Setback for Laurier’s Milton site, funding cut
But Conestoga College says PCs’ decision to cut $90M a chance to rethink project
WATERLOO REGION — Government funding cuts for a planned Wilfrid Laurier University satellite campus in Milton with Conestoga College is an opportunity for the two post-secondary institutions to re-evaluate the college’s role in that partnership, Conestoga’s president says.
John Tibbits, speaking to The Record Wednesday, said the original plan was heavily focused on university programming, but he wants the college to have a larger role in the project moving forward.
“It needs to be more of a partnership, not just a name on a door somewhere,” said Tibbits of the plan, which was promised $90 million in funding by the previous Liberal government in the run-up to the provincial election earlier this year.
Details of the agreement between Conestoga and Laurier were still being worked out when funding was cut, Tibbits said, but he categorized Conestoga’s portion of the partnership as “pretty minor.”
Deborah Dubenofsky, vice-president of finance and administration at WLU, said the Liberals wanted the campus to be a university-led project, and Laurier was looking forward to collaborating with Conestoga. She said about half the students would have been there for college classes.
“I’d describe Conestoga as integral to the proposal,” said Dubenofsky. Laurier first approached the college about the partnership in 2014.
Dubenofsky said the withdrawal of the provincial funding means they’ll need to re-evaluate their Milton proposal, but they’re “steadfast” in their commitment to the town, 30 minutes east of Waterloo Region.
“It really is going to require we pause, and reflect and reset, and determine the best way to move forward to sustain the momentum we’ve built over so many years,” Dubenofsky said.
Tibbits wants the partnership to more closely resemble the college’s Brantford campus agreement with Laurier, where Conestoga offers diploma programs in business and in health office administration, a graduate certificate program in human resources management, and certificate programs in medical office practice as well as general arts and science.
“We like our partnership with Laurier in Brantford, we would like to have an even more broad-based partnership in Milton,” said Tibbits. He believes Premier Doug Ford’s government wants to focus more on jobs and skills training offered by colleges rather than universities.
On Tuesday evening, the Ontario government released a statement on its website that said the PCs would cut funding for three university satellite campuses that had been promised by the Liberals; the Laurier/ Conestoga project, a York University/ Seneca College campus in Markham, and a Ryerson University/ Sheridan College campus in Brampton.
In April, the Liberals pledged $90 million to build the Laurier campus, $90 million for the Ryerson campus and $127.3 million for York University.
Merrilee Fullerton, minister of training, colleges and universities, said the decision to cut more than $300 million in funding was due to the higher-than-expected deficit the government says is $15 billion. The Liberals have accused the Conservative government of inflating the budget deficit to justify funding cuts across the province.
“We weren’t surprised” by the funding cut, Tibbits said. “I think there’s an opportunity now to have a broader mandate.”
In a press release issued Tuesday night, Laurier, said it was “disappointed”, and Dubenofsky said they had no idea the cuts were coming. The campus would have been located on 150 acres of land set aside by the town. Laurier planned to enrol the first students in September 2019 at a temporary campus in Milton, with the main campus expected to open in 2021, eventually reaching 2,000 undergraduate students on the site.
The campus was to be part of a “comprehensively planned neighbourhood in west Milton, encompassing 400 acres of land alongside the Niagara Escarpment,” according to Laurier’s website. Milton had donated approximately 50 acres of land for the campus, valued at $50 million. Since 2008, the town has had a memorandum of understanding and partnership with Laurier to bring post-secondary education to the community. In September, Milton town council endorsed the conceptual land-use plan and policy framework for the Milton Education Village (MEV) lands with Laurier’s campus at its heart.
In late 2016, the province announced it was seeking proposals for post-secondary institutions to open in Milton and Brampton, with a promise the province would invest up to $180 million in the two sites.