Hastings County councillors are criticizing the Government of Ontario’s underfunding of postsecondary education and its impact on Loyalist College. Loyalist President Mark Kirkpatrick has been meeting with municipal councils to discuss the college’s program cuts and their expected regional effects. At these meetings, Kirkpatrick described how ON spending—44 cents on postsecondary education for every dollar spent by other provinces—and the federal cap on international students have led to these cuts, and called for advocacy. Several Hastings County councillors expressed their support for Loyalist and condemned governmental actions, and one council approved a motion to send a letter to ON. Councillors and community members voiced concerns about the impact of underfunding and program cuts on the workforce and economy of the region.
