Surprise, disappointment over provincial government decision on French-language university in the north
There continues to be a lot of surprise and disappointment over the Ontario government's decision to not fund Université de Sudbury (U of S) as the province's next stand-alone French-language university.
"I think we're surprised actually, concerned and surprised by what we've learned late this afternoon,” said Serge Miville, president of U of S, speaking with CTV News on Friday.
“Surprised because the province has had the business plan for well over six months at this point and all of the feedback that we've received so far has been highly positive, very constructive, our discussions on almost a weekly basis have been ongoing and encouraging."
Miville said there seems to be a huge difference in the dialogue on when the project began and the actual decision that was reached on Friday.
A statement to the media, from the press secretary of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, outlining the decision not to fund U of S stated the current demand and enrolment trends, especially given what she said was the already existing capacity of post-secondary institutions to offer French-language programs in Greater Sudbury and across Ontario.
"The Ministry considered a number of factors to reach this decision, and it is one that we have not made lightly. This includes the independent Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board's organization review," the statement read.
"Hearst is well over 600 kilometres away from Sudbury and Toronto is well over 400 kilometres and we certainly don't want to send our youth more and more to Toronto, we want to keep our talent up north and attract new talent," said Miville.
“Obvioiusly we're going to have to analyze this decision and determine what the next steps are. I feel like it's an ongoing dialogue, its hard news to hit us today but we're not giving up. We're resolved at going forward because our market study, the analysis we made of the labour market and the needs seemed very clear there was a need for this."
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre, a Francophone himself, released a statement late Friday night. In it he writes:
"Today’s news that the Université de Sudbury will not be receiving funding from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities is disappointing for many residents in Greater Sudbury. I encourage the province, our post-secondary institutions, and the Francophone community to work together to ensure high-quality programs are offered to all students."
The province also said in its statement that student trends were shifting towards science, technology and trades. Miville said that doesn't mean they weren't planning to offer something or can't offer something similar in French.
"We're really trying to do a partnership-based establishment that gives students the programming they need to succeed in today's market, a really dynamic market. A 21st-century economy that's booming up north,” said Miville.
“I think there is still a need and we're not going to let this discourage us in the future."
Sudbury MPP Jamie West also expressed his disappoint with decision to CTV News.
"Yeah it's very frustrating news, all bad news comes out on Friday afternoon, especially on the eve of Canada Day,” said West.
“I think the Ford government is hoping people won't pay attention but this has been their track record for the last five years, they haven't been friendly to the Francophone community and frankly I don't think they understand how it important it is to learn in French. Traditionally bilingual means if there are 20 people in a room and one person speaks English then everyone speaks English.”
West said the people of Sudbury have been very clear, the Francophone community wants a university that is by, for and with the Francophone people.
"Doug Ford is not listening to this, I've had conversations with the minister and I've been told that we're okay because there is one in Toronto and one in Hearst. Those are four hours away, those aren't going to service the people of northern Ontario and around the community of Sudbury so very disappointing news," West added.
He said the French community has a history of having to fight for the ability to learn in French and it shows how 'out-of-touch' decision-makers are.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas told CTV News on Saturday that she was shocked at the decision and did not see it coming – Greater Sudbury has 8,000 kids that come out of French schools every single year.
"The body of evidence that shows that we have enough people to support a French university and then we get this announcement 4:30 on a Friday night before the long weekend," said Gélinas.
“That tells me they’re ashamed of what they’re doing."
The Nickel Belt MPP said her team will regroup next week to figure out the next steps for U of S – "But I'm not giving up. I don’t give up easy. We won't stop fighting."
"It's embarrassing to have the Ford government sneak this out on the Friday before Canada Day and to hope it will get lost in the papers,” said West.
“The people of Greater Sudbury will not forget and the Francophone community will not forget this."
“I did not see this coming at all – I talked to Jill Dunlop up to the last day that we were at Queens Park. It seemed that they understood how important (this) is,” Gélinas added.
"Education is a provincial responsibility and this government isn’t taking their responsibility towards the Francophone young people in northern Ontario."
CTV News did offer the Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop the chance for an interview, which was declined.
We've also reached out to other area politicians and members of the committee who had been working to help establish the school, whom have not yet responded.
The decision comes a little over a year after the federal government pledged $2 million to help get the school off the ground.
With files from CTV News Northern Ontario video journalist Amanda Hicks
There isn’t enough demand to justify turning the University of Sudbury into a standalone French-language university, the province announced Friday afternoon. (File photo/Jaime McKee/CTV News Northern Ontario)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army ordered some 100,000 Palestinians on Monday to begin evacuating from the southern city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent and further complicating efforts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.