i went home this weekend to find a gift from dalton & the gang in the amount of $150. it seems for reasons unknown to me the ontario government has decided to "make sure students like me have all the support they need to succeed." evidently, a grant of $150 is supposed to make all the difference throughout the school year. in a way, dalton is onto something; perhaps, now i can turn the thermostat up a few degrees and stay a little warmer knowing the ontario government is subsidizing my toasty toes in the bitterness that is kingston winters.

completely unknown to me as to what the governments wants me to use the money for (because they know what's best for me ); i did a little googling and so the ministry of colleges and universities feels this amount is sufficient towards my textbooks.

no doubt the obvious stink about the amount is that $150 unlikely covers the amount of books for one semester, let alone one class. and so, talking to any Ontarian student that received the cheque, all bemoan that the government is short changing us or in worst case, insulting students with such a petty amount. nonetheless, any money that wasn't in my bank a week ago is good money.

the issue i have with the cheque is not the meagreness of it but the fact the government really has no strategy when it comes to education. it's really akin to getting some cash from uncle because he didn't have a clue as to what to get you or put any sort of effect to give you something worthwhile. sure you take the money, but deep down you're hurt by the lack of effort and apathy.

in an era of economic decline and uncertainty of the future, you'd expect a little more from elected officials, especially when it comes to a policy as sensitive as education. human capital is increasingly the driving force of economic development and without strategic initiatives on the government's end, ontario's status of the 'heartland' will referred to when speaking of a bygone era.

their approach has been direct transfers into the hands of students. as a grad student, i find myself being showered with several generous grants, of which, are utmost appreciated but this policy of giving students money does little in the way of preparing students for the work force. in the case of my program, enrollments appears to be increasing at a steady pace each year as students try to jump on the gravy trains of graduate grants putting obvious strains on the actual program itself whose budgetary inflexibility does not bode well to accommodate that amount of students. in a sense, being in a graduate program one would expect the same trappings of ontario's undergraduate programs would no longer apply to its 'professional' education.

and yet, two months into the program, it is obvious the instructors are overwhelmed by the greater degree of students they deal with year by year. the massification of the education system is perpetuated if the government throws money/grants at students without making parallel commitments to the actual institutions.

so while students celebrate their 150$ as booze/food money for a week or two while others bemoan its meagerness, the underlying fault of the cheque is a government without any options and only doing something for the sake of doing it.

people's grievance with the government of ontario do make sense but without anything resembling an opposition to potentially unseat the liberals in this generation, dalton's 150$ is all that's necessary lock in another majority.

and let's face it, ontario's economy is heading down the shitter similar to a state under the NDP government of the 90s, but mr. mcquinty has little to worry about in the way of being re-elected. fact of the matter, ontarioans can label him anything under the moon but nothing stopping him for yet another majority.

and he knows it.