Dawson College left bruised amid Quebec slash in spending budgets

Following the Quebec government’s announcement on slashing spending budgets for CEGEPs, many representatives wonder what’s next amid the latest round of budget cuts.

Dawson College Director General Diane Gauvin says the spending cuts on renovations and expansions will have a significant impact on the school’s ability to carry out much-needed projects, from program repairs to leaking roofs.

“I’ve spoken to many other CEGEPs and we’re all in the same situation. This is not an anglophone problem it is truly a Quebec problem, it affects all colleges,” said Gauvin.

“We have to be very careful about mold for example so obviously if there’s mold we can’t wait until 2026. We’re not going to put the health of our students or employees in jeopardy because of this decision.”

The directive was announced by the Ministry of Higher Education in a letter sent at the end of July – one month into the fiscal year.

Gauvin says they received the news in June and that universities and CEGEPs across Montreal have been vocal in amending this directive.

Government data says that two thirds of the CEGEP network infrastructure is in bad shape

According to a release sent by Dawson College, Quebec’s Auditor General released a report in May 2024 discussing the network infrastructure, and that, “The provincial budget allocated was only half the amount required to address needed renovations and repairs. In their 2023-2027 strategic plan, the Ministry of Higher Education itself said that adequate infrastructure is a priority and is required for a quality student experience,” the release reads.

The government imposed an annual ceiling on what it will fund for each institution with Gauvin saying it’s a dramatic reduction of 50 per cent, with Dawson’s cap original spending limit being $13 million, which is now at $6.6 million for the school year. 

The problem, Gauvin says, is they’ve already spent over their budget on pre-planned renovation projects.

“How are we going to be able to operate normally? We have a contingency budget, and equipment? A piece of equipment breaks, we always have money put aside in a content contingency budget to address these unplanned repairs or renovations,” Gauvin said.

“We have no money to do that in ’24, ’25.” 

Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry asked CEGEPs to slow down and reduce their spending, saying “We can’t do everything at once.”

Dawson College says they’ve had to cancel various projects including, repairs for water infiltration, renovations to teaching spaces, purchasing equipment for government-imposed program revisions, and the purchasing of furniture for newly acquired space.

CityNews contacted the Ministry of Higher Education and they reiterated that they’d invested 12 per cent more for 2024-2025 specifically for higher education infrastructure – which exceeds $1B.

“In order to ensure sound management of public funds and to better monitor the progress of infrastructure projects, the government determines annual investment levels for all departments,” the release reads.

“…These levels are established based on the amounts allocated to [them] in the Quebec infrastructure plan and on the annual plans submitted by the latter.”

They add that the ministry will demonstrate flexibility so that institutions are able to honour the contractual commitments they already have and that they’ll work to support them during this transition period.

Dawson is currently participating in discussions with the Fédération des Cégeps to petition the government to reconsider their position.

“Our priority is safety and our ability to deliver quality programs,” she said. “I think those are our priorities and we will be as resourceful as we can.”