For Immediate Release

August 16, 2005

LOW-INCOME KINGSTON AREA STUDENTS TO BENEFIT FROM NEW TUITION GRANTS

Grants Part of McGuinty Government’s Increased Access to Postsecondary Education

KINGSTON – Students in Kingston are now eligible for grants from the McGuinty government and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation which is providing about 16,000 first-year college and university students from low-income Ontario families up to $3,000 toward their education, MPP John Gerretsen announced today on behalf of Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Chris Bentley.

“This new grant is part of the package of improvements to financial aid for students included in Reaching Higher – the McGuinty Government Plan for Postsecondary Education,” said Bentley.  “This program is a significant part of our government’s plan to make it easier for 135,000 low- and middle-income students to get a postsecondary education. We are pleased the foundation is helping us achieve our goal, and I have no doubt that it will make a big difference for Kingston area students.”

Starting this year, up to 16,000 students entering their first year of college or university will benefit from the Millennium-Ontario Access Grant.  This is a $100-million, joint initiative by the Ontario government and the foundation, marking a shift in student financial aid by delivering more resources to students with the lowest family income. It will provide eligible students up to half the cost of their tuition to a maximum of $3,000. When combined with the Canada Access Grant – the federal government’s new low-income grant – these students can receive up to $6,000, or the full cost of their first year of tuition.

“Today we are investing in the future of Ontario,” said Gerretsen. “This announcement means that students in the Kingston area will have greater access to postsecondary education, allowing them to focus on academics and not cost. Our government is continuing to bridge the gap between families with low to middle incomes and higher education.”

The foundation will provide $76 million over four years to support the Millennium-Ontario Access Grant, with the remainder paid by the province. 

The new grant is in addition to the $108 million in Millennium bursaries the foundation has been distributing annually to Ontario students since 2000.

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent organization created by an Act of Parliament in 1998.  Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $1.7 billion in the form of more than 550,000 bursaries to Canadian postsecondary students.  In Ontario, more than 210,000 bursaries were distributed over the same period at a value of more than $638 million.

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