Colleges seek urgent meeting with Premier Wynne on $1.9-billion funding shortfall Posted on January 30, 2017 at 4:12 pm. Oshawa, Ont. – Ontario’s 24 colleges are seeking an urgent meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne to address the funding crisis that has colleges facing what could be a cumulative $1.9-billion shortfall by 2024-25. “We’re doing everything we can to cope with the funding shortfall but it can’t continue like this,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “Ontario must find a solution that ensures students will continue to have access to the high-quality programs and supports that lead to good jobs and long-term success.” Since 2007-08, the provincial funding for colleges’ operating costs – in real dollars – has decreased each year. Colleges have suffered an accumulated shortfall – adjusted for inflation – of about $900 million over the past 10 years. A new report by PwC Canada suggests that if no actions are taken to change current trends of revenues and expenses, colleges could face an annual operating deficit that will exceed $400 million a year by 2024-25 and a cumulative shortfall of more than $1.9 billion by that time. While colleges have worked to manage funding shortfalls through greater efficiencies, the sector is at the breaking point. The government’s recent announcement that tuition fees at Ontario’s colleges will remain among the lowest in Canada worsens the fiscal squeeze. College representatives will be meeting with Advanced Education and Skills Development Minister Deb Matthews in February. The colleges are also seeking an urgent meeting with the premier. The underfunding of college education is particularly puzzling at a time when the economy is being transformed by accelerating technological advancements. Without a change in direction, Ontario won’t have a highly skilled workforce and the economy will continue to sputter. “The government must work with us to find a solution,” Lovisa said. “Ontario must commit to the long-term sustainability of college education to produce the highly skilled workforce that is essential in this new economy.” The full PwC report can be found at this link. -30- About Durham College At Durham College (DC), the student experience comes first. With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby and a learning site in Pickering, the college offers more than 11,000 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 140 full-time and eight apprenticeship programs in a number of different disciplines, enabling them to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market. The Oshawa campus features the state-of-the art Student Services building and the college will soon break ground on the Centre for Collaborative Education, a legacy project tied to DC’s 50th anniversary in 2017. The new facility will bring together local, Indigenous and global communities, providing a new home for several of the college’s most innovative and ground-breaking programs. The Whitby campus features the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, which includes Bistro ’67, a full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a retail store featuring food prepared by students in the college’s culinary programs. For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000. For more information: Allison Rosnak 905.721.2000 ext. 2333 allison.rosnak@durhamcollege.ca SHARE:
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