Belleville City Council voted to give their support to Loyalist College while directing aim at the provincial government.
The motion was approved at council’s meeting on Monday.
It expresses concern over the provincial funding of post-secondary institutions, as well as for the province to reaffirm its commitment to advocate for post-secondary education funding that supports the growth and success of both institutions and students.
The original motion had also called on the federal government to recognize the contributions of international students to the Canadian economy and society and to support policies that ensure they are able to thrive academically, socially, and financially.
Councillor Paul Carr introduced the amendment, calling for references to the international student program be removed, saying that the real issue is the longtime under-funding of post-secondary institutions by the province.
“I think that we should be singularly focused on the fact that the Ontario government, for many, many years and decades, has simply come up short, and we should be calling on them to invest in our citizens, in order to serve us well in the future,” Carr told council.
“I think it’s best to be singularly focused on this and put the pressure where the pressure solely deserves and that’s the provincial government in appropriately funding post-secondary education.”
Councillor Chris Malette expressed his support for the amended motion, saying it was wrong to use the international students as a “scapegoat” to the issue.
“The community college system was the envy of North American education and former Premier Bill Davis created it … Mr. Davis himself must be spinning in his grave at the state that the government has allowed this (with) the community colleges,” Councillor Malette said.
“We seem to have money for tunnels under the 401 highways to nowhere, through marshland and farmland that nobody wants, but when it comes to educating our youth, it seems that we leave community colleges to try and find any and every source of income.”
The motion will be sent to a number of politicians and groups including Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp.
