By William Brown

The Student Choice Initiative (SCI) is officially dead, according to a report from the Canadian Press.

The SCI, an initiative proposed by Doug Ford’s provincial government, was designed to allow students the chance to opt-out of certain fees included in their tuition. The initiative posed a significant threat to student groups, clubs and newspapers, as their funding was often tied to what the Ford government determined was a non-essential fee.

In November of 2019, the SCI was deemed ‘unlawful’ by an Ontario court. Almost two years later, after the Ford government’s appeal of the decision was dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeals, the Canadian Press reports that a spokesperson for the government’s minister of colleges and universities said that the province will not continue with further legal action.

At George Brown College, the SCI threatened many of the services provided through the Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC), which was forced to dramatically restructure the way some of its programs were delivered.

“What’s detrimental about the SCI is that it really leads to the detriment or minimization of all that students have already democratically decided what they need and want,” said the SAGBC’s equity and advocacy manager Michelle Pettis in March 2021. “Because it overrides what students have decided it means ultimately everything is at risk because there’s a false binary between what’s essential and what’s deemed non-essential.”

The SAGBC, which funds the Dialog, has campaigned against the SCI in partnership with other Ontario student unions and the Canadian Federation of Canada – Ontario.

Ford’s Conservative government is currently campaigning ahead of next year’s provincial election.