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Montreal, October 22, 2007 – The President of the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities, Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, reacted very positively to the announcement by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports (MELS) regarding the share of the Quebec Infrastructure Plan funding that will be allocated to universities.

“This announcement contains two very important measures for Quebec’s universities,” declared Mrs. Munroe-Blum. “They will maintain the universities’ assets, on the one hand, and solve the problem of deferred maintenance over a period of fifteen years as well.”

First, an influx of $106.5 million in 2007-2008 will raise the level of funding for asset maintenance to 1.5% of asset value. This percentage is the generally recognized norm for preventing infrastructure deterioration. Note that this funding covers both teaching and research facilities.

The Quebec Infrastructure Plan also provides another very important measure. A $266.6 million budget, to be made available beginning in 2008-2009, will give the universities the means to deal with the problem of deferred maintenance, which has been a major concern for the heads of the universities for many years. This budget was based on an estimate of one billion dollars of deferred maintenance for university buildings.

CREPUQ has done significant work in recent months on the overall issue of accumulated deferred maintenance. The results of these efforts will be discussed with the MELS with a view to continuing and updating the assessment of deferred maintenance in university buildings. “This prospect gives all Quebec universities good reason to be delighted,” concluded Mrs. Munroe-Blum.

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For information:
Daniel Zizian
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514 288-8524, ext. 201