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In reaction to changes announced by the provincial government earlier this week, McGill University estimates it will have to reduce its spending on construction and renovations by half, it announced on Thursday.
“Based on preliminary discussions with government officials, McGill estimates it will have to reduce its annual spending on construction and renovation projects by about half due to these changes. Though we continue to discuss with the government ways of minimizing this impact, we must take immediate action, as the change is effective retroactively to the start of the current financial year (May 1, 2024),” the university said in a statement sent by Christopher Manfredi, provost and executive vice-president (academic), and Fabrice Labeau, vice-president (administration and finance).
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“A few days ago, the provincial government informed Quebec universities of changes in the funding mechanism for construction and renovation projects (or “capital projects”) that severely affect McGill’s financial capacity to proceed with such projects. These changes impose a yearly cap on the amounts the provincial government will fund, with the projected cap for the current year being much lower than the amount we had planned to spend. As such, no new project is to begin and all calls for tender for construction are hereby suspended until further assessment.”
The university said it has created a group composed of representatives from different areas of the university “to undertake a comprehensive and strict review of all projects not yet in construction. We anticipate having to re-examine, and possibly cancel, many projects, with a view to prioritize those that are critical to maintaining the health and safety of our community and the continuity of university activities.”
According to a request for an injunction filed in court in April, when two McGill students sought to stop the pro-Palestinian encampment that had been set up McGill’s property, the university owns 154 buildings.
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