For schools in GTA like York, UofT, Ryerson, I would actually classify them as 'commuter' schools, especially York. A lot of my friends ended up going to one of these three schools to save money.
The Ontario student loans program are pretty decent. Though, there's always that scenario where your family income is high, so your loan amount isn't forgiven.
I agree, it's really unfair. I've had countless friends who ha d to stay local, since they couldn't afford dishing an additional $10k in living expenses elsewhere.