Ontario Liberals accuse Ford government of ties to career colleges barred from OSAP
The opposition party says ministers attended a campus opening and PC donors are linked to a school now blocked from student aid until 2030.
TORONTO — The Ontario Liberal Party is accusing the Ford government of having political ties to private career colleges that have been blocked from the Ontario Student Assistance Program until at least 2030.
Liberal critic Tyler Watt said two months after government inspectors visited the Academy of Learning, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and MP Amarjot Sandhu were present for a campus opening.
"The government had the warnings, the inspectors, and the numbers, but the political connections raise even more questions," Watt said at a press conference Wednesday.
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The opposition party also said the two co-founders of Opulence Education Group, which owns Academy of Learning, have donated more than $8,000 to the PC Party since 2024.
"Political donations, lobbying, and ribbon cuttings don't establish wrongdoing, but these connections demand scrutiny," said Watt.
In a statement to CityNews, the Academy of Learning said it complies fully with Ontario's lobbying and political financing rules.
"Like many organizations, we invite elected officials of all parties to community events such as campus openings, and any political contributions made by individuals are personal, publicly disclosed and within provincial limits," the school said.
Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn barred three Academy of Learning locations from OSAP for three more years following a final ministry decision, the schools said in a court filing earlier this month.
An order from Quinn in May had already blocked six schools, including four Academy of Learning locations, from OSAP for the 2026-27 academic year.
Government inspections found evidence suggesting third parties were completing coursework, sometimes entire courses in one day, and a few students could not name their school or program, officials allege in court documents.
Nosy Mag reported in October that Ontario inspectors allege third parties completed coursework at career colleges, with students at three Academy of Learning schools receiving over $219 million in grants while showing signs of fraud.
Data obtained by The Canadian Press shows the Academy of Learning's three locations accounted for one-fifth of the nearly $1 billion in provincial OSAP grants that went to all career colleges in 2024-25.
Quinn announced last week that the government called in auditors KPMG in August and, based on serious concerns in their preliminary findings, has referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police.
The concerns include the involvement of immigration services firms, inadequate student validation, and unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications from the same geographic locations, Quinn said.
He also said OSAP loan payments for students at all career colleges and private post-secondary institutions across the province are paused while the KPMG audit is ongoing.
In a statement, Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary for Quinn, said the six schools had their OSAP suspended due to non-compliance before a sector-wide OSAP pause was implemented.
The Academy of Learning said it recognizes that unusually rapid completion patterns warrant review and it has strengthened monitoring and controls.
"Our priority remains our students. A further three-year bar from OSAP would have serious consequences for adult learners who rely on financial assistance to access career training, which is why we are asking the court to review the decision," the school said.
The schools argue in their court application that Quinn's decision was unreasonable and procedurally unfair.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said the OSAP pause has left thousands of students unable to pay rent or buy groceries.
"Now Doug Ford always says, 'Now don't worry, I've got your back.' Well for thousands and thousands of students, nobody has got their back," said Fraser.
Fraser and Watt are calling on Quinn to resign, alleging he has not done his job.
With files from The Canadian Press, CityNews and CBC News