NDP calls out Ford as libraries close, campuses shut down, and jobs disappear

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP Shadow Minister for Colleges, Universities, Research, Excellence & Security, MPP Peggy Sattler (London West), says Doug Ford’s cuts are devastating Ontario’s public colleges, with layoffs, outsourcing and campus closures already underway.

“Ontario’s public colleges are in major crisis,” said Sattler. “Instead of investing in students and workers, Ford’s Conservatives are forcing colleges to consider outsourcing essential services, merging campuses and cutting even more jobs. This is the direct result of chronic underfunding, years of a tuition freeze with no compensation, and the lowest per-student funding in the country.

“The reports that surfaced this week put into writing what students and workers already know. At St. Lawrence College, libraries at satellite campuses have been shut down and library staff replaced with automated book vending machines. Georgian College has announced the closure of entire campuses. Across the system, thousands of jobs and hundreds of programs have already disappeared.

“College support staff are the backbone of our campuses. They keep labs safe, libraries open and students supported,” Sattler said. “Ford’s cuts do not just hurt workers. They hurt students, they hurt communities, and they hurt Ontario’s economy. Allowing private contractors to replace good union jobs while shuttering campuses is shameful.”

“Doug Ford must stop the cuts and properly fund our public colleges in order to stop the outsourcing, budget-driven automation, and forced mergers of our campuses. Ontario cannot afford to gamble away its future. The Ontario NDP stands in full solidarity with OPSEU members fighting for a fair deal and for the future of public colleges.”