A transport truck driving school in Temiskaming Shores is urging the province to reinstate funding for two grant programs that were paused following the OSAP revelations and investigations into fraud. There’s a fear the funding freeze will exacerbate supply chain issues and create long-term economic impacts that extend to vehicle suppliers, maintenance providers, and local economies. The school, 5th Wheel Training Institute, has been offering commercial transportation and heavy equipment operation training since 1985. “If there was an issue with our reputation with the government and what we’ve done, we wouldn’t be in business today,” said Steve Amyot, the school’s information and sales systems leader. The issue started Oct. 9. The truck driving school was flabbergasted when the province halted applications for two funding streams. Better Jobs Ontario is a grant program designed to help laid-off, unemployed or underemployed Ontario residents train for in-demand, high-skill jobs. It covers tuition, books and other expenses. Also affected was the Ontario Job Grant, which provides funding for businesses to train new and existing employees through eligible third-party providers. “We’ve got about 35 individuals right now lined up for Better Jobs Ontario training and they’re unable to access it,” Amyot said. Funding streams were frozen The school, which is considered an Ontario Career College, doesn’t use OSAP, as it mostly caters to adult learners training for a new career or upgrading their skills. Officials with the school said they are “collateral damage” and are being unjustly penalized for the wrongdoing of other institutions. “Without any indication of a timeline other than as soon as possible, we have to make some pretty drastic decisions and with our staffing and manpower,” Amyot said. When a KPMG audit found possible fraud in OSAP funding for private career colleges, police began an investigation and OSAP funds were frozen. Trevor Jones, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, said last week that the audit found that other funding programs could be compromised. “The ... risk is lower threshold. But still, the risk is there,” Jones told reporters at Queen’s Park on Nov. 3. He said a ministry investigation was completed, noting “inconsistencies” were discovered. “It’s prudent to pause, take stock and review and see if there are those inconsistencies,” he said. Without government support, Amyot said the roughly $15,000 cost of their programs is a significant barrier for students. With a severe workforce shortage in the transportation and construction industries, he said a prolonged funding freeze threatens critical winter highway maintenance and broader supply chains. “In the spring, there’s going to be a tremendous call for workers to move into the mines,” Amyot said. “There will be a backlog that needs to be filled and we won’t have those graduates ready for it.” When pressed for an update on the funding freezes, the Ministry of Labour referred CTV News to the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security “Preliminary audit findings point to serious, systemic concerns about OSAP usage at private postsecondary institutions,” Bianca Giacoboni, a spokesperson for the ministry, wrote in a text message. “OSAP payments to students at these institutions are paused, and other streams of provincial funding to private institutions past and present are under review.” The government said Thursday it is introducing legislation to strengthen oversight and accountability when it comes to OSAP student loans at private post-secondary institutions. The changes include capping OSAP-funded enrollment growth at private institutions, making mainly online programs ineligible for OSAP and requiring career colleges to maintain a physical campus. Legislative changes The changes would also “restrict relationships” between career colleges and third-party organizations, such as immigration and recruitment firms. The legislation would also give the province more power to recover OSAP payments from private institutions and establish new fines for violations under the Ontario Career Colleges Act. Career colleges in the province would also face tougher requirements when it comes to verifying students are maintaining eligibility for OSAP by completing coursework and participating in class. Nolan Quinn, the Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, stopped OSAP payments to all private post-secondary institutions at the time, leaving many students in limbo. The province says the new legislation will be tabled on Nov. 16 as part of a broader legislative package. However, it’s not yet clear when OSAP payments will resume. Quinn said he is hoping that could happen in the new year, but the KPMG audit is ongoing and there is no guaranteed timeline.
