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Dawson College says provincial government spending cuts are forcing it to suspend all new renovation projects, cancel planned purchases of needed equipment and to stop buying goods for its library.
Quebec’s largest English-language CEGEP said it had budgeted more than $13 million for renovations and equipment purchases during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, but that a funding cap imposed by the provincial government is around half that amount.
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“These cuts came into effect retroactively at the beginning of July and are expected to impact Dawson’s ability to finance greatly needed renovation projects, equipment and library purchases as well as investments in information technology,” the college said in a statement Friday.
The province has said CEGEPs are spending too much money on renovations and has imposed spending caps on all of the junior colleges.
Dawson College, which is in a heritage building, said the cuts may also jeopardize its ability to do any major renovations next year.
The school said it has been forced to cancel repairs to damage caused by water infiltration as well as renovations to teaching spaces and the purchase of equipment that it needs because of government-imposed program revisions. It has also been forced to cancel furniture purchases for newly acquired spaces.
“An analysis will be carried out by the College. We will give priority to purchases and building renovations that are essential to the health and safety of students and employees and the pursuit of our educational mission,” it said.
The college said it was first notified about the retroactive cuts, which it said were imposed without any consultation, at the end of July.
In May, Quebec’s auditor general said two-thirds of the buildings owned by Quebec CEGEPs are in poor shape and that the $608 million budgeted for maintenance between now and 2027-2028 is more than $1 billion short of what’s needed.
On Thursday, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry defended the cuts.
“I really have to manage the evolution of projects,” she told reporters. “I have a lot of projects where costs have exploded in recent months, so we’re also going to have to manage the cost explosions.”
This article will be updated.
La Presse Canadienne contributed to this report.
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