Brampton council votes to put Brampton U initiative formally on hold as costs skyrocket

In Brampton, Ontario, the city council has voted to put the Brampton University initiative on hold until further notice due to concerns over costs. A heated debate erupted on March 2nd after it was revealed that the city had spent over $600K on the initiative to two consulting firms. Brampton had originally sought to establish a publicly funded university with programming offered through partnerships with existing universities. Councillor Pat Fortini expressed concern about the level of expenses given that the project “never came before us (and) we don’t know what happened to this (money).” Councillors have called for a full report on the spending, reports the Pointer, as well as an explanation for the changes made to the initial contracts. In an interview with inSauga, Mayor Patrick Brown pointed to Brampton’s work over the past five years to secure a university campus in partnership or independently, and that “frankly, the spending on Brampton U was paused a year ago anyway.” The Star| The Pointer| InSauga| Global News Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.