Question Period Note: University of Sudbury

In a press release issued on Friday, June 30, 2023, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities announced that it would not fund the University of Sudbury, stating that "the University of Sudbury's proposal, including the request for funding to create a stand-alone French-language university, does not reflect current demand or enrolment trends."

• We have learned of Ontario's decision to reject the University of Sudbury's request for funding to become an autonomous French-language university.
• Our Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028 invests up to an additional $128 million over 4 years, starting in 2024-2025, to support post-secondary education in the minority language.
• Our Government is committed to working with the provinces and territories to provide increased support to postsecondary institutions in official language minority communities, including the Francophone community in Northern Ontario.

• In a press release issued on June 30, 2023, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities announced that it will not fund the University of Sudbury as an autonomous French-language university, stating that "the University of Sudbury's proposal, including the request for funding to create an autonomous French-language university, does not reflect current demand or enrolment trends". The province is open to other proposals that target the University of Sudbury.
• Ontario's priority is to consolidate the existing postsecondary network and encourage collaboration and resource sharing between existing postsecondary institutions. In fact, discussions between the University of Sudbury and the University of Ottawa are underway to establish a partnership that would enable the University of Sudbury to offer University of Ottawa programs on its campus and build its reputation.
• On July 31, the Assemblée de la Francophonie de l'Ontario (AFO) filed a complaint with Ontario's Ombudsman alleging that the Ministry of Colleges and Universities failed to meet its obligations under Ontario's French Language Services Act by deciding not to fund the University of Sudbury. The AFO also submitted a brief to the Expert Panel appointed by the province to review the health of post-secondary education in Ontario, recommending the establishment of a separate provincial funding formula for institutions offering post-secondary programs in French.
• In May 2022, the Minister of Official Languages announced $1.9 million in funding for the University of Sudbury.
• The University of Sudbury was one of three federated institutions of Laurentian University before it filed for bankruptcy in 2021 and severed its ties with the University of Sudbury. The University of Sudbury wants to become an autonomous university, "by and for" Ontario's francophones.
• The federal government's investment comes from the $121 million budget envelope for postsecondary education in minority communities. The Ontario government submitted the application to the federal government. The province cannot contribute funding to the University of Sudbury until the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board approves the university's plan.
• In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced new investments of $121.3 million over three years beginning in 2021-2022 to support high-quality post-secondary education in the minority official language across Canada.
• One of the four pillars of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028: Protection - Promotion - Collaboration, unveiled on April 26, 2023, proposes an investment of $760.2 million over five years to foster lifelong learning opportunities.
• Of this new investment, new funds of up to $128 million over 4 years from 2024-2025 are available to support post-secondary education in the minority language. This funding could, for example, be used to support projects and activities at the University of Sudbury. On June 20, 2023, Bill C-13 received Royal Assent to modernize and strengthen the Official Languages Act (Modernized Act). The modernized Act is in line with the government's commitment to support the continuum of education from early childhood to post-secondary education, as education is one of the essential sectors the vitality of official language minority communities.
• The Canada-Ontario Agreement for Minority Language Education and Second Official Language Instruction 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 expired on March 31, 2023. Under this agreement, the federal contribution in support of post-secondary education totaled $68,700,136 over three years. Added to this is just over $101.5 million for a period of three years in support of a variety of post-secondary projects, including projects at the University of Sudbury.
• Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, a federal contribution of $59.3 million has been provided to Ontario in support of all postsecondary education in the province through this bilateral agreement. Allocations by postsecondary institution are not specified in the Agreement's action plan.
• Federal support is conditional on a bilateral agreement being in place in which Ontario matches or exceeds Canada's provincial contribution. As education is a provincial responsibility, the Ontario government determines the distribution of funding across the education continuum from pre-school to postsecondary education.

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