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Montreal, March 20, 2007 - The heads of Quebec’s universities have reviewed the budget just announced by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. In this budget, the federal government introduces its response to fiscal imbalance; among the approaches is payment to the provinces of $800 million per year, beginning in 2008-2009, in the form of transfer payments for postsecondary education. This should mean approximately $200 million for Quebec. The payments would subsequently be indexed at 3% per year.

According to Michel Pigeon, CREPUQ President and Rector of Université Laval, “CREPUQ has put a great deal of effort into supporting the Quebec government’s negotiations with the federal government over the past two years to resolve the issue of transfers for postsecondary education. It is not our place to judge the adequacy of the measures in the federal budget for dealing with Quebec’s overall requirements relating to fiscal imbalance. However, we must note that the sum of about $200 million for postsecondary education, to begin in 2008-2009, in itself appears to be inadequate to solve the problem of university underfunding and this needs to be addressed now. Underfunding is currently compromising our universities’ ability to provide the Quebec public, and especially its youth, with a good education comparable to that offered by our neighbours and competitors in other Canadian provinces.”

Much remains to be done to ensure that Quebec has a sufficient qualified workforce and well-educated citizens. Access to a good education undeniably must be promoted: university enrollment ratios are too low, our graduation rates would improve with better supervision, and universities need material resources-such as libraries, laboratories and computer equipment-that are compatible with today’s exigencies and technology.

For this reason, it will be necessary and urgent, starting in 2007-2008, to obtain substantial reinvestments in our universities from other sources, such as equalization payments, which are intended to give the provinces the means to provide comparable public services. Otherwise, the universities’ already precarious financial position will continue to deteriorate and they will get farther behind the universities in other provinces. Bringing our university system up to standard is all the more essential in that it is Quebec’s main asset in providing for all aspects of its future.

The federal budget also contains provisions for research, including $85 million for granting councils, $15 million for indirect costs of research in 2007-2008, and $70 million in 2008-2009 for the Canada Foundation for Innovation as part of a $510 million commitment to enable it to undertake another major competition before 2010. Considering the stakes involved in integrating young researchers and preparing future researchers, as well as the need to have research infrastructures that are commensurate with the requirements of global competition, one could say that these commitments to research are somewhat modest.

“Our neighbours and competitors understand that their position in the current global market requires massive investments in their human capital. Quebec has no other choice but to keep up with them and make university education and research the top priority. This is also the way to train the best citizens and generate the wealth necessary to offer them the services to which they aspire”, concluded Mr. Pigeon.

For information:

Jacques Bordeleau

Executive Director

(514) 288-8524, ext. 201