The organization representing vocational schools in Ontario raised concerns to the government about potential irregularities in student financial aid applications at specific campuses three years ago, according to documents. Career Colleges Ontario urged the authorities to involve law enforcement in certain matters, although the exact nature of these concerns and their connection to particular institutions remains vague.
Two letters from Career Colleges Ontario to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities were submitted as part of a legal challenge against the government’s decision to block students at five vocational college sites from receiving OSAP loans for the current academic year.
Documentation from Career Colleges Ontario in February indicated that they had flagged issues related to “indicators consistent with suspicious activity” in OSAP applications starting in January 2023, engaging in four meetings with the ministry throughout that year.
In a subsequent meeting, the organization requested that specific concerns be passed on to law enforcement, although the subject matter of these concerns was redacted in the court files.
Executive director Kate Bartz mentioned in a letter that the ministry had reached out to the police, who indicated a need for their own investigation to proceed further.
In light of Premier Doug Ford’s OSAP cuts, questions remain about the program’s functioning. CBC’s Julia Knope details the known facts.
Further details on the police involvement were not disclosed by Career Colleges Ontario or the ministry when contacted by The Canadian Press.
The reason for the redaction of the letter in the court filings remains unclear. Consequently, the specific concerns referred to law enforcement, including their applicability to particular educational institutions, have not been disclosed.
In a letter to the ministry in January 2025, Career Colleges Ontario reported analyzing data from 2022 to 2024, revealing anomalous spikes in applications at 10 schools, with an average increase of 855% over the two years.
One school experienced a surge from 107 applications in 2022 to 2,992 in 2024, representing a nearly 2,700% increase, while most schools had consistent numbers year over year, as per Bartz’s communication.
The data, combined with reports from Financial Aid Officers, suggested patterns diverging from typical enrollment trends, indicating potential eligibility misrepresentation and misuse of OSAP funds, which were promptly reported to the ministry’s OSAP inspection and compliance unit.
Information obtained through a freedom-of-information request by The Canadian Press revealed that approximately $385 million in provincial grants were disbursed to students at seven vocational colleges in 2024-25.
