OPP yet to launch formal probe into alleged “egregious” OSAP use at career colleges

As the Ford government faces increasing scrutiny over how a handful of private career colleges tapped into the OSAP system, Ontario’s provincial police say they are reviewing the allegations but have yet to decide on whether to launch a formal criminal probe.

In early October, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities sounded the alarm about six private career colleges that were engaged in “egregious use of taxpayer dollars” and accused them of criminality by taking advantage of the student assistance program.

Nolan Quinn said an internal investigation found “unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications submitted from the same geographic locations” and also pointed to the involvement of “immigration services firms” being directly tied to or co-owned by some career colleges in question.

After referring the findings to auditing firm KPMG for a deeper dive, Quinn said the government had also “reported it to the OPP and the Auditor General.”

The OPP confirmed that it “received a referral from the Ontario government and that the allegations are “currently under review.”

“I am not able to provide an estimated timeline for the review,” an OPP spokesperson said in a statement. “As the matter remains under review, we are unable to provide any further detail or comment.”

Ontario’s Auditor General, however, said the office only received a “notification” from the government, but that the province stopped short of requesting a formal value-for-money audit.

“A statement was made by Minister Quinn on October 6 that states “As a result, the government notified the Auditor General last week and has also referred this matter to the Ontario Provincial Police,” the auditor’s office said in an email.

“We can confirm that the Office of the Auditor General received a notification from the government last week. This was separate from the request for an audit received from MPP Tyler Watt.”

While the minister has the power to request a “special assignment,” it’s unclear why the government chose to only notify the auditor as opposed to request a performance audit – similar to Liberal MPP Tyler Watt’s request.

The auditor’s office added that the office has been notified about similar issues in the past and stressed that it’s their “expectation that the government would inform us, as we are its independent auditor of the public accounts of Ontario.”

While the investigations remain in question, the Ford government continues to face calls to prevent the problem from spilling over into other institutions.

There are currently 242 career colleges that are eligible to receive OSAP in Ontario, all of which have now been cut off from the provincial program as the province examines the scope of the problem.

Career Colleges Ontario, the association representing hundreds of institutions, is urging the Ford government to reinstate student financial aid for career college students who were already approved for funds and are actively attending in-person classes.

The association, which had been warning the government about possible misuse of OSAP since 2023, says the government should be taking targeted action to address those concerns, not disrupting the education of students who have followed the rules.

The minister has only indicated that the pause in OSAP grants will remain in effect until the government’s third-party auditors can complete a wider probe.

“The auditors, the third-party auditors, haven’t given us assurances yet, and I will respect the experts. And whenever they give me assurance to be able to release all of the institutions,” Quinn on Oct. 2.

“That’s when we’ll move forward with OSAP for career colleges.”