U of R facing challenges in funding, labour dispute

When the provincial government released its 2019-20 budget, the University of Regina saw what it expected but not what it desired.

It’s a status-quo budget toward advanced education, which didn’t see a funding increase. As well, the University of Regina’s provincial operating grant will remain unchanged.

U of R president Vianne Timmons said she recognizes the government’s goal to balance the budget. The university hopes to see more funding going forward as operating costs continue to rise while the student body grows.

“I hope as we look into the future that we’re seen as an economic driver in this province and that there is investment,” said Timmons.

The university said rising costs are due to inflationary factors, including salary increases and tax hikes. Timmons said it has intensified efforts to find efficiencies and new revenue streams.

“We’ve removed printers from every desk on campus, pretty well. That saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Timmons.

The university has left communal printers in specific areas as a result. The university has also done work to be more energy efficient, replacing non-efficient boilers and lighting.

Timmons won’t speculate yet on the impact the status-quo provincial budget will have on the university budget or whether cuts or tuition increases are required.

“We now have to sit down and look at our budget line by line to see what we can do,” said Timmons.

Balancing its own budget could become further complicated by a labour dispute with faculty members. Mediation with university administration failed to reach an agreement for academic staff.

“We’re a big enterprise here, it’s like a small city. We have to look, really, at everything we do to try to mitigate the financial challenges that we have,” said Timmons.

The University of Regina Faculty Association (URFA) said its members could be in a legal strike position as early as March 28.

“It is now a very real possibility that reaching an agreement will require some form of job action,” URFA president Sylvain Rheault said in a release. “While URFA is still hopeful that an agreement can be reached, preparations for possible job action are currently underway.”

Timmons assured students that she is very concerned about the labour situation but echoed the URFA’s optimism in finding a solution during the bargaining process.