Good news for Northern Ontario student commuters

Premier Dalton McGuinty chats with Canadore President Barbara Taylor and Nipissing University President Dennis Mock Thursday at Governors House residence.

Premier Dalton McGuinty delivered good news for post secondary students during a whistle stop in North Bay Thursday.

First McGuinty unveiled his Liberal government’s travel grant for northern and rural students who commute long distances to post-secondary school.

“If you live 80 kilometres away from the school that you are attending and your are from a remote, rural community or in Northern Ontario we’re going to provide you (if you are living away from home) an annual $300 grant it’s a travel grant. But if you are commuting back and forth over 80 kilometres one way we’re going to give you $500 per semester that’s a $1,000 a year to help you with your commuting costs,” explains McGuinty to a packed house at Nipissing University Governors House residence.

“So there are two new initiatives for young people living in remote rural communities and in Northern Ontario.”

But the Premier didn’t just focus on rural and northern students; he also announced funding that will help relieve some of Ontario students’ yearly expenditures.

“We’re taking this one step further as well; we want to take this beyond the whole issue of travel, we’re putting in place a new text book grant, we’re calling it “Text Book and Technology” grant,” he states.

“So starting this September any student with any college (or) at university in Ontario – full time student -- will get a hundred and fifty dollars this September. It’s going to grow to $300 by 2009.”

Both Canadore President Barbara Taylor and Nipissing University President Dennis Mock said the announcement would help their institutions support their students.

“Student access is important to us,” says Mock.

“It costs money to travel around and we’re very pleased that the government has put aside $27 million to help our students and other students in this province overcome that barrier of distance.”

“So again that is another way in which we can as a university fulfill our goals within this region. One of our goals is to increase participation rate in rural and northern areas and this will help us to do that,” he adds.

“Thank you for understanding that distance is an issue,” Taylor tells McGuinty.

“Given the partnership (Nipissing & Canadore) works so well I think we’ve done a really good job of leveraging that as a reason why Government supports us in the support of our students, and will continue to do that.”

First year Nipissing student Charlotte Hoelke says she spent a fortune on text books this year and felt a financial pinch every time she went home to Pembroke.

“Well this year I’d be lost ... I’d be homesick or I would travel home and I’d be worried about the cost so this way it’s a win-win situation,” she says.

“I don’t have to worry about it I can go home and it’s awesome. I have friends who can’t go home for Easter cause they can’t afford it so this is definitely coming to be a huge relief to them. “