By Lucas Bustinski

Disclaimer: Two sources interviewed in this piece were also interviewed for an Eyeopener article titled ‘TMU student groups and course unions use art to protest Bill 33’. These sources were interviewed at different occasions and the writers did not overlap.

Students, student governments, faculty groups and labour unions organized outside Queen’s Park to protest the Bill 33 legislation on Oct. 20.

Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, was introduced and passed on May 29 and pushed to a second reading scheduled for June 5.

The second reading was adjourned until Oct. 20, according to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Cyrielle Ngeleka, chairperson of Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)-Ontario, said Bill 33 is a threat to the entirety of the education sector with a big focus on post-secondary students.

“We’re seeing the point that the bill specifically is going to target ancillary fees. We know that ancillary services are funding vital services that make education survivable,” said Ngeleka.

Ancillary fees fund student services like mental health resources and student unions.

The Ontario government has made no comment on how they might change ancillary fees but the bill would give them the power to do so.

Ngeleka also said she is concerned about a “merit-based” admission system and research security plans the legislation would move towards.

The Ontario government has not properly clarified what “merit-based” admission means.

Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary from the minister of colleges and universities member of provincial parliament Nolan Quinn’s office, said in an email statement to The Eyeopener that the bill would ensure transparency and trust in the post-secondary education system.

“As promised, we will be consulting with the sector, including students, to understand these fees better, what current admissions policies look like and what research security practices can be enhanced in a way that does not disrupt the delivery of a world class education,” read the email.

Giacoboni added that they are not proposing students should be able to opt-out of all fees.

Ngeleka said CFS-Ontario is continuously met with repression from their government.

“The government has a history of silencing student voices…when students are able to hold the government accountable,” said Ngeleka. “When I say we’re being met with repression, ultimately, that means we’re not being listened to.”

Trudy Kuropatwa Trent, a third-year performance and production design student and the president of the Performance Student Union at TMU, said she believes Bill 33 will negatively impact post-secondary education by having the government too present.

“The main things that will be threatening to us is the attack on the autonomy of our student unions and our admissions processes,” said Kuropatwa Trent. “There’s a huge emphasis on the increase in surveillance and policing on our campuses. We really understand viscerally what it means to be over policed, over surveilled, to have security guards acting with impunity on our campuses.”

Kuropatwa Trent says she has worked with the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union, Toronto Metropolitan Graduate Students’ Union and the Toronto Metropolitan Association of Part-time Students putting up posters, spreading leaflets and creating petitions.

They have also organized food drives, therapy dog sessions and free breakfast programs “to emphasize the fact that this affects all of these programs that we want run.”

Ngeleka says she hopes this bill is completely rejected.

“[This is] an attack on the education sector. An attack on one body is an attack on everybody,” said Ngeleki. “We’re just hoping the government will listen to students and publicly fund the education system.”