Loyalist College saw several ralliers outside the main entrance this afternoon on the first day of the semester in an attempt to save the future of post-secondary education at the institution.
Faculty, support staff, students, and community members came out to express their disappointment in recent cuts to faculty, program cuts, the financial sustainability of Loyalist College, as well as the lack of local post-secondary opportunities for Bay of Quinte residents and the surrounding areas.
The event featured remarks from Tracy Mackenzie, Faculty Union President, JP Hornick, President of OPSEU, and professors from recently cut programs.
“We are here to say enough is enough,” said Tracy Mackenzie, Faculty Union President.
“Today we are calling on the Loyalist College Board of Governors and the Ontario Government to step up and do their job. A college Board of Governors is responsible for defining the role and mission of the college, setting the strategic directions for the college to achieve, providing financial oversight, ensuring institutional performance, and hiring and evaluating the college President,”
“To the Loyalist College Board of Government, we demand that you keep Loyalist College public, accessible, and focused on serving this community, prioritize investments that directly support our students, stop wasting money on expensive capital projects, like the new front entrance and gym, that drain our resources and don’t serve our students or our region. Finally, hold decision makers accountable for both financial and academic outcomes. This fight is about protecting education, opportunities, and our future. Together, we will make sure Loyalist College continues to serve the students and the community it was built for.”
JP Hornick, President of OPSEU, said ‘This college is the beating heart of this region’ and ‘The jobs that you’re losing here bring $18 million into the local economy every year.’
“The programs that you’re losing here are what feed that economy. Community colleges are supposed to be responsive to the local economy’s needs. The kind of spending, the mismanagement that is going on by the folks who are supposedly running Loyalist College, is shameful, it is a scandal. It is about redirecting the resources that should be investments in students, in frontline support staff, frontline faculty, and directing that into the friends of Ford’s pockets, into corporate interests, private training centres, rather than the public system where they belong to make sure that every single student who is here today, can be here tomorrow,”
“We know that this is an attack on small, rural, northern colleges across the province. We do say enough is enough. But more than that, it’s not just about ‘Elbows Up’ or tariffs in the United States, it is elbows up and fists up in solidarity to protect the investments that belong here at home, in every community.”
One program that has been recently suspended at Loyalist College was the Culinary program. Chef Karen Desveaux, Culinary Professor and Coordinator spoke to this.
“This community is an international culinary destination,” said Chef Desveaux.
“The renovations to our culinary facility over the last five years have been significant. Learning of the program suspension after this massive investment was nothing short of horrifying. Returning to work this week to teach out the program to the last cohort is heartbreaking. Access to public post-secondary education is a vital component of rural economic development. The impact of these cuts in our community will be devestating. Aspiring culinary students will now have to relocate to an urban centre for culinary education, and for many families this is not possible,”
“It is my sincere hope that our provincial government steps up with the necessary funding and that Loyalist College finds a way to restore Culinary and so many other critical programs.”
Bridget Ferguson, Aesthetics and Spa Management Professor and Coordinator also spoke. The program has been indefinitely suspended.
“This decision carries a lasting impact on students, families, employers, faculty, and community across our region. Local employers will lose a consistent stream of skilled professionals at the time when the demand for qualified estheticians and spa managers continues to grow. For many of our students, relocation is not an option, effectively closing the door on their aspirations and career goals. Our program has been here for 19 years and was running at full capacity. The majority of our learners were domestic and local,”
“Adding to this loss is the significant investment in newly renovated spa facilities that provided students with state of the art learning environments, giving the local population the opportunity to support student learning, experience services, and contribute to student success. The spa also generated income to support program operations, making its closure difficult to understand. The Unwind Spa here at Loyalist has been a staple in our community. It has provided not only a teaching environment, but also a space to build relationships and support community wellness.”
JP Hornick closed off the ceremony, with a chant saying ‘I believe that we will win.’
(HAILEY MACDONALD)
