(July 19, 2023, St. John’s) – Barry Petten, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Education and MHA for Conception Bay South, says the Minister of Education is trying to put good spin on the problem created by the Liberal Government at Memorial University.

“The campus renewal fee only exists because of the continued budget cuts from day one of the Liberal administration. The fee was introduced in 2017 as a way to balance MUNL’s books on the backs of students. The fee wouldn’t exist were it not for the hack and slash approach the Liberal administration has taken to MUNL,” said Petten.

“The Minister is paying students to offset the costs her Liberal Government imposed on them to begin with. Make no mistake: this is not a story of generosity from the Minister. It’s a story of the Liberal administration admitting its approach to increasing the cost of living for students is not working.”

Petten says the campus renewal fee should be a key focus of the on-going review of the university’s finances by the Auditor General.

“The Liberal Government has now admitted their approach to MUNL does nothing but increase the cost of living for students who choose to attend university in our province. On top of the campus renewal fee, the Liberals thawed the tuition freeze meant to help grow the population of our province,” said Petten.

“It took months of advocacy for the Liberal Government to bring the AG in to review the books at MUNL. Understanding the impacts of the continued budget cuts at MUNL will inform how to best find long-term solutions that protect the university’s future and minimize impacts on students as their cost of living continues to rise under the Liberal Government.”
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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca