Despite polls indicating health and education funding is the top priority for Ontarians, no new money for these programs emerged in a provincial government economic announcement that left education leaders roundly disappointed.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pledged the government would speed up promised tax cuts to poor families, stuck to the government’s previously announced corporate tax cuts—set to go into effect shortly—and urged people to spend more in an attempt to lift the province out of the economic slowdown.
“When we look at all of the polling that has been done, people are looking at health care and education as being top priorities for government spending. Tax cuts are a low priority at best,” said Joel Duff, Ontario Chair of the Canadian Federation of Students.
Flaherty’s announcement did not outline any cuts, but said Ontario could no longer afford to shoulder the federal government’s share of the costs for health care and education.
Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty slammed Flaherty’s plan.
“This government should have put us in a position to protect our health care and education systems … but instead this government has failed to take advantage of the good times,” said McGuinty.
New Democratic Party leader Howard Hampton went a step further.
“This is a government that has announced it will look after its corporate friends and as for the rest of you, you’re on your own,” he said.
Henry Jacek, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, says Ottawa is not likely to give the province any more money because there are no assurances funding will be allocated to education or health care instead of further tax cuts.
Federal funding for education and health care is packaged in the Canadian Health and Social Transfer, although Ottawa cannot dictate to the provinces how the money must be spent.
“[Both levels of government] need to come to an agreement and not bash each other over the head in the press,” said Jacek. “While they’re hitting each other, the province and Canada are suffering.”
Flaherty said he was re-affirming the Conservative government’s commitment to post-secondary education in his statement to the House.
“One of our economic advantages is our unparalleled commitment to investment in…colleges and universities,” Flaherty said. “These investments will support an increasing population and a growing economy.”
“It’s shockingly irresponsible,” rebuts Pam Frache, government relations co-ordinator for the CFS. “There is no coherent plan for future students on how to deal with the double cohort,” she said, referring to the elimination of grade 13 that will double the number of students in Ontario seeking a post-secondary education.
“He’s ignoring the long-term,” Jacek said of Flaherty. “The government has to make investments in human capital instead of only thinking ahead three to six months.”
“Construction is going on on campuses across the province with the Superbuild program, but where are the faculty that are going to teach in these new spaces?” he said. “Students are going to have fewer courses to choose from and larger classes.”
Jacek says he believes Flaherty’s announcement was motivated largely by political reasons. The finance minister is widely considered one of the frontrunners to replace outgoing Premier Mike Harris as leader of the Conservative party.
Duff positioned the current economic crisis as a choice that the Canadian government has made.
“There is no analysis as to why we’re in this crisis that we can’t recover from,” he said. “If there’s an economic downturn, a responsible government should have built up a safety net that can help us through tough times, but that safety net has been effectively eroded by this government’s reckless adhesion to tax cuts.”
—With files from Kelly Holloway
