Critics slam Tories for ‘ribbon-cutting’ at private Vaughan university

Thestar.com
Sept. 18, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Niagara University in Vaughan on Sunday sparked a storm on social media with critics slamming the Ford government for celebrating the opening of a private institution while cutting funding to public education.

Niagara, a private Catholic university with its main campus in Lewiston, N.Y., had already opened its doors in January, when it welcomed 300 students.

Students at the university can either enrol in the bachelor of professional studies in education or the master of science in education programs. Both programs are fully accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers.

“I haven’t seen one photo of the premier in any of our publicly funded elementary or secondary schools in Ontario, yet here he is cutting a ribbon to open a private American University in the Minister of Education’s riding,” wrote Stephanie Donaldson, a trustee for the Toronto District School Board.

Donaldson was commenting on photos and a tweet by Education Minister Stephen Lecce. In the tweet, Lecce dubbed Sept. 15 as a “historic day” following the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We mark the first university to open in our city -- focused on inspiring the next generation of educators,” Lecce wrote on Twitter.

While Lecce has announced that the province’s four-year, $1.6 billion attrition fund is to protect teaching jobs, the Toronto District School Board has cut 109 full-time teaching positions, impacting 155 people.

The ceremony was attended by Premier Doug Ford, Vaughan-Woodbridge MPP Michael Tibollo, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Lecce, who is the MPP for Vaughan-King.

“Their priorities are upside down,” Donaldson added.

Another of the dozens of Twitter commenters wrote that Ford “seems to be happy to promote a private Catholic American university” amid cuts to public education in the province.

In response, the university wrote on its Twitter account that as an accredited degree-granting institution, Niagara University does not receive any operating grants or public funding for capital in Ontario. Operations are funded through tuition and endowment. The university said tuition is $15,600 (Cdn) for the bachelor’s program in teacher education.

The university also said its Ontario programs feature an Ontario-based faculty providing instruction at its Vaughan location.

“We have previously been co-located with schools in York Region and Toronto since the mid-2000s.”

So far, York Region hasn’t laid off any teachers. However, CUPE 1734, representing 3,200 education support workers for York Region District School Board, saw “record numbers and strong support” Sept. 9 for the union’s provincial mandate, which calls for labour action and would put the union in the legal position for a strike, its president said.