Hundreds of students march on Ontario legislature

Hundreds of post-secondary students marched to the Ontario legislature under the watchful eye of police Wednesday, as part of a national day of action.

Student groups in Ontario have called on the provincial government to turn a tuition grant program into an across-the-board fee reduction.

The grants to cut tuition for college and university students by 30 per cent exclude a majority of students, they say, adding the grants won't prevent tuition from rising in the fall.

In December, they presented a petition with 40,000 signatures to the government stating their case.

Before the march in Toronto, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said education in the province is still a good deal and very accessible.

When you factor in grants, loan provisions and funding for institutions, Duncan said, Ontario is near the top of the pack.

"That's more progressive because it focuses the money on students and not on institutions," he said.

In Ottawa, the minister of human resources and skills development said the federal government has done plenty to help students afford an education.

"Over the last six years, our government has done more to help students than any government before it," Diane Finley said, responding to a question in the House.

"We introduced the Canada Student Grants Program, which is helping almost 300,000 students access post-secondary education," she said, adding the government also made scholarships and bursaries tax free and invested billions in infrastructure for colleges and universities.