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By Sherina Harris and Maggie Macintosh

One day after cutting funding for Ryerson University’s expansion to Brampton, Doug Ford’s Conservative government refused to comment on whether they plan to maintain Ontario’s free post-secondary tuition program, according to the Toronto Star.

When asked twice about the status of the free Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), Merrilee Fullerton, the minister of training, colleges and universities, told reporters the government is concerned about the province’s finances.

“We promised the people of Ontario to restore accountability and trust in Ontario’s finances,’ Fullerton said in a statement to The Eye, when asked about the program. “Part of that process means making tough decisions about projects across Ontario.”

The former Liberal government introduced the revised financial aid program, which offered applicants more non-repayable grants and free tuition to low-income students, in March 2017.

Over 210,000 students received free tuition under the revised OSAP structure.

The minister’s statement to The Eye also stated the decisions announced this week were specific to the funding cuts to three proposed satellite campuses, one of which was the Ryerson-Sheridan College campus in Brampton.

More to come.