Budget Boost

Transport minister John Baird made the following anouncements today regarding infrastructure spending in the upcoming federal budget: 

$4 billion for an infrastructure stimulus fund to help provinces, territories and municipalities.

$2 billion for repairs and construction of colleges and universities.

$1 billion for sustainable green infrastructure projects.

"Students are impressed that the government has recognized the importance of investing in PSE infrastructure," said Zach Churchill, National Director othe Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. "The question for tomorrow's budget is how this money is going to be delivered and whether or not it will

simply displace pre-existing funding."

CASA was the only national student advocacy group calling for investments in infrastructure in the upcoming budget.

Zach also made a good point in his blog when he points out that none of our elected officials are talking about making room for more seats in colleges in universities across Canada. We can throw money at a problem, but without a skilled workforce, we're going to continue suffering from a skilled labour shortage.

 In addition to infrastructure spending, CASA is recommending that the following actions be taken as a part of the 2009 federal budget: 

a one-time, earmarked transfer to the provinces for PSE to offset freezes or claw-backs in provincial PSE funding
Provide temporary targeted grants to counterbalance the difficulties students and their families may face in finding the means to afford post-secondary education
Extend the Interest Relief period for Canada Student Loans from the current 6 months, to 9 months

These are the hands... what are we gonna build with them?

Infrastructure. I've been dreading doing this blog. Its an issue at the heart of the economic crisis, that needs to be discussed. But my goodness infrastructure is a boring word. So, for the rest of this blog I'm going to use the word NINJAS everytime I would normally use the I-word, and the word KARATE-CHOP instead of accumulated deferred maintenance, another boring term.  The federal budget comes out on Tuesday, and it looks as if we will have a major investment in infrastructure, where exactly has yet to be determined. 

If you've spent anytime in Atlantic universities, you will know that there are some serious problems with the NINJAS we have and there are quite a few KARATE-CHOPS that need to be repaired. Blame it on poor planning on the part of university administrators or on provincial governments, but we've got our selves in a crummy situation and the 

NINJAS are falling apart. 

Universities' operating budgets are suffering this year - no one is really sure how the economic crisis will affect enrollments, and interest driven investments aren't generating the same revenues they have in years past. Dalhousie would be set to run an $ 3.7 Million deficit if we were to do everything we did last year (more or less), maintain enrollment, and complete the bare minimum of KARATE-CHOP work. The Dalhousie administration has asked the provincial and federal governments for hundreds of millions of dollars in NINJA funding to solve the KARATE-CHOP problem, and build even more NINJAS. 

Unfortunately, any money from the feds will likely be given directly to the province to decide how best to spend it. Past NINJA spending has been spent primarily on highways and road building.  Dalhousie President Tom Traves aptly put it, our governments then face the dilemna of investing in brains versus investing in asphalt. 

 

Simply put, roads will only take us where we've already been. Nova Scotia's politicians will always talk about highways and hospitals when put on the podium.  But as the old adage says, ' if you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got'. And what does Nova Scotia have now? An aging population that is set to retire in near plurality over the next 8 years, a young population that is migrating to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Yet will still offer one of the most boastful set of universities and colleges in Canada. 

So lets send some of that NINJA funding towards the universities of Atlantic Canada and get KARATE-CHOPS out of our PSE sysem for good. Create jobs in Nova Scotia that can compete with the high paying jobs in the west and give the university administrators a reason to stop worrying about their buildings falling apart and focus their efforts on creating and maintaining the highest quality education possible.