Mock applauds province and Rae report

The Liberal government should be given “accolades” for commissioning former Ontario premier Bob Rae to study the future of post-secondary education funding in the province.

Rae released his report, Ontario: A Leader in Learning, Monday.

Among its recommendations:

- $1.3B in new base funding to colleges and universities by 2007-08;

- A $300M million overhaul of student assistance programs;

- Ottawa should focus on living costs, while Ontario should adopt a coordinated system to allow graduates loan repayments geared to income;

- Tuition should not increase until the student assistance system is reformed.

“They gave Rae a mandate to look at the overall structure and funding of post secondary education and that was a pretty gutsy thing to do,” Mock said.

“Ontario is the most under-funded province in Canada on a per-student basis, and we’re well below the norm in the United States and in Europe too.”

Mock said Rae took a very “balanced” approach in his report when he looked at universities.

“We have to become more accountable and work better with colleges, something Nipissing and Canadore College are already doing,” Mock said.

He agreed with Rae’s recommendation that student aid packages should be improved before the current tuition freeze is lifted.

Rae outline conditions for that in his report, stating the right of every “qualified” student to attend college or university regardless of means should be enshrined in legislation.

As well, Rae said currents loans and bursary programs should be greatly enriched, with low-income students receiving rebates of their tuition fees, and that college and university funding should be significantly increased to bring Ontario to the Canadian average.

Mock believes the province will implement Rae’s recommendations, and that it will help Nipissing.

“We have a large number of under-funded students because we grew during a time in the ‘90s when there was no money on the table, and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” Mock said.

“Rae wants to see equitable student funding, and that’s the way it should be.”