A small financial break for post-secondary students

The Ontario government is helping undergraduate students get out of debt and focus on saving their money. On November 17, Ontario Premiere Dalton McGuinty announced that the Liberal government would provide students with a grant that gives $1,600 to each full-time student in university and $730 to each full-time college student in college every year for families whose annual income is under $160,000.

The Liberal government has kept their promise of lowering the cost of tuition, which was a key part of their election platform. On November 17, McGuinty tweeted, "We're moving forward to keep postsecondary (education) within reach by cutting tuition. Skilled workers = smart choice for the economy."

It is estimated that 86 per cent of Ontario students are eligible for this grant, which will open on January 1. The grant is currently not available for part-time or international students.

"My course is very expensive and (this money) would be very helpful for a lot of students," said Amber Maginnis, a first-year Dental Hygiene student at Fanshawe. "Any money is helpful."

"We have been working really hard to get test scores up in elementary schools, to get the graduate rates up and I think we have gone up from 68 to 81 per cent of young people graduating from high school," McGuinty was quoted by digitaljournal.com. "I think you've probably all heard the stories about how challenging it is in the global economy these days. We want to make sure people will continue to grow our economy and get good jobs and that's why we're going to continue to invest in your education."