By Zanoah Plummer

Toronto Centre MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam visited Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) on Sept. 28 for an event hosted by the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU). 

The panel was moderated by TMSU vice-president education Teresa Baricevic and president Zain Baig.

Baricevic, who coordinated the event, said she hopes “students understand that their voices can be heard and can actually make a difference and that their vote does matter. And getting involved will actually make more of a difference than you think.” 

Political issues relevant to postsecondary students were the main point of discussion for Wong-Tam. Among the most discussed were changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which came into effect this semester. The changes saw the amount of grants the program offers lowered from 80 per cent of tuition to a much-smaller 20 per cent.

“It’s probably one of the biggest challenges I think students are facing today,” they said. “I have met students who got their acceptance paper authentication, their acceptance letter [to] post-secondary, but they’re not financially ready to go because of the OSAP program change.” 

Wong-Tam also spoke on accessibility in Ontario and what both able-bodied students and students with disabilities can do to improve access on their campuses. 

Wong-Tam said the fight for an accessible Ontario is everyone’s responsibility, because “every single one of us, [at] one point in our lives is going to be living with a disability.”

Affordability was a recurring topic of discussion. Wong-Tam spoke on the housing crisis, the youth employment crisis and an increasing reliance on food banks across Canada.

According to Food Banks Canada, in March 2025, there were around 2.17 million visits to food banks. Canada’s youth unemployment rate sits at 12.9 per cent, as of August 2026. Wong-Tam said these compounded crises are part of why students across Ontario are struggling financially.

“The future feels a little bit bleak. Especially if you’re a student or you’re a young person, and you’re asking yourself, ‘when are you going to catch a break?’ And so all of this means that we need to encourage students to take a seat at the table where decisions are made. It also means that students can draw from the past for inspiration, because I know that students have made a huge difference when they fought against raising their tuitions,” said Wong-Tam.

Though the event drew a small number of in-person attendees, many of those who did show up asked questions. 

Aveen Abdoli, a fourth-year nursing student, was one of the students who attended the event.

“Not many people value this kind of knowledge and yet we see so many things on our phones and we’re so enraged by them,” she said. Yet that piece where we’re supposed to take action is usually null, like it doesn’t exist. So I was surprised to see that there wasn’t so much traction.”

Abdoli continued: “I was expecting a lot more TMU students, especially because we’re in the city and we have such a diverse population and our problems are all so layered, that there would be more interest,” she said. “But I hope to see more in the future.”

Artin Nikou, a second-year global management student, had similar thoughts about the event’s turnout. 

“If people are only coming to TMSU’s fun parties, and they’re not coming to important events about their own future, what does it tell [us] about the people?”

Wong-Tam closed the event by stressing the importance of voting in the municipal election. 

 They encouraged students to educate themselves on the issues and get involved with local politics so they can make an informed decision when they head to the polls later this month.