University idea gets passing grade in anyone’s book

Markham Economist & Sun
April 10, 2014

ISSUE: York Region municipalities vying to be home to a new university campus.

There are very few minuses and a lot of A-plusses associated with the prospect of a new university campus coming to Markham, Vaughan or Richmond Hill.

It now appears to be just a matter of finding out which city or town is able to put the best proposal forward to attract a new campus that could eventually be home to up to 10,000 students.

It does not take a university economics professor to know some of the obvious benefits that would come the way of the winning community.

Young people with at least some money to spend as well as the energy and vibrancy they bring to many “university towns” would be more than welcome here.

Universities can be centres of innovation, can attract business, are cultural hubs.

Not to mention some of the cachet that would come with being the successful bidder to be the home of a new university campus - it would definitely be something to brag about.

“This is the most exciting thing I’ve seen in my time here,” Markham deputy mayor and Regional Councillor Jack Heath said this week.

Others who have had a ringside seat on the NHL arena proposal GTA Centre, a GTA casino proposal, and the building of local Pan Am Games venues seem to agree it’s hard to match the positives that would come with the university campus.

In many cases these are our own children who would now have yet another opportunity to study closer to home.

Sure, there is a lot to be said from a GTA young person’s perspective for moving away from home and studying at a place like Western or Queen’s.

You get the chance to be out on your own and grow up, learns things for yourself, not just about school but life.

But in today’s world, with the cost of an education and the debt levels some young people face upon graduation with no guarantee of a good job to help pay it off, being able to study closer to home makes sense, too - the life lesson being that going deeply into debt can be a very traumatizing experience if there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

From the province’s perspective, there is also a desire to put the school where the students are. With York Region’s population over a million with a huge population of young people coming to university age every year, putting a campus in York Region makes sense.

As has been pointed out, no matter where a university is located in York Region, it will be a benefit to our region as a whole.

But to the city or town that is able to convince the university and the province that they have a great proposal that would make this move worthwhile, the windfall could be truly significant.

BOTTOM LINE: So what’s not to like? Having campus anywhere is region a positive step.