Northern Ontario medical school lobbying province for extra $4M now that it's a university

Northern Ontario's medical school says now that the provincial government has made it a standalone university, it needs to give it more money.

NOSM University, which officially became independent from Laurentian and Lakehead Universities last year, is lobbying the province to boost its annual base funding by $4 million.

"Having been made into a university, we do need the support to be able to be successful as a university," said president and CEO Dr. Sarita Verma.

She says they were "delighted" when the province made the somewhat sudden announcement in 2021 that the medical school would become its own university, amidst the financial crisis at Laurentian University.

Verma says the school did receive some one-time transition funding, but the extra costs of a registrar, library and other services leaves a $4 million hole in their operating budget, which could lead to staff layoffs. 

She says unlike other universities, they can't easily raise money by creating new programs or bringing in more students.

"We don't have opportunities to bring in international students or we don't have any other degree programs, we only have the MD degree and then a very small graduate degree, so growth is definitely a possibility, but it's three to five years down the road," Verma said.

She says NOSM University also isn't able to borrow money against its buildings, because it doesn't own any.

Its Sudbury campus is still owned by Laurentian University, although it is on a list of properties that are to be sold to the Ontario government to help the troubled school settle its debts.

Verma says Lakehead University is now charging NOSM $800,000 dollars per year to keep using its Thunder Bay campus, which was paid for and built by provincial taxpayers for the medical school.

City and town councils across the north are throwing their voices behind NOSM University's lobbying efforts, by passing motions of support.

The latest was Tuesday night in Kirkland Lake.

"It is absolutely vital that the Ontario government supports the northern school of medicine as their existence improves the quality of life for everyone in the north," said Mayor Stacy Wight.

The motion passed unanimously, however Kirkland Lake councillor Lad Shaba said he'd like to see more details on how many northern students have gone through the program since the school was founded in 2005 and how many doctors have stayed to practice in the region.