OTTAWA (CUP)— Canada’s colleges and universities have fallen into a dismal state of disrepair that will cost billions to fix, a Senate committee has found.
A report tabled earlier this month by the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance says post-secondary institutions across the country have allowed a backlog of $3.2-billion worth of repairs.
The report attributes much of the build-up to the recession in the early 1990s, when universities and colleges were strapped for cash. Faced with operating deficits and demands to cut costs, institutions neglected routine repairs and upgrades.
“If we don’t look after that [deferred maintenance] we may not be able to attract our best and brightest,” said Senator Wilfred P. Moore, a member of the committee.
Deferred maintenance has also played a role in the “brain drain” of Canadian researchers leaving for the United States.
At the University of British Columbia, a biologist was forced to relocate to Stanford University in California because an outdated ventilation system kept her from maintaining the constant temperature needed for her work, said Liam Arbuckle, national director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).
Arbuckle says deferred maintenance is such a problem, it’s threatened students’ safety.
“There’s a story that, in McGill, there was a student in class and a tile fell on them,” he said. “That’s ridiculous . . . who wants to go to school, honestly, in a rundown building?”
In its proposal to the Senate Committee, CASA requested the federal government immediately transfer $1.2 billion to universities, an amount Arbuckle says would take care of the most pressing maintenance issues.
“Deferred maintenance is a large problem because it’s one of those things where, if you put it off, the chances of things getting worse rise,” adds Ian Boyko, national chair of the Canadian Federation of Students. “You just can’t ignore crumbling buildings.”
Both Arbuckle and Boyko fear that if governments do not become involved, the costs of repairs will be passed exclusively to the universities.
“When universities and colleges are finding themselves short in funding, especially for repairing buildings, their easiest option to increase funding is obviously through increasing tuition,” said Arbuckle.
Moore said it would be inappropriate to burden students with costly repairs.
“I don’t think we can look to the students to cover any part of this through increased tuition fees,” he said. “I think the students’ financial loads are heavy enough.”
He proposes the federal government share costs with the provincial governments and the universities themselves.
Opinions vary about how much the federal government will chip in, and when.
“I think the federal government will be happy to stand still on the issue,” said Boyko, adding he thinks the provinces will be unwilling to supply additional funds if they are not matched by Ottawa.
CASA is more optimistic.
“We think that there is a good chance of [funding] because it provides the federal government an opportunity to help out post-secondary education,” said Arbuckle.
Moore says there’s a possibility the issue will be addressed in the upcoming federal budget. He said he has personally made a copy of the committee’s report available to Finance Minister Paul Martin.
