'Serious blow': N.S. universities push back after province's funding announcement
CBC
Universities in Nova Scotia are crying foul after the province announced new caps on tuition and funding levels that are below last year's rate of inflation, and which come with strings attached.
The Council of Nova Scotia University Presidents declined an interview request, but said in a media release the province's announcement is the second "serious blow" to the sector in two weeks.
In the release, the council said the one-year plan creates unnecessary financial hardship for many universities.
"The Minister decided on an approach that undermines any sense of partnership, collaboration or vision for the future of one of the province's most strategically important sectors," said David Dingwall, the chair of the council and president of Cape Breton University. "There is much in today's announcement that requires greater clarity."
Small to medium-sized universities will see a two per cent operating grant increase in 2024/25, but Dalhousie University's grant is expected to remain the same as this year until it presents a plan on how it will contribute to provincial priorities. Inflation in Nova Scotia last year was four per cent.
Kim Brooks, the president of Dalhousie University, said the institution's costs have been rising faster than the provincial grant.
"We were already planning for a tighter budget year based on our economic climate and enrolment scenario," Brooks said in a statement. "Now, we know that some of our imminent budget decisions have become a little more difficult."
Brooks said the university is prepared to engage with the province about how they can align priorities.
"We know the province is experiencing unprecedented growth, which has created a set of well-known pressures and opportunities," she added.
The Department of Advanced Education said it will cap tuition increases for Nova Scotia students at two per cent, down from three per cent.
Most universities will also be expected to increase international student tuition rates by at least nine per cent — with the exception of Dalhousie University and University of King's College, which raised their rates last year.
Minister of Advanced Education Brian Wong said the province is moving forward with negotiations with each of the 10 universities in Nova Scotia.
"We are very confident our university sector is going to come to the table with us," said Wong at a news conference on Friday.
If the universities want to receive the entirety of funding, they will have to fill more than 97 per cent of health-care seats. A failure to meet that benchmark would result in a 10 per cent loss of funding for Dalhousie, and three per cent for others.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
The N.W.T.'s public utilities board has denied part of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation's (NTPC) request to increase rates, and directed it to cut planned increases to management salaries and benefits.
After reporting an 11-year high for collision fatalities last year, Calgary is turning to new technology in an attempt to make its roads safer.
There will be no changes to Cambridge's fireworks bylaw — for now.
Eric Huntington built his dream cabin nestled in the wilderness of central Alaska, eventually raising two daughters there. But over the years, he learned that living in this quiet, remote village came with a hefty cost.
Israel's war with Iran has temporarily delayed a reckoning with some of its main Western allies, but seems unlikely to close what has become a yawning gap between them over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
As the G7 summit concludes in the popular wilderness destination of Kananaskis, Alta., officials say provincial teams managed frequent animal encounters without serious incident.
Toronto police say a 21-year-old man has been charged in an armed carjacking, after he fell from the Gardiner Expressway on Monday night while allegedly fleeing from officers.
Tenants of buildings owned by a wanted fugitive could be safe from eviction if the bank or a new landlord take over, a legal expert says.
Residents of Badger, N.L. are fleeing the community as smoke from a nearby wildfire clouds the air, and waterbombers pass overhead every few minutes.
A Nova Scotia jury has found a 34-year-old man guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of battle rapper Pat Stay, a 36-year-old father of two who was fatally stabbed 2½ years ago at a downtown Halifax nightclub.
Some property owners in Saint Andrews are speaking out against a plan to refurbish the Market Wharf, although the design was chosen by the public in a community vote.
The lone survivor of a mass shooting in a West Broadway rooming house is being mourned by his family after he died in a Winnipeg hospital earlier this month, more than a year and a half after the shooting that left four others dead.
The mayor of Creighton says residents will have to remain patient, as the northeastern Saskatchewan town waits for health-care services to restart in the neighbouring city of Flin Flon, Man.