A merry Christmas for local universities

There are four beneficiaries in our riding: McGill University will see an increase of $12,445,000 in their annual budget; the Université du Québec à Montréal will see an increase of $6,018,000, Concordia University, almost $6 million; and the École de Technologie Supérieure, $3.4 million. This represents the first part of a three-year plan to reinvest in postsecondary education.

Not only does this plan affect universities, it affects colleges as well.

Dawson College and the Collège du Vieux-Montréal, for example, will each receive a recurrent amount of close to $1 million.

This three-year plan will see a total investment of $320 million, a very large portion of which will be recurrent. Quebec universities faced difficult cuts between 1995 and 2000 under the Parti Québécois, losing 25 per cent of their revenue, whereas other Canadian universities saw their revenues increase. The governments of the other provinces generally froze their subsidies to the universities, but by deregulating tuition fees, their revenues rose. In 2003, the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities (Conférence des Recteurs et des Principaux du Québec, or the

CREPUQ) sponsored a study with the Ministry of Education in order to evaluate the difference in revenues between Quebec and Canadian universities outside of Quebec. The conclusions were quite significant: at the time, there was a gap of $375 million in the average expenses between universities in Quebec and those elsewhere in the country. The newly announced reinvestment is certainly good news, but the universities need even more. I will have the opportunity as chair of the education commission to meet with the rectors of all Quebec universities, two universities each day, beginning Jan. 16. This first day will be spent meeting with the two universities here in our riding‹Concordia in the morning and McGill in the afternoon.

This exercise will allow me to take stock of various problems facing universities, including funding issues.

The parliamentary session is now over, and Christmas is quickly approaching.

Most of us will feel great joy during the holiday season, but we mustn't forget those who are ill and bedridden, and face spending Christmas in hospital. I hope this won't be the case for Westmount city councillor John de Castell, who has spent more than a month in the hospital and who doesn't know if he'll be out in time for Christmas. I hope that he will be able to go home, to welcome his brothers and sisters who are coming in from Vancouver to support him. John, to you and your wife, I wish you good luck and much courage.

To all readers of the Westmount Examiner, let me to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year 2007!



Jacques Chagnon is the Liberal MNA for Westmount-St. Louis.