Ontario and feds reach agreement to revive French university plan

The circle is complete.

After killing Ontario’s proposed French-language university last year in the name of fiscal restraint, the Ford government said Saturday it had struck a deal with its federal counterpart to make the Université de l’Ontario français a reality.

Mélanie Joly, Canada’s minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s minister of Transportation and Francophone Affairs, and Ross Romano, the provincial minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

“By signing this (memorandum), both governments are affirming their commitment to address the needs of the more than 600,000 francophones in Ontario with respect to post-secondary education,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

Highlights of the understanding include:

An adequate due diligence process will be implemented to commit public funds and move forward in a trustworthy, accountable and transparent way with respect to the proposal submitted by the Governance Council of the Université de l’Ontario français.

Funding negotiations will begin following the due diligence process, and a joint working group will be established to work together and agree on eligible expenditures, timelines and activities for the Université de l’Ontario français.

Canada and Ontario will base their agreed-upon governmental contributions on established practices of intergovernmental co-operation in education, namely that Canada’s contribution will not exceed 50 per cent of the total cost incurred by Ontario.

Because it is exceptional for Canada to cover 100 per cent of the expenditures for the first four years of a multi-year project, Canada will seek assurance from Ontario that it will reimburse Canada of its share should Ontario not be in a position to provide funding within the expected time frame.

“This is a major breakthrough for Franco-Ontarians and French-speaking Canadians across the country,” Joly said. “It is the result of the hard work of generations of brave and dedicated francophones and Francophiles who fought hard to get us to this moment.”

Mulroney and Romano, in a joint statement, call the agreement “a great first step. Our government recognizes the exceptional contribution of the francophone community to the province’s social, cultural and economic development.

“We also recognize the importance of a university governed by — and for — francophones in Ontario. We want to ensure French-speaking students can count on a high-quality, modern, post-secondary education system that is aligned with labour-market needs.”

Université de l’Ontario français appeared dead 10 months ago when then Ontario Finance Minister Vic delivered a fiscal update. “Upon further review of the province’s fiscal situation,” he said at the time, “the government will also be cancelling plans to proceed with a new French-language university.”

However, in January, Joly gave Ontario $1.9 million to keep the skeletal university staff afloat and told the province it had $63 million to kick in if Ontario would submit a viable proposal for the institution.

The initial cost for the university was estimated at $83 million when the previous Liberal government in 2017 first announced the plans.