FUREY’S ‘BOLD NEW IDEAS’ REALLY MEANT ‘CUTS’

A bold new idea, to me, would be to create an educational structure that was easily accessible to everyone, is stronger and more versatile. It would create an organic labour market, decrease financial constraints of learning, build more resilient industry, address local infrastructure issues, foster culture and the arts, specialize in research on solving pressing issues to the province, and more.

Instead, Andrew Furey told MUNL that he was cutting the tuition offset grant. There is no vision in that. No creative ways to re-imagine our economy. No “Let’s work together to make something better” blather, even. Just cuts. Oh, and more administration. Send in Educaiton Minister Tom Osbourne with a grants and loans program, twotiered to make it more complicated. That will take some time to figure out and by then the tuition will already be higher.

This is also a sneaky way of making the university do the Liberals’ dirty work. No one wants to be known as the premier who balanced the books on the backs of students. Especially given the tuition freeze was brought in by a previous Liberal government. So, instead of lifting the freeze and taking the heat, Furey has chosen to throttle the university’s funding, forcing it to raise fees to survive.

How about pose some of our pressing problems to the education system, the places where we research and learn to make things better. Municipal public transit could be tackled with a team from College of North Atlantic , MUNL (engineering, geography, sociology, and the Canadian Federations of Students-nl), Metrobus, Gobus, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador and industry.

Think electric vehicles, think hyperloop skills. What about rebuilding our aging infrastructure using universal design principles with teams including engineers, artists, and carpenters? The easier you make it for people to live here, the more people will want to live here.

Expand programming for artists, like the Anna Templeton Centre. Show education has value by implementing status of the artist legislation, incorporating art into public spaces and infrastructure.

And if you really want to be visionary, stop assuming only 18-22 year olds are students. People of all ages and at all points in their lives want and/ or need to learn something new. Whether it’s what you chose at 20 isn’t what you want or are able to do at 40 or your workplace requires a new skill or your skills are no longer in demand.

No matter what your age, family size, or financial status, it should be easy to learn. That means low/no fees, job protection, affordable childcare, a living wage and other ways to balance life, work and learning.

But that’s what I would do. Furey seems to think cuts are the way to go. Let’s see how that works out.

I wonder what other bold new ideas (ahem, cuts) from the Greene report will ”coincidentally” appear next.

Alison Coffin Leader NDP