Hello everyone!
November has been quite packed, so let's get right into it:
We started off the month with the release of the Ontario government's fall economic statement, Building Ontario for You. As stated in OUSA’s initial response, we saw a continued lack of commitment to better fund post-secondary education or student financial aid, both of which remain top of mind for Ontario’s students at the moment.
Later in the month, Malika attended a panel discussion featuring Minister Bethlenfalvy with the Canadian Club Toronto. The session was a great opportunity to learn more about the government’s priorities in various sectors and better understand their approach to investments. We also had the opportunity to meet with the Association of Municipalities Ontario. We got to learn more about their areas of focus and chat about potential opportunities for collaboration at any intersecting points of our respective upcoming work.
Additionally, we wrapped up our campus visits for the semester with a stop at Wilfrid Laurier University! Visiting the day before they played my home school, Western, in the Yates Cup, may not have been the best idea. If you see me wearing a Laurier shirt at our General Assembly in the spring, you know why. All jokes aside – we had a great trip, facilitated by great hosts, filled with a lot of heckling and a little bit of dabbing.
We also had the opportunity to attend the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health’s (CICMH) annual conference, where I was invited to co-host and OUSA was able to facilitate a session. Our executive director, Malika, also did an excellent job moderating the conference's afternoon keynote. Our Managers of Research and Policy, Octavia and Abi, alongside Brodie (our SC member from Laurier), held a session titled “Beyond Borders: Supporting International Student Mental Health in a Shifting Institutional Landscape.” They were able to illuminate the lived experience of international students across our membership and provide insight into the best ways to support these students throughout their post-secondary education journey. As usual, they did an excellent job. We are so grateful to the CICMH team for their support and the opportunity to participate in such an incredible conference.
Additionally, on November 15th, we recognized the one year anniversary of the release of the Blue Ribbon Panel report. Despite their recommendation of a $2.5 billion injection to support Ontario’s post-secondary system, the provincial government fell short when earlier this year, they only committed to $1.3 billion over 3 years. We also recently passed our policy paper in response to the Blue Ribbon Panel report, which we look forward to publishing in the coming months. You can read more about our reflection on the one year anniversary in our news release here.
And turning to, perhaps, one of our most important weeks of the year, we also held our annual Student Advocacy Conference (SAC) during the third week of the month! Following multiple training sessions facilitated by our Home Office staff and various alumni who were generous enough to donate their time, we packed ourselves into AirBnb’s and hotels in Toronto to engage in a full week of advocacy at Queen’s Park – yes, right in the midst of the Eras tour. Two delegates from each of our member institutions engaged in meetings throughout the week with various MPPs and staffers in order to discuss our advocacy priorities for the year. Our teams were invited to the Members Gallery during question period, which was a great opportunity to witness the legislature in action. Thank you to Minister Quinn and the various MPPs who introduced us!
On Tuesday morning of SAC, we also had the opportunity to co-host a breakfast reception at Queen’s Park alongside our college counterparts, Ontario Student Voices (OSV), and the College Student Alliance (CSA). We were able to hear insightful remarks from Minister Quinn, MPP Sattler, MPP Fraser, and MPP Schreiner. It was also lovely to see some of our many stakeholders in the sector, and meet some in person for the first time! There are countless people to thank for their support in planning and facilitating this week, from our Home Office staff to the political decision makers that took the time to engage with us, and I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am.
Last but certainly not least, OUSA is still in the midst of running our biennial Ontario Undergraduate Student Survey (OUSS), which asks for student perspectives on the post-secondary experience. It closes in 2 weeks, on December 13th, so make sure to fill it out soon to be entered to win 1 in 10 $100 VISA gift cards! If you have not yet gotten your link, reach out to your institution's student association with any questions.
As our days get shorter and the weather gets colder, I hope you all are able to stay warm and stay strong as you finish your final exams of the fall semester! Best of luck, and talk soon :)
XOXO,
Michelle