student Loan (CSL) and interest payments.

To download a PDF version click here

The Honourable Ross Romano

Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities 

5th Floor, 438 University Ave

Toronto, ON M7A 2A5

Dear Minister Romano,

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and the College Student Alliance (CSA) are writing in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the ability of Ontarians to make OSAP loan and interest payments.

March 13, 2020

Toronto, ON - Yesterday, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) suspended the biannual meeting of its General Assembly, which was scheduled to take place this weekend at Western University. This decision was made in accordance with the statement put out by Western University yesterday afternoon, which advised that all discretionary events on campus with more than 50 people currently scheduled until April 30, 2020 be cancelled, postponed, or offered virtually. Western’s decision was made in consultation with Middlesex-London Health Unit and is motivated by efforts to ensure the health and safety of visitors to the campus and local community.

March 3, 2020

TORONTO, ON -

Today, the Honourable Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Deputy Premier, announced A Roadmap to Wellness: A plan to build Ontario’s mental health and addictions system. This mental health strategy sets out to build a connected mental health and addictions system and focuses on four pillars: improving quality, expanding existing services, implementing innovative solutions, and improving access.

TORONTO, ON -

Content Warning: this press release contains upsetting subject matter regarding sexual violence.

Today, the full results from the 2018 Student Voices on Sexual Violence (SVSV) survey were released, including responses from over 160,000 post-secondary students — 117,000 of whom were university students. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) led a call-to-action for the province to conduct a climate survey to collect accurate and standardized data about student experiences with institutional responses to sexual violence. Since the survey was completed, OUSA has advocated for the  public release of the full survey dataset to support informed, evidence-based recommendations. OUSA is hopeful that the provincial government recognizes the severity of this issue and will use this opportunity to invest significantly in gender-based violence prevention and response at post-secondary campuses across Ontario.

January 31st, 2020

TORONTO, ON - OUSA releases its submission to the provincial government for Budget 2020.

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance is pleased to release its Budget 2020 submission, entitled Educated Investments: Supporting Students for a Better Future. Recent changes in post-secondary have left students feeling uncertain about their futures and worried about completing their studies, and this submission responds to these changes by highlighting the need for investment in student financial aid, mental health care, sexual violence prevention, and experiential learning opportunities. Increased support in these areas will help ensure that all willing and qualified students are able to pursue a post-secondary education in Ontario.

December 10th, 2019

TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release our policy on improving post-secondary education for Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ Students. The paper was written, approved, and published by students to serve as a first step towards introducing improvements and to fill a gap in the policy landscape in support of gender and sexually diverse students in Ontario.

December 9th, 2019

TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release our policy paper on Ancillary & Incidental Fees, which was recently approved at our Fall General Assembly. The paper was written and ratified by students, and it provides recommendations intended to improve the structure of ancillary and incidental fees as well as the services and programs that those fees support.