Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke to reporters at Queen’s Park on Feb. 17. He said students should stop taking “basket-weaving courses.”
Ford said he received thousands of calls over the long weekend from upset students after the provincial government announced, on Feb. 12, a cut to Ontario Student Assistance Program [OSAP] grant funding.
“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not a lot of baskets being sold out there,” he said.
Ford said students should invest into in-demand jobs instead.
There are so many incredible programs out there, and just because Ford does not find them “in-demand” does not mean they are not a dependable part of how our society functions.
As someone who relies heavily on OSAP, I physically cannot afford the tuition on my own, and no matter what program I am in, it is not going to help me be able to fund my tuition.
I currently have no job to be able to support myself, despite trying to find one, and have no support from my parents. If my OSAP loans increase while the grants decrease the next few years I am in school, I am going to have a difficult time paying off my loans.
The idea that I could afford my education without having to pay off any debt once I graduated is incredible.
Now that it has been ripped from me, I will be forced to depend on borrowed money if my grants are turned into loans.
Post-secondary education should be affordable. Ford has eliminated the only easily accessible source of funding that the average person can afford.
Many countries around the world offer free or affordable education. Canada is slowly moving toward unaffordable post-secondary tuition, much like its southern neighbour.
His use of “basket-weaving courses” is an inappropriate comment. It is an Indigenous practice.
Ford spoke in a news conference on Feb. 23 and said, “People thought I was joking.”
He said there is a basket-weaving course at Carleton University.
With Canada’s history of hatred towards indigenous peoples, I think we can stand to learn a little bit about the culture that Canada has tried to repress.
The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles said in a post on basket weaving that baskets are part of the heritage of many Indigenous peoples.
Basket weaving should not be used as an argument to students who have the constitutional freedom to choose their future, including what they learn.
The issue is not the statement of “basket-weaving courses” alone, but that Ford did not think longer about how to carefully curate his speech.
Ford said students should go into healthcare. Yet he has cut funding to that.
A Jan. 27 report by the Canadian Union of Public Employees stated there will be longer wait times, rushed care and overcrowded Ontario hospitals due to government cuts.
It said these cuts are expected to cause over 10,000 job losses.
The Ontario Nurses Association stated on May 15, 2025, that Ford’s healthcare budget will increase the number of nurses in the province by 2,000.
It said at least 26,000 are needed to reach the national per-capita average.
Ford said in the speech to focus on science, technology, engineering and math [STEM], “those are where the jobs are.”
Leah Ritchie, a graduate from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in human biology, said she spent nearly two months looking for a job.
She said the job field was nearly impossible to enter because of its competitive nature, despite her extensive qualifications.
Ritchie said many people receive interviews and offers because of their network and referrals, not because of the courses taken in post-secondary.
“In my opinion, if there ever was a barrier to accessibility in the job market, this would be it,” she said.
Telling students what career they should choose is inappropriate.
Despite the many arguably nonsensical explanations Ford gives for going into in-demand jobs, OSAP funding is being cut for all jobs, not just the ones he sees as unimportant.
Students are outraged at Ford’s lack of empathy for accessible education.
The Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario organized a march at Queen's Park on March 4 at 12:30 p.m. to combat OSAP grant cuts.
Ford’s reasons to cut funding in grants, however valid he may think they appear, are not his role to control.
He is not a parent who can’t afford to fund their children’s post-secondary education and he is not a guidance counsellor.
Ford accused students of spending their OSAP money on “fancy watches and cologne.” This language is uncomfortably similar to the words used to demonize welfare recipients before a cut to benefits.
If he is so concerned about the misuse of OSAP funding, then perhaps the premier should think of a more suitable and empathetic solution to allow those who need the funding access to it.
Ford’s position seems to stem from ignorance. His statements on what he thinks are the realities of post-secondary students cannot be backed up by solid evidence.
My reality is not one I believe can be comprehended if his mindset is on making money for the province rather than investing in its education.
