Ontario university and college faculty, staff and students urge Prime Minister to deliver on postsecondary funding
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 8, 2005
Prime Minister urged to deliver on postsecondary funding
TORONTO - Ontario university and college faculty, staff, and students faxed a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin today pressing him for an immediate $5 billion increase in federal transfers to help Ontario fund urgent initiatives such as postsecondary education improvements.
The letter is co-signed by representatives from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the College Student Alliance (CSA), the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).
In the letter, the university and college advocates highlight the neglect of higher education in this year's federal budget.
"The absence of new core funding for postsecondary education in Federal Budget 2005 represents a glaring omission," the letter states.
"Lack of federal leadership is not a legitimate excuse for Canada's Premiers to fail to invest in postsecondary education. But the federal government must come to the table too."
The signatories to the letter endorse an Ontario Legislature resolution calling on the federal government to narrow the $23 billion gap in contributions from Ontario taxpayers.
They join a chorus of voices backing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's call for significant growth in federal funding to help the province enhance critical initiatives such as postsecondary education. University and college presidents recently sent a similar request and a coalition of health care advocates wrote the Prime Minister requesting a $5 billion increase in federal transfers to Ontario.
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For more information contact: Henry Mandelbaum, OCUFA Executive Director (416) 979-2117 x 29 or Mark Rosenfeld, Associate Executive Director, (416) 979-2117 x 34.
Letter to the Prime Minister
March 8, 2005
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
Ontario university and college faculty, staff, and students stand united behind the unanimous resolution of the Ontario Legislature calling on the federal government to narrow the $23 billion gap in net contributions from the citizens of our province.
You have heard the same message in a letter signed by Ontario's university and college presidents. Specifically, we call for an immediate $5 billion increase in federal transfers to Ontario to strengthen public funding for our colleges and universities.
We fully expect the provincial government to show leadership on postsecondary education with increased multi-year funding in the upcoming provincial budget. However, we believe it is also time for the federal government to deliver its fair share toward higher learning.
The absence of new core funding for postsecondary education in Federal Budget 2005 represents a glaring omission. As former Ontario Premier Bob Rae noted in his recent review of postsecondary education, the federal government has been "avoiding its responsibilities towards higher education" ever since it eliminated Established Programs Financing and replaced it with the "less generous" Canada Social Transfer.
The Canada Social Transfer is lower today, in real terms, than it was in 1992-93 when the nation was weathering the most severe recession since the Great Depression.
As Premier Dalton McGuinty said in the Ontario Legislature on February 24, 2005: "At a time when the strength of our economy depends on the skills of our people, the national government failed to
invest in the institutions that sharpen those skills."
Lack of federal leadership is not a legitimate excuse for Canada's Premiers to fail to invest in postsecondary education. But the federal government must come to the table too.
Sincerely,
Jesse Greener
Ontario Chairperson
Canadian Federation of Students
Paul Moist
National President
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Kerrie McQuaig
President
College Student Alliance
Michael Doucet
President
Ontario Confederation of
University Faculty Associations
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Paddy Musson
OPSEU
Chair, Academic Divisional Executive,
Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
and Professor of Sociology, Fanshawe College
Alison Forbes
President
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
Prime Minister urged to deliver on postsecondary funding
TORONTO - Ontario university and college faculty, staff, and students faxed a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin today pressing him for an immediate $5 billion increase in federal transfers to help Ontario fund urgent initiatives such as postsecondary education improvements.
The letter is co-signed by representatives from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the College Student Alliance (CSA), the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).
In the letter, the university and college advocates highlight the neglect of higher education in this year's federal budget.
"The absence of new core funding for postsecondary education in Federal Budget 2005 represents a glaring omission," the letter states.
"Lack of federal leadership is not a legitimate excuse for Canada's Premiers to fail to invest in postsecondary education. But the federal government must come to the table too."
The signatories to the letter endorse an Ontario Legislature resolution calling on the federal government to narrow the $23 billion gap in contributions from Ontario taxpayers.
They join a chorus of voices backing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's call for significant growth in federal funding to help the province enhance critical initiatives such as postsecondary education. University and college presidents recently sent a similar request and a coalition of health care advocates wrote the Prime Minister requesting a $5 billion increase in federal transfers to Ontario.
#####
For more information contact: Henry Mandelbaum, OCUFA Executive Director (416) 979-2117 x 29 or Mark Rosenfeld, Associate Executive Director, (416) 979-2117 x 34.
Letter to the Prime Minister
March 8, 2005
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
Ontario university and college faculty, staff, and students stand united behind the unanimous resolution of the Ontario Legislature calling on the federal government to narrow the $23 billion gap in net contributions from the citizens of our province.
You have heard the same message in a letter signed by Ontario's university and college presidents. Specifically, we call for an immediate $5 billion increase in federal transfers to Ontario to strengthen public funding for our colleges and universities.
We fully expect the provincial government to show leadership on postsecondary education with increased multi-year funding in the upcoming provincial budget. However, we believe it is also time for the federal government to deliver its fair share toward higher learning.
The absence of new core funding for postsecondary education in Federal Budget 2005 represents a glaring omission. As former Ontario Premier Bob Rae noted in his recent review of postsecondary education, the federal government has been "avoiding its responsibilities towards higher education" ever since it eliminated Established Programs Financing and replaced it with the "less generous" Canada Social Transfer.
The Canada Social Transfer is lower today, in real terms, than it was in 1992-93 when the nation was weathering the most severe recession since the Great Depression.
As Premier Dalton McGuinty said in the Ontario Legislature on February 24, 2005: "At a time when the strength of our economy depends on the skills of our people, the national government failed to
invest in the institutions that sharpen those skills."
Lack of federal leadership is not a legitimate excuse for Canada's Premiers to fail to invest in postsecondary education. But the federal government must come to the table too.
Sincerely,
Jesse Greener
Ontario Chairperson
Canadian Federation of Students
Paul Moist
National President
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Kerrie McQuaig
President
College Student Alliance
Michael Doucet
President
Ontario Confederation of
University Faculty Associations
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Paddy Musson
OPSEU
Chair, Academic Divisional Executive,
Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
and Professor of Sociology, Fanshawe College
Alison Forbes
President
Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
posted by CUPE Local 1356 @ Wednesday, March 16, 2005
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