The prognosis is grim. If the government continues spending under the status quo, Ontario’s deficit will double to $30 billion/year and its debt to $411 billion, half of Ontario’s GDP. In other words, every year, every man, woman, and child in Ontario will be spending almost $3000/year more than they have, a debt which will one day have to be paid back by us and our children. Paying interest on our existing debt is already the third-biggest expense (after education and healthcare). Reducing the deficit to 0, to maintain the debt at ‘only’ 37% of GDP will require a 17% cut in relative real spending.
To do so, each program would have to average just a 0.8% growth rate per year, far less than inflation. If a single program, healthcare, were to continue at its current growth rate, every other program would actually have to contract at 4.1% annually. In the ‘Recommended Scenario,’ spending on post-secondary education would continue to rise at 1.5% annually – almost enough to keep up with enrolment increases, but far lower than increases of recent years. Given the negative impacts and implications of such cuts in the 1990s, the Drummond Report recommends that simple cuts will not be tenable – there must be fundamental shifts in the way money is spent in this province at universities.
The report notes that rising enrolment without commensurate gains in funding have undermined post-secondary education quality in Ontario, even relative to the other provinces. It notes that while tuition freezes are not in the interest of students, many universities have used undergraduate tuition to cross-subsidize research, supporting ambitions to become world-class research institutions. The report notes a better balance is required. Hopefully the university administration at this institution is listening.
Despite the overall negative tenor of the report, an implementation would actually be largely positive for undergraduate students. Ensuring universities make proper business cases for new programs will help protect students from unemployability upon graduation. Refocusing resources and rewards to support teaching and teaching excellence will help arrest the decline in quality at our institution. The report also recommends continuing tuition increases of (on average) 5%/year, which, while still high, places some onus on the institutions to generate cost efficiencies in administrative and back-office functions.
Finally, the report recommends that financial assistance be better targeted for access, which may lead to increases for those who are well enough off to finance their education, but could further enhance opportunities for low-income students.
Hopefully students will read the report, get informed, and demand action from our administration. We are not alone in desiring cost containment and renewed emphasis on teaching quality.
I would encourage everyone to read the entire executive summary for themselves, form their own opinions and consider seriously the changes that are going to be required in Ontario for our system to be sustainable, not just in the post-secondary sector. While some sacrifices are necessary, the report makes clear that many savings can be achieved through better targeting and efficiencies. http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/reformcommission/chapters/summary.html
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