The city of Greater Sudbury is going to bat for its university as it will call on the province to make funding available to help stabilize Laurentian University’s operations.
The finance and administration committee met Wednesday evening to commence the process of finalizing their 2021 budget, but not before wading through a number of members’ motions, including one that speaks in support of Laurentian.
On Feb. 1, Laurentian University announced that it had filed for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), leading to court-mandated operations that will conclude no later than April 30.
Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre tabled the motion that directs the city to provide a letter of concern to Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano, addressing the need for the province to make funding available for Laurentian and to take a closer look at the funding model for all of Ontario’s universities.
“I think this is a preventative way before Laurentian comes and asks us for money, this is one role we can have in writing a simple letter and asking the government,” said Lapierre.
“Part of our job is to lobby the provincial and federal government whenever it’s appropriate to do that. I think this is one of those times; this school is part of the heart of Sudbury and a letter from our council to the Premier and minister to tell them we’re here and we’d like them to do something is important.”
Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti asked for some clarification on the process involved with requesting provincial funds, given Laurentian’s current financial situation.
“I would support this motion, my question is the university filed for bankruptcy protection, so I’m wanting to know the legalities of it, can the province still provide funding?” asked Signoretti.
City clerk Eric Labelle said that from where he stood, the university hadn’t filed for bankruptcy protection but rather creditor protection, which falls under a different set of legal circumstances.
“We are a little detached from this process but my view would be they’ve not filed for bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act, they’ve file for protection under the CCAA and that essentially keeps creditors at bay or creates a freeze of their finances for the time being such that they may negotiate with their creditors to reach arrangements that may be more satisfactory,” said Labelle.
“I’m not aware that there would be anything to prevent the province from stepping in, though the province may wish to see the outcome of that process.”
Signoretti replied that he was concerned about the province’s ability to offer any assistance while the matter was before the courts.
Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini was supportive of the motion, adding that he’d like to see some confirmation in regard to Signoretti’s comments about the legality of the process.
“I support this motion 100 per cent, I don’t want to see us lose our university,” said Vagnini. “Can we take the time to explore and I concur with Coun. Signoretti’s comments, (can we) see where we can go with it?”
Finance committee chair and Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo stood by the comments of Labelle, stating that he doesn’t feel there would be any issue with sending a letter to the Premier and Minister Romano.
“The university hasn’t crossed into bankruptcy filing, simply creditor protection, so I believe it’s in order to vote on the motion,” said Jakubo.
Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc had some concern that sending the letter immediately could cause some issues, pondering if the province was intentionally holding off any support while the matter was before the courts.
“Because Laurentian is still in the courts and we’re asking the province to make funds available to Laurentian, then those creditors may access to that money and maybe that’s why the province is holding off at this time,” said Leduc.
“I'm just wondering if we should hold off until the court proceedings are done.”
Lapierre explained that there is a time factor associated with letter, wanting to put the bug in the province’s ear as soon as possible.
“I wanted the letter to be in the Premier’s hands before the court proceedings were done,” said Lapierre. “It’s so they realize that it’s on our radar. It doesn’t say that we want them to give funding tomorrow, but we want them to look at this and possibly give what they can to try to remedy this. We want them to be aware that this is a problem for us and we want the government to help fix this.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of providing the letter to Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Universities and Colleges Ross Romano.
