NDP demands answers after new evidence that Conservatives ignored recommendation to fund francophone Université de Sudbury

SUDBURY – Official Opposition NDP MPPs are demanding answers from Ontario’s Conservatives after new reports surfaced today that revealed the government received a recommendation to fund a francophone university at the University of Sudbury – and deliberately buried it.

TFO reported today that the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) committee told Ford’s Conservatives that the francophone Université de Sudbury met and surpassed all criteria to receive funding. They recommended Minister Dunlop provide funding for university for, by and with franco-Ontarians in Ontario’s North, a project the community has been pushing for decades.

Instead, the Conservatives claimed Université de Sudbury didn’t meet the criteria, denied funding, and refused to release the report they request themselves and claimed led to that decision.

“Now we know that the Conservatives don’t care about Université de Sudbury,” said MPP Jamie West (Sudbury). “They kept changing their story, but the facts are clear – they received information about the economic and educational benefits a francophone university would bring to the region, and they deliberately buried it. It shows how little respect the Conservatives have for the North and for Francophones.”

The Ontario NDP filed the same request for information on Université de Sudbury – and were denied access.

“I was shocked when the Conservatives denied funding to Université de Sudbury because it’s so clearly a necessity,” said MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt). “Now we know that the government has spent months deliberately burying reports that directly contradicts their claims. They know how beneficial this would be – and they refuse to guarantee the university’s future regardless.”

“This is another slap in the face to the francophone community,” said MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk—James Bay), NDP critic for Francophone Affairs. “The NDP has been fighting for a French language university in Sudbury for years, and we will not stop until Franco-Ontarians get the institution they deserve.”

Background

• At 4 pm before the 2023 Canada Day long weekend, Ford’s Conservatives issued an unattributed statement denying the funding request for Université de Sudbury
• NDP MPPs have brought the fight for a French-language Université de Sudbury to Queen’s Park, and asked repeatedly for Ford to reveal his reasoning for blocking funding. Ford refused to answer.
• The report says Université de Sudbury surpassed all eight criteria set by the PEQAB committee and recommended it for funding.