Happy June!! And welcome to my final Presidential Update </3
May was a month of a lot of change and turnover for OUSA, starting with our new Board of Directors starting their terms on May 1st! You can also see everything that our Board accomplished in our newly released 2025 Annual Report.
Shortly into the month, our Executive Director, Malika, was able to attend the Empire Club Event alongside the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and get some early access into what the provincial budget might hold. She heard the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, speak about the importance of building infrastructure and training skilled workers in a time of economic uncertainty.
The government dropped their budget shortly after. You can read OUSA’s full budget response here, where we emphasize that although we acknowledge the importance of safeguarding our province’s economy and working towards our future, we are disappointed to see the lack of attention to post-secondary education. Spending in the sector is projected to drop about 10% by the 2027-28 fiscal year, which will inhibit Ontario’s ability to build a resilient, future-ready economy by denying our students the critical support that they need in order to access and succeed in their post-secondary education.
You can further read OUSA’s 2025 Pre-Budget Submission here to see our exact asks in relation to post-secondary funding, student financial aid, and other pressing student issues. You can see our comments on the particular impact that this will have on northern and rural institutions in CBC Sudbury’s article, "Post-Secondary Sector says Budget Measures won't Avert Crisis in Northern Colleges and Universities".
Amongst this crisis, OUSA was still able to join one of our college counterparts, Ontario Student Voices (OSV), at their second ever Celebrating Leadership in College and Polytechnic Advocacy gala. We had a great time hearing from MPP Sattler and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, and learning more about the exemplary work that they are doing in the college student advocacy space. A huge thank you goes out to OSV for having us!!
At the end of the month, OUSA’s home office and new Steering Committee came together for our annual Opening Retreat. This year, they went up near Peterborough and got to spend 4 days getting to know each other, discussing the most pressing student issues, and determining where they want to see OUSA go over the next year.
Their retreat ended with me having the opportunity to chair for the final time as they held their executive elections – congratulations to my successor, Sayak Sneddon-Ghosal!!! As one of the most passionate individuals I have ever met, I cannot wait to see what you do in this role. A further congratulations to Omar Sayyed on being elected as VP Finance, as well as to Stephen DeCordova on being elected as VP HR and Admin.
We also watched the government announce Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, which would establish regulations on the types of fees that students pay and on admissions criteria. We have several concerns surrounding many of the provisions laid out in the Bill, which you can read more about here. We’re working with our government counterparts to provide our feedback and will be discussing further action as progress on the Bill unfolds.
Lastly, OUSA welcomed our new interns! We are so excited to have Sophia Carnovale back as our Indigenous Policy Intern, as well as Gabrielle Pinto as our Advocacy and Communications Intern! Speaking from past experiences, I know that these two will be incredible contributions to our organization.
With that being said, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to each and every person who has been a part of my term. This role has been the most fulfilling and inspiring year that I’ve truly ever had, and representing the student voice in Ontario has been an honour and a privilege. As well, an extra special thank you to OUSA’s home office – Malika, Tiffany, Octavia, and Abi – for your unwavering support and consistent dedication throughout this year. I am forever touched by the four of you, as well as by each and every student leader that I had the opportunity to advocate alongside this year.
Last but not least – HAPPY PRIDE AND INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH!! I hope you all have a great June :)
With all the love in my heart,
Michelle <3