Letter to the Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities

On behalf of our over 800 Member businesses, the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is pleased to express our support for the financial sustainability measures outlined in the recent report on Ensuring financial sustainability for Ontario’s post-secondary sector as they relate to Ontario’s college sector.

Thunder Bay’s workforce relies heavily on college-trained graduates, and this talent pipeline will only increase in the future with the development of new mines and associated service and support businesses in the Northwest. We are urging you to move forward with the following measures as outlined in the report because it will make a difference, not only to the college sector, but also to the organizations across Thunder Bay that rely on the talent they provide to our labour market:
• Immediately end the tuition freeze and approve of a modest five per cent increase in tuition.
• Increase the provincial investment in public college students through a 10 per cent increase in operating grants for September 2024.
• Create a distinct tuition policy for public colleges that addresses the long-standing inequities between college and university education.
• Lift the cap on high-demand programs to allow more students to enroll in programs where there is a great demand for graduates in the labour market.
• Implement common-sense changes to create more opportunities for people to study part time.

We appreciate your government’s efforts to make Ontario a better place to live and do business. Ensuring our future talent pipeline is strong and well-trained by taking the above measures is the next important step this government can take in ensuring Ontario’s economy remains strong.