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NEWS RELEASE

November 20, 2020

TORONTO - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release its interim policy paper, Responding to COVID-19. The paper was written, approved, and published by students to provide recommendations in response to the concerns that students are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEWS RELEASE

November 5, 2020

OUSA responds to the 2020 Ontario Budget

TORONTO - Today, the Ontario government released the 2020 Ontario Budget – Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover. The Budget includes several key items for post-secondary students, including increased student mental health services, the expansion and improvement of broadband, and support for microcredentials. While OUSA is pleased with these investments, we also want to emphasize that as COVID-19 continues to impact our province, post-secondary students are struggling and in need of additional investments in financial aid, work-integrated learning, and online learning. 

June 1, 2020

TORONTO, ON - Over the past week, we have witnessed Black men, Black women, and Black trans folks be killed by police brutality. Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Regis Korchinski-Paquet — these are just four names in a list of hundreds of Black people who have been victims of police violence in recent years. As an organization that represents around 150,000 undergraduate students in Ontario, we have a duty to speak out on these injustices and address acts of anti-Black racism happening across the world, including in Ontario and on our campuses. 

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) stands with the Black community and emphasizes our stance that Black Lives Matter.

May 19th, 2020

TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release our policy to support the eradication of gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions across the province. The paper was written, approved, and published by students to provide the provincial government with recommendations that are theory-driven and grounded in evidence to create safer and more accountable campuses with the necessary resources to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. 

May 11th, 2020

TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release our policy paper on International Students & International Education, which was approved at our virtual Spring General Assembly in April. Written and ratified by students, this paper provides recommendations intended to increase the quality of exchange programs and improve the experiences of international students studying at post-secondary institutions in Ontario.

May 4th, 2020

TORONTO, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is proud to release our policy on improving post-secondary education for rural and northern students. The paper was written, approved, and published by students to elevate student concerns and provide recommendations to improve the experiences of rural and northern post-secondary students.

April 22, 2020

Toronto, ON: This morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $9 billion student support package in response to calls from students experiencing financial insecurity as a result of COVID-19. 

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

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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.