Transfers and Postsecondary Education:
A Critical Issue for Québec Society
Open letter from CREPUQ President
Roch Denis, Rector, UQAM
This fall, the issue of university financing is tied to the increase in federal transfer
funding for postsecondary education and the signature of an agreement between
Québec and the other provinces, and with the federal government.
Progress in this area during the coming weeks will have a decisive impact on the
future. It is truly a choice for society: either universities will have the funding they
need to achieve their mission and provide the high-quality training upon which
economic and social prosperity depend, or they will be condemned to deliver second-
rate education and diplomas. A lack of teachers and other personnel, excessively
high student/teacher ratios, insufficient funding for libraries and renewal of scientific
equipment will result.
Awareness of this issue, in Québec and in Canada, is high and this is a good thing
because it not only lays the foundat ion for the necessary massive reinvestment in
universities, it is also essential for the expected agreement between the two levels of
government. Failure in this regard would lead to an impasse. And the impasse would
be more harmful than ever for the universities, future generations of students, and
society as a whole.
It is in this spirit and with this conviction that the Conference of Rectors and
Principals of Québec Universities last spring gave its firm support to the Québec
Premier and Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, in their undertaking to
restore the federal transfers for postsecondary education.
This public support was reiterated twice, first on the occasion of Premier Jean
Charest’s speech to the AUCC, at the general assembly of this Canada- wide
organisation, in Trois- Rivières last April, then at the August meeting of the Council of
the Federation in Banff.
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The premiers’ agreement marks an important step because it is a fundamental
acknowledgement of the objectives – which we share – of postsecondary education in
a knowledge-based society where research, technology and innovation evolve in an
increasingly open global environment.
In Québec, no further demonstration is needed. Never has there been such a broad
consensus on the importance of the knowledge economy as an essential factor for
posterity and the future of society. And for good reason. In recent years, some major
initiatives have brought education and university research to the forefront of public
awareness. The initiativ es included the following:
- adoption of the Québec Policy on Universities, which notes the universities’ crucial
role in the advent of present- day Québec and reaffirms the principle of access to
education, the public nature of the institution, the university system economy
based on institutional autonomy and accountability and, finally, the need to
maintain first- rate universities
- adoption of the Québec Policy on Science and Innovation which highlighted the
outstanding research conducted at Québec universities, the importance of
university research in the Québec research community, its inseparability from
training and its impact on the advancement of knowledge and social, economic and
cultural development
- the Sommet du Québec et de la jeunesse (Québec Youth Summit), which
confirmed the importance of access to a good education and resulted in the
adoption of a university reinvestment plan for 2000- 2001 to 2002- 2003 but still left
Québec universities far behind universities in other provinces
- the Parliamentary Committee for the Quality, Accessibility and Funding of
Universities held last year where 92 papers were tabled and which led to a
diagnosis of critical underfunding of our universities and the need to resolve this
issue quickly so that our students would have a high-quality education comparable
to that of our neighbours. Upon completion of its work, the Committee on
Education also produced an outstanding report that was unanimously endorsed by
its members.
There has been no reinvestment in the past three years, but the critical nature of the
problem and the resulting stakes for Québec society are now acknowledged by the
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government as well. And the commitment by Premier Charest and Minister Fournier to
funnel to the universities all the funds that may come from an eventual transfer
agreement is there for all to see. In the meantime, everything possible must be done
to ensure that this becomes a reality.
In this context, we wish to acknowledge the initiative of the Minister of Education,
Recreation and Sports who met personally with his colleagues from other provinces in
the wake of the Council of the Federation decision, in view of the meeting in early
October of the provincial ministers of Education, Training and Finance for the purpose
of preparing the forum on higher education to be held at the end of October.
It may not be an exaggeration to qualify the current situation as being historic, given
the urgency with which the serious problem of underfunding that afflicts our
universities must be resolved.
It is because they claim to be aware of the same issues and share the same
objectives that the two levels of government must come to an agreement that
respects their prerogatives in this area as soon as possible.
CREPUQ, September 15, 2005