The provincial budget has provided some relief to Ontario universities. One-time funding of $210 million was included in the Liberal budget on Thursday.

“It's money that is very much needed,” says McMaster president Peter George. “We have been urging the province to pass along the funds that it received from the federal government for infrastructure renewal. The decision to provide this funding is very positive, as is the flexibility the province is giving institutions to use the money to address their most pressing needs.”

The exact distribution to individual institutions wasn't announced, but if McMaster receives its usual share the University could receive about $12 million.

While George calls it a positive step forward, he says it doesn't relieve all of the financial pressures universities are facing.

“One-time funding is always helpful, but it doesn't solve our budget challenges. It's disappointing that the government didn't address the ongoing issue of how to fund the increasing number of students in the system.”

One of the goals of the province's Reaching Higher Plan is increased accessibility. With 14,000 more students than anticipated attending university in 2006/07 this part of the plan has been a success, but the increased numbers mean a system shortfall of $100 million. The projected student funding shortfall by 2009/10 is $300 million.

Earlier this week the federal budget committed new funds for universities across the country through an $800 million post-secondary education transfer. This money will be available for 2008/09, but first requires agreements between the province and Ottawa on how it will be designated.

George says, “We will certainly be encouraging the provincial government to transfer its share of these funds directly to the colleges and universities so that each institution can invest in its priority areas.”

The federal budget also provided new funding for the Canada Foundation for Innovation, new scholarships for graduate students, and $6 million to support the relocation of the CANMET-MTL lab from Ottawa to the McMaster Innovation Park.