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What You Told Us

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Your suggestions | Your comments

On this page, you'll find a summary of all the budget-related suggestions and comments you've shared at our four Town Hall meetings, via the budgetcuts [at] mcgill [dot] ca email address, or on the Red Blog as of Monday, February 11.

Please note that identical or similar feedback may be consolidated, and that to keep this site a safe space for everyone, we won't be posting feedback that's abusive or otherwise offensive—but all other feedback will be published here. Please know too that we will carefully consider every single message we receive.

Browsing this page, you will quickly notice that there's a real diversity of views in our community. This is a good thing. But in this unprecedented funding crisis, we urge you to help ensure that those sometimes divergent interests don’t pull us apart as a community. No matter how these government-imposed cuts are implemented, we do know this much: we will all feel them.

Your suggestions:

Staff management

  • Reduce working hours for administration and support staff
  • Senior administration salary cuts
  • Stricter performance evaluations for all employees, including professors and faculty
  • Time off without pay for faculty and staff
  • Cancel planned salary raises
  • Cut salaries across the board
  • Hiring freeze
  • Early retirement incentives
  • Cancel professional reward allowances
  • Layoffs
  • No merit increase; reduced benefits. 
  • Salary cut
  • Freeze all training and development budgets on university operating funds
  • Freeze all travel or require pre-approval of travel charged to university operating funds and enforce video conferencing
  • Cut senior administrative positions
  • Voluntary summer flexible working scheme
  • Extend the Workforce Planning Initiative
  • Look at positions which could be turned into sessional positions (Sep-May) or part-time positions
  • Offer staff members the choice of having floating holidays once again in lieu of salary increases
  • Trim middle-management
  • Prevent all staff purchases
  • Assign furlough days, until new income sources can be brought on-line (either through the province or through new programs).
  • Remove tutorials if TA hours are cut (not manageable with grants, research and graduate supervisor student duties).
  • La Régie des rentes offers an option for people that are 60 and above to work four days a week. The employer has to comply with an agreement of the employee working a certain number of hours. The fifth day is paid by la Régie des rentes.
  • One of my suggestions would be to close the university 1 day a month for 12 months for EVERYONE. The cut does not seem much, but when you apply it to all McGill employees, the result will be large. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, but at this point, losing 1 day a month would be much better than losing a full salary. As much as the Principal wants the university to be open 5 days a week, I don’t think 1 day a month will make McGill lose its credibility. If we do this, we do it together! I also think that anyone 58 years of age and over, should be looked at in maybe offering retirement packages.
  • Train facilities employees to never leave McGill vehicles idling. Wasted fuel is wasted money.
  • A return to the policy of granting 90% of salaries for sabbaticals and reuse of the remaining 10% to offset some budget cuts made in teaching support.  NOT a net cut, but a shift from sabbatical salaries to departmental budgets, to compensate for cuts.
  • Reduce number of professors – preferably keep those who can teach. Research can be complementary.
  • Reduce admin and support staff appropriately.
  • Allow employees to share a job – this would allow the university to keep a larger number of competent staff, which is important as McGill has a relatively “old” workforce. It also may benefit employees with family obligations or other commitments.
  • Offer staff to “buy” additional vacation days, unpaid time off during the summer, or work 4 or 4 ½ days per week.
  • Give admin staff the option to take a few weeks/months unpaid leave. Currently HR doesn’t allow it without a reason such as family issues/illness/school. I would jump at the chance, were I offered this option.
  • Consolidate some managerial positions. There are, at least in my unit, a number of managers who could very well be reassigned or removed without any net loss to the unit.

Raise money through private funds

  • Look to privatize McGill
  • Issue bonds to raise money
  • Raise money through attrition and alumni donations
  • McGill community to vote via referendum to pay a fee or donation that would be outside of government control, to raise the cut amount
  • Carry money over from the endowment fund and increase donations
  • Commercial partnerships, or affiliations with larger enterprises to collect extra revenue
  • Ask donors to be more flexible with how they earmark their donations
  • Enforce mandatory donations to McGill
  • Further collaborations and partnerships with corporations, including considering advertising on campus
  • Privatize high demand programs e.g. Medicine
  • I think it's time that McGill considers becoming a private institution and seek out more overseas investments (either in student pool or capital for research and infrastructure). The "public school system" will continue to degrade as the Canadian/Quebec economy falls along with the U.S. Best to make the move now before McGill's reputation as an outstanding University becomes nothing more than a memory.
  • I am a McGill student. I am very concerned about these drastic budget cuts. I have a suggestion.  Is it possible to get  more funds from "private" Corporations in exchange for allowing them to increase their advertising in The University? I personally would not mind seeing an increased presence in advertising in McGill University. I actually find some of them quite amusing, lol. And I am sure the students will understand that extra advertising is necessary to maintain McGill's high quality education. I also have another possible suggestion. Although the Quebec Government wishes to cut finding of McGill University, would it be possible to approach The Canadian Government for funding?  After all, McGill University is not only the pride of Quebec, but it is just as much the pride of Canada as a whole! 

Raise money through various business ventures

  • Capitalize on McGill’s vast land holdings (Develop a Real Estate Company)
  • Sell property; sell 688 Sherbrooke Street to a private group
  • Renew campus parking, charge for parking bicycles on campus. Again, enough to cover purchase, upkeep costs of the stands and be profitable. Use the existing security to maintain eligible usage. Staff usage is free.
  • Allow companies to use McGill’s name in their literature for a marketing fee
  • Generate extra revenue from spin-off and commercialization of our research
  • Look for economies of scale and centralize certain functions
  • Further collaborations and partnerships with corporations, including considering advertising on campus
  • Increase accessibility and affordability of on campus facilities for community groups. Reducing costs may seem counter-intuitive, but lower costs will also increase take-up rates. Facilities are largely underutilized on nights and weekends. Ice and field times are available through Athletics… there are peak periods, but for significant portions of the year, there are lulls. Additionally, running the ice-rink all year should be explored as a possibility given that the groundsmen work out of the arena facilities all year. Although their responsibilities shift during the summer months, they could be assigned to rink duty if the grounds staff in Athletics (Eq room) are instead asked to partake in grounds duties (significant lull in Eq room duties during the summer months).
  • Increase marketability/advertising surrounding residence accommodations over the summer months. Decrease costs associated with room rentals to increase take up rates.
  • As McGill has active financial investments during tough times these investments can be sold to pay off the debt.
  • Decrease cost of summer camp and increase incentives for McGill staff to send their children to camp (a significant reduction for McGill staff should be available—150$/week—why send your kids to McGill if it costs more than anywhere else?) Numbers have been steadily dropping as costs continue to increase—reverse costs and take up will creep back up. Cost per child should be capped at $200.
  • At one of the Town Halls, someone suggested closing down the Faculty Club. I always felt that it was such a beautiful venue for conferences, weddings and many events that in fact it should be used more and to turn a profit. Of course it would mean keeping staff for catering, security, etc…but to have that beautiful building used outside McGill functions could be profitable. Just look at what Italian halls ask for weddings and they are booked years in advance. 
  • Take a larger percentage of grants for "operating costs".
  • Go through all storage rooms, attics, basements, etc, and have a massive garage sale. Have a high profile auction for unused antiques, antique lab equipment like brass microscopes, etc.
  • Increase the number of people that park in McIntyre garage. There are at least 100 unused spots—and this has been true for many years. McGill professors and staff need to park elsewhere. The extra revenue should be over 10K per month. Over the past 5 years this represents significant lost revenue and could be fixed tomorrow.
  • There has been a lot of talk about the cuts, it’s quite frightful in fact, however, I think that the government will have to come around and look at this issue more realistically. My question is, instead of getting depressed about the cuts, could we not find ways to make money for the university. I don’t know if we are allowed to do this, but if we are we could:
    • Organize fund-raising events and soirees (interesting lectures, etc)
    • Have auctions (silent auctions) and a kind of lottery
    • Rent all available space to the public for cultural events
    • Create a product that we could sell in bookstores or online
  • Introduce anonymous examinations for admission into all programs and be stricter when you grade students during the academic years (this should go back to grade 1; still, universities can start the trend, elementary teachers’ unions and school boards are hopeless, not to mention provincial Ministries of Education).
  • I've had a couple of entrepreneurs tell me how hard it has been trying to spin-off university's research projects and turn it into a business. I'm not sure on the economics behind these decisions, but you should look into the amount of red tape that lies in the spin-off process.

Manage student experience

  • Look to developing online courses to generate more revenue
  • Consider developing more self-funded programs or work to deregulate more programs
  • Implement U0 programs across the university for Quebec students
  • Consolidate libraries
  • Stop the implementation of interactive classrooms
  • We have a policy of charging course fees to offset the cost of transportation for field courses/field labs. Our policy is to fund two field labs (3 hr each) per course, fund 50% of field trip transport for field trips beyond the base 2 and the charge full cost recovery on overnight and longer field trips. We could do full cost recovery on all field trips. The experience is valued by the students and they would pay.
  • We have a policy of NOT charging for laboratory-based labs. The cost of microbiology, biology, soils etc labs is high due to the requirement for consumables. We will look at new ways to reduce the cost of these but it would be more positive to promote the quality of the lab experience and to charge lab fees in the same way that we charge field course fees. This not a huge amount of money but if applied more widely across the University it would help.
  • Reduce constraints to undergraduate enrollment.
  • Given the cancellation of tuition hikes, find a way to download these cuts to students.
  • Educate students on budget cuts.
  • Freeze all entertainment expenses on university operating funds.
  • Increase tuition fees.
  • Accept more new students to increase government funding.
  • Make more use of the currently available means to pass on costs to students.
  • Charge a readmission fee for students who are readmitted following unsatisfactory standing.
  • Charge higher application fees.
  • We hope that the education McGill provides is not compromised.  While tuition for Quebec and other Canadians is far lower than what international students pay, what about increasing the tuition for Quebec and Canadians students slightly as they make up a majority of the student population.  Their tuition is far lower than any other tuition by any non-Canadian university already so a slight increase should help the budget problems significantly.
  • Raise student service fees. The government took away the tuition increases, so raise service fees to cover some of the shortfall.
  • Reduce the number of students, especially in the Social Sciences (saturated market!) – develop Sciences, engineering, Medicine etc. with an accent on innovation!

Seek guidance

  • Asking the Board, as business leaders, for advice and use their expertise from business and philanthropic dealings to address this crisis.
  • Use case studies from abroad, to model the effects of unpredicted cuts in guiding us in what we should do.

Money management

  • Borrow from our capital budget and delay some renovations.
  • Stop spending 5% of our operating budget on student loans.
  • Rethink and re-evaluate what space we need to do our jobs (use campus buildings, staff work at home, at the Macdonald campus, economize the space more efficiently).
  • Having university functions organized using McGill facilities (banquet and food service).
  • Cut all replacement of AV equipment and installation of new equipment except for major renovations projects (tlswg) and accept the consequences.
  • Scrap Travel Registry.
  • Stop spending on cosmetic changes, e.g. the libraries.
  • Close unnecessary university services during the summer.
  • I think that before you ask your working class to make sacrifices that would directly result in food being taken from their tables or homes to be foreclosed on, the well to do in the McGill community should lead by example. Reduce their salaries to reflect the needs of the university. For the 10+ years I've been at McGill I've had my salary increased just over 25% while I've witnessed the very top of the McGill food chain get increases in the range of 200%. So while I sympathize with the universities government imposed challenges I do know where the cuts could be the most effective, and it's not taking pennies away from pay check to pay check people. Skim the fat off the top. The argument that top salaries need to be paid to get top talent has been proven wrong time after time in recent studies. You would think that McGill administration would know that too since they teach it.
  • I think all units and Faculties should be given a very specific and firm target for cuts. $25 million cuts on an $800 million operating budget means 3.5% across the board for example. 
  • It’s been pointed out that salaries will be touched in some way. The University should impose a salary cut scheme that would be applied in steps like our income tax tables. Everyone is cut at least 1%. As a person’s salary increases so does the cut percentage. That’s the minimum, the fallback position should Units and Faculties fail to meet specific targets. 
  • Some units may find that a hiring freeze works for them and another one will use shorter work weeks. Every situation will be different. The idea is to make local employees accountable. We may find that proposed cuts exceed targets… A third administrative cut could be applied across the board:
    • Cut budgets to buy coffee. Employees who drink coffee can pay for it.
    • Impose a direct deposit to every employee. Also abolish weekly pay stubs. All McGill employees should be paid using the same process.
    • Reduce the University contribution to the dental and health plan. (Offer employees to pay the difference?).
    • Cut every unit’s travel budget by 20%.
    • 30% increase on all parking fees.
  • Charge $300-$500 in additional deposits for students who request to defer their admission.
  • Charge a percentage of tuition per supplemental exam that is written. An international student paying$ 485.39/credit should have to pay more than $35 to be given the opportunity to pass a course without having to retake it from the start. Suggested cost: equivalent of 1 credit (QC rate: $72.26/exam; Can rate: $195.27/exam ; Intl rate: $485.39/exam).
  • Charge late payment fees the moment fees are overdue—no need to wait for 60 days.
  • Cut salaries by 10% over three years for all top administrative positions.
  • Charge fees for services offered at an off-campus cost ex: commissioning documents. Charged at a flat rate, $10, regardless of documents to be certified. Services available to alumni and community at a rate of $15/package.
  • Automatically charge all students (including part-time and continuing education) student service and athletics fees with an opt out option during the first month of every semester. All students deserve to have access to facilities, and many make use of basic services anyways. The gym facilities have been renovated and allow for a greater number of students to be present at the same time… that being said, most students, including full-time students, pay for facilities with the intention of using them, but never do.
  • Install field turf on lower campus (field). This will 1) allow lower field to be rented out to community/student groups, 2) will reduce long term costs of reseeding the field every year.
  • Turn off all air conditioning/ventilation/heating in all administrative offices/buildings between 11pm – 5am (except those housing labs/facilities with animals).
  • Offer 100- and 200-level math and science courses (Cal, 1 &2, Mechanics, Organic Chem etc.) through the Faculty of Science for individuals/prospective students seeking to complete prerequisite course requirements. Courses should be offered at night or on weekends. These courses, could be offered under the special student status category at a fixed rate (only available to Canadian/QC students) $500/course regardless of residency requirements—not unlike fixed fee rates for intensive French/English modules). Only students 23+ or with a previous bachelors should be permitted to enroll in such courses.
  • Charge a $50 appeal fee for students wishing to have their admission’s decision reconsidered on the basis of new information/grades; but waive fee for students who are successful in their appeals.
  • Charge additional fee (percentage of total fee) to process expedited requests i.e. on the spot transcripts ($5), same day diploma reprint $25—in addition to duplicate diploma charges, academic record requests $5 etc.
  • I might suggest that the University clearly establish what its mission is as a University and then evaluate each department/unit based on the overall mission of the University. Academic departments might be considered more mission critical than administrative departments for example. Three types of categories might be used to organize units in terms of their level of importance (comparatively) to other units. Once units have been categorized then each category should be asked to make proposed proportional cuts of a certain percentage. For example academic units (which might be considered mission critical) could be asked to cut their budgets by 3% while administrative departments might be asked to cut 5%. This type of a process helps the overall University evaluate its core mission as a University and allows for greater transparency in the process. The University of Washington underwent a similar process in 2009 when the state had implemented significant budget cuts. 
  • I was wondering if we can reduce costs by reducing Staff Office space used; therefore:
    • Reduced rental expenses for space we rent
    • Increased revenue by renting out space we own
  • We can reduce office space by :
    • Setting up certain positions to work permanently from home (i.e. call center employees)
    • Allowing 2 individuals to share the same desk and they alternate weeks in the office (i.e. 1 week they work from home & the next week they work in the office)
  • A salary freeze or even a modest cut (say 5%) would be acceptable rather than anything more violent. Large outfits (such as Eaton's) did this in lean times early in the 20th century to ensure that people did not lose their jobs.
  • Budgets for institutes and centres—which should be largely self-sustaining from external funding, external research grants, and donors anyway, if they're really any good—should be slashed.  Core missions—such as departments that do a lot of teaching—and academic staff salaries & merit (or else we'll start losing the best people, and morale will crash) should be protected insofar as possible.
  • I realize that suggestions from those lacking nuanced understanding of the situation are of limited value. I offer the following in that spirit. I would recommend that the costs associated with varsity sports be examined, and perhaps be eliminated until our fiscal situation improves. I say this not as a hater of sports, indeed I was a club team coach for many years. However varsity sports are rather far removed from our core mission. The physical health of our students and staff is more important—I am not suggesting closing athletic facilities.  
  • You know that we know about some of the outrageous spending and the benefits you impose upon upper management. I understand you must compete with the best schools but you cannot be giving those incentives! Please for our benefit, reduce those outrageous items and learn to intrinsically motivate upper management, I love being a part of the McGill community hopefully they will learn that can enjoy as much as me without money having to force them.
  • As a Quebec resident, I pay next to nothing for tuition. Although I appreciate this, I think it should be increased for everyone and more bursaries should be given to students who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Raise student fees (e.g. library usage, administration, class registration, use of online databases). The U of Chicago does this because there are certain tuition freezes they can't get around. If, for e.g., you charge everyone the cost of going to the library (heating, electricity, librarian's salary, software on computers etc...) or using administrative services, you could drastically increase revenues.  I understand that this is increasing tuition through the back door, but the Province is leaving no other option. 
  • To cut spending at McGill, maybe it is good to do something that the Quebec residents will feel the impact immediately: i) Lay off staffs; ii) suspend some programs; iii) Hold fund-raising across Canada etc.
  • Since the fundamental problem seems to be that we are tied to the provincial whims and they forbid us to raise tuition fees, has there been a serious study of the possibility of McGill becoming a private institution and making up the resulting deficit (from lack of provincial grants) by raising tuition.
  • It seems to me that the University consistently creates jobs at a higher level that are not required. Why not trim the fat there? Particularly at the VP levels. Learn how to make do with less bloat at the top.
  • Absorb all research funds and pool resources. Instead of allowing academics to spend their funds as they see fit, develop a system to more efficiently utilize the equipment that is already here. I do not understand why there are over 10 GC machines on the MacDonald campus alone, many of which are only occasionally used. Develop systems to share this equipment, and use the savings to cover shortfall elsewhere.
  • 10% salary cuts to all management remaining (above 60k annually) 
  • 10% salary cuts to academics.
  • Cut off services to emeritus academics.
  • Freeze Infrastructure repair/renovations. Basic maintenance only.
  • No new vehicle expenditures, maintenance only.
  • Disable all p-cards tied to operating funds.
  • I think the University should shut down for as many days as necessary to save the $19 million. The worst case scenario would be for us to send the signal that we can get by on the reduced funding, that we can "pull together and make it work." That'll just encourage them to think it's no big deal.
  • Before cutting at the department level and units; administration should look at the number of Associate Provosts, Management positions, etc., currently in central administration. We have become once again very top heavy (similar to the 1990s, when McGill had to cut positions across areas and freeze salary increases and job hiring).
  • People who come face to face with students and/or research or are ‘once removed’ should be ‘preserved’ over someone with little direct contribution to either of these mandates.
  • Cut athletic programs and varsity teams
  • We may need to consider trimming some services and putting some larger capital projects on hold.
    • Close outdated departments
    • Revamp senior administration (accountability)
    • Cut senior administration salary by 30% or more
    • Close OTT
    • Asset strip Engineering
    • Allow corporate sponsorship on campus, (buildings etc).
    • Remove ineffective administration at all levels
    • Freeze construction.
    • Charge bench fees for lab based studies.
  • How about closing the university for 2 weeks in the summer and imposing an across-the-board 5% pay cut? As others have noted, whatever we do must be visible and symbolic and this is something that would indeed be noticed. I can’t speak for the rest of the community but I would prefer this type of sacrifice over the prospects of losing people.
  • These are measures which ALL universities in Canada should adopt. Take a close look at the economic situation and act accordingly:
    • Reduce the number of students, especially in the Social Sciences (saturated market!) – develop Sciences, engineering, Medicine etc. with an accent on innovation!
    • Introduce anonymous examinations for admission into all programs and be stricter when you grade students during the academic years (this should go back to grade 1; still, universities can start the trend, elementary teachers’ unions and school boards are hopeless, not to mention provincial Ministries of Education).
    • Reduce number of professors – preferably keep those who can teach. Research can be complementary.
    • Reduce admin and support staff appropriately.
  • Cut the expensive rental of tents (e.g. for graduation), audio visual rentals and setup and catering. We have auditoriums and gyms that can be used, use what we have with regards to audio/visual/tech for events, cut out the expensive catering and offer a cheaper alternative if necessary.
  • Cancel all parties that are paid for by the university (e.g. DiGrappa's/Finance dept. family day held at the Mac Campus)
  • Remove the shuttle service between the campuses or charge enough for the service to make it self-sustainable and be profitable.
  • Remove all unnecessary services from Residences.
  • Close computer labs outside normal working hours. Reduce number of workstations in each lab. Increase student printing charges. Remove free wi-fi for students.
  • Reduce opening hours of campus services such as libraries, service point, and bookstores.

Make energy savings

  • Lower office and classroom temperatures.
  • Install programmable thermostats and motion-sensor lighting.
  • I would propose that instead of having a freezing 19°C in our offices in the summer that the University start saving money on such low and cold temperatures. We have to wear sweaters and sometimes coats against the high air conditioning. How about 24°C like it is done in other countries? I am sure that would save a good chunk of money and help the environment too.
  • Reduce heating to 17°C in all buildings after 5pm. Maintain daytime heating to no more than 19°C.

McGill community actions

  • I suggest that McGill in conjunction with all Quebec Universities organize a day of protest to show the government that University staff, faculty and students are outraged and united against the financial crisis the government is creating in the Universities. All Quebec Universities should shut down for one day, possibly the first or last day of the education summit to show our solidarity. Classes should be cancelled and not rescheduled. I know this may sound a bit radical as in the past few years we have had many protests against the University administration but it would bring the Universities and our difficulties into the spotlight and hopefully change the public's perception (in our favor hopefully). As a part-time student at McGill and a full-time administrative staff member I wish there was something the McGill community could do together to show our support.
  • As a university we need to show solidarity. In terms of necessary jobs cuts, we need to protect our academic mission. Cutting professors is an unacceptable choice.
  • We should unite as a community and publicize how these cuts will affect McGill.
  • We should have a dialogue with our students. Ultimately, through reductions in staff, the students will be the victims. We have to show it to them.
  • I think it’s fairly obvious to most departments that these cuts are just not feasible and I am fairly certain the other universities in Quebec are also reeling. I would like to suggest we protest the cuts. Whether or not the government knows what it is doing is an argument for another day but all of us together—the entire McGill community—faculty, administration, students, unionized and non-unionized support staff need to stand together and demand these cuts be rescinded. The alternatives are not acceptable.
  • With respect to cuts and measures aimed at personnel and personnel programs, every attempt should be made to ensure that cuts do not single out employee groups. You need to ensure employee groups, all with unique contractual agreements, are not pitted against each other.
  • I would also like to suggest that McGill work with other institutions of higher learning in Quebec to present a unified message to the public. Quebec society is our partner and if they do not see the value of higher education then it is incumbent on all institutions, regardless of strategic priorities, student populations or political leanings to work together to demonstrate why universities are worth paying for. This can be done first through a series of town halls held conjointly by senior administrators from (ideally) all five universities, and then through a series of actions where the administrations work together to figure out why we are in this current crisis. We need dialogue, research and action.
  • Time to organize mass demonstrations for early elections!
  • I was at one of the sessions last week and am shocked and dismayed at the news. I completed a Masters and a PhD at McGill and have been teaching in the department of ECP for the past 23 years. It is an existential moment for universities and in particular McGill with its reputation as being one of the strongest universities in the world. Assenting to these budget cuts is a message to the government that universities can do with less, and that we are in agreement with this drastic measure. If the universities go forward it will be the beginning of the end—the first line in what will many many more drastic measures to shift funds from education to other areas that the government deems more worthy. The university should resist the cuts—and perhaps collectively with other universities send a powerful message that this is outrageous and can’t be done.  Why doesn’t the McGill community rally together to express its concern. 
  • As the saying goes, “a single twig breaks easily, but a bundle of twigs is strong”. McGill needs to continue working with the other universities, united in opposing the government cuts in funding, and reinstatement of the increase in tuition fees should be put back on the table.  It seems that the government tends to back down when enough noise is being made.
  • I suggest an innovative way to have this issue addressed in writing with all members of the McGill community signing on the "bottom line." It might take a lot of paper and everyone's effort to address this issue formally in writing however, this will prove that we do not need to roam the streets and cause havoc to traffic in our area. We can work in harmony and do it the simple way. We can show the community that it is feasible to negotiate in good faith and address these issues in harmony rather than causing havoc to our fellow citizens. When all is signed, we can then send the members of the executive team to the Minister's front office and publicize our petition deposit addressing this very important issue. We can use all forms of social media to have this issue addressed as a start and get the community signing the petition right away!
  • Have you considered going to court? Also, perhaps this is the time to demonstrate, peacefully, to gain public support.
  • Maybe it’s time McGill thought about moving to Ontario.
  • Faculty lecturers likely provide more ‘bang for the dollar’ relative to many senior faculty who are ‘winding down’. In professional programs in the health sciences, it is often the faculty lecturer who is supporting the direct clinical supervision that many of the senior faculty members could not support owing to years away from direct clinical practice and supervision. 
  • My suggestion is not one that would help the funding situation on the short term but I believe that implementing a continuous improvement process where all levels of staff are involved would help bring solutions forward, without waiting for a crisis like we are in before every employee feel the need to contribute ideas. I know that some departments have gone through such exercises in the past few years but they tend to do it as a one-time event, which does not instill the habit of process/budget improvement because people don't see a need to keep going through the process.

Communicating the cuts

  • As a university we need to organize a strong external PR campaign against these cuts.
  • Given how abrupt these cuts are, we need to prepare for them and plan our budget around them. But the level of the cuts could be reduced if we have a good external media strategy. As a community we might not agree where the money should come from, but we all agree we need more money. With a good media strategy, in partnership with students, we should present a common face and fight the cuts.
  • We must approach this fight by using all tools of social media to our benefit and flood this government with our written displeasure and our non-acceptance of these measures. It is interesting to see how much the student movement was whitewashed by the PQ before the election but as soon as elected they appease them with a token gesture of eliminating the suggested tuition increase only to turn on them by forcing the Universities, in effect, to reduce services, equipment and top notch teaching talent that will be available to them. Too bad they are blind to that.
  • The overhang of this will last a long time, which is risky for the government. We have to show that the government’s position is a mistake. We have to show the real impact of these cuts. Make them public.
  • I would encourage us to find ways to get our message out to the public. The general public does not really understand what is at stake, and how much money the universities bring in to the province and how many people are employed. Certainly, how the tuition money is disbursed by the government (foreign student tuition not going to the school, the subsidies given students from the francophonie, etc.) is a mystery to many. Ideally, public information sessions would be joint events with our sister universities, but even making these presentations to the Quebec community, and certainly parents, might go some way in the public policy arena where this is being fought. I know that this would be creating more work for those who would have to organize, prepare and deliver the sessions, but I think they could really be helpful in terms of educating the public. I would be happy to support such an initiative.
  • I suggest that the University inform current students and alumni of the actions of this PQ with regard to universities. Start with social media and then the conventional media (CBC, Globe and Mail etc.)
  • From the April 2012 financial statements, McGill spent $721 million on salaries for twelve months. That is about $2.8 million per weekday. I propose that McGill close the University for, say, two days on April  29 and 30th. That will save approximately $5.6 million this fiscal year. More importantly, it will send a strong message to the government that their drastic measures call for equally drastic responses. I would encourage other universities to follow suit by closing their doors as well. With staff not at work on those two days, staff will be freed up to “march” on Quebec City. We could organize buses and a big protest movement. Black rectangular squares representing coffins can be affixed to our lapels. The media attention would be high. 
  • We need a public campaign to make sure every Quebec residents are aware what this government is doing and the consequence. We should lay out very details about the consequence. McGill should assembly a special team with experts in public relation and experts from each important disciplines. 
  • I was very distraught when The Reporter (the only newsworthy publication at McGill, in my opinion) stopped its printed distribution—yet, all the minor student papers are still stacked by the hundreds in the lobbies of every building on campus. Can we not make THOSE tabloids available online and stop the presses! The printing costs must be astronomical and the new generation reads everything online anyway.
  • I think it may be possible to have pressure applied from a third party group unaffiliated with the universities. The gist of this approach is to create an entity, much like a lobby in the US, that in unaffiliated with the universities that it strives to protect, and also whose activities the universities cannot be held responsible for, yet can impress real and consequential pressure on the government.
  • I suggest that we follow the students' lead and organize non-violent protests in the street. That got their attention before. Close the University for a day and organize rallies.
  • Have an “ugly sweater” event to bring media and student attention to the financial issues this irresponsible government has caused.
  • Modify cyclical review. We just learned that there will be cyclical review with external reviewers. I checked the web site, and was amazed at the job descriptions for the staff. Cyclical reviews have not been done in many years and during this time McGill's reputation has improved. For sure, it makes sense to review departments, programs, but this could be done using local talent and in a manner that is much more economical both in terms of time spent on the exercise and university resources.
  • Because personnel costs make up the great bulk of the McGill budget, some of the cuts will have to be borne by staff. As a (Full) Professor, I believe that those with the rank of (Full) Professor are better able to bear cuts in salary than those in junior academic ranks. Not only do (Full) Professors receive a substantially larger salary, but are also likely to be in a later phase of the family cycle with diminished costs. Whatever freeze or cut is made to the salaries of junior academic ranks, (Full) Professors should receive double the reduction, or twice the period of freeze. Under the current dire circumstances, perhaps alumni would be willing to step up and provide financial support to McGill through donation. Would a public campaign to "Save McGill" be appropriate at this time? 

Your comments:

Regarding Town Hall meeting

  • The Town Hall meetings are a very productive way to collectively communicate solutions.
  • I attended this morning’s 9 am session and appreciated the upfront presentation.  Although bitter to hear it is better that we address this sooner than later
  • Naturally I'm quite concerned about the financial (and political) situation now facing the University. I would first like to say that I appreciate the effort made by the Provost and others to hold Town Hall meetings on the subject; I attended the first such meeting this morning and found it quite substantive and informative.
  • Thank you for coming to speak with us. This is a very unpleasant business. In the course of this unpleasant situation, we have to think forward and prepare for when this will end, how we will come out of it. It is clear that in the future we will not have the funding we will need to meet our ambitions.

Students concerns

  • Cutting student aid would be most flammable with students, and therefore politically significant.
  • It is apparent that the government is trying to drive a wedge between students and rectors.
  • If students understand the potential impact of the cuts, they may be moved to make their opposition known to the government. Quebec students have proved their political strength over the years. Maybe they will mobilize again to save what education systems currently exists ... but they first need to understand the real implications.
  • Students are successful to come forth with a unified voice. So us, the universities, should also come forth and speak with a unified voice. We can’t let the government split us apart.
  • It is very clear to me that this Quebec government is trying very hard to do damages to education and research in Quebec.
  • I am a U0 Arts student here at McGill. I have big hopes for my future, and my plan is to pursue a double major in Economics and Political Science with Business and French minors. McGill was not my first choice—I had planned to continue my education state-side, but the extraordinarily high (~$50,000 a year) tuition rates at the institutions into which I had been accepted prevented me from doing so. In terms of finding the best school for higher education in Canada, there was only ever one choice for me: McGill, the only Canadian school to which I applied. Every single person I have talked to, be it a peer, former graduate, family friend, or even a passing acquaintance, has encouraged and approved of my decision to go here, and it is one I do not regret. I feared I would be lost among the many students here, but I have not once felt that the faculty and administration do not care about giving me the best education possible. I hope this will not change in light of the impending budget cuts—I know there will be no "right" way to cut programs, since someone will be affected and upset by the cut no matter where it is made. I must give my two cents' worth however: please do not underestimate the importance of maintaining a strong and diverse Arts program here at McGill. At least, please do not put more emphasis on saving one faculty more than another. All are equally important: I have met students from Management, Engineering, Sciences and Education, and all have their own unique perspectives and talents which balance out those of my Arts peers perfectly. Thank you very much for keeping us up to date—though I am at the bottom of the food chain this year,  I very much appreciate being kept up-to-date and informed about pressing administrative and institutional issues here on campus.
  • I am worried and keen to know how these cuts will directly affect my education as an undergraduate student.
  • The McGill organizational chart looks very top heavy with 11 deans. With no offence to the departments, I wonder why there is a Faculty of Religious Studies and a Dean (all with respective supports) for a total of 91 students (http://www.mcgill.ca/es/registration-statistics)? Why a Dean of Music when it is a School (no other school has a dean)? A Faculty of Dentistry and Dean with only 240 students? I am not even sure why there is a dean of libraries – not clear that there are even students in this department?

Staff concerns

  • If support staff are forced to take a pay cut we may lose our homes. I have been here 32 years and am still making less than $50,000. I cannot afford a cut, I have monetary commitments based on my current salary and I am still trying to recover from the strike.
  • Declining research funding (Federal and Provincial) has forced me to personally fund some of my laboratory research. It is a privilege to be a University professor. I have personally invested in my career and am quite prepared to continue to do so in order to stay in a career that has been my dream from my time as a student.
  • My suggestion would be to not accept these drastic cuts and fight this government in every possible democratic way, with demonstrations and support of other parties than the PQ. I would certainly not be willing to accept a salary cut for a government that has already in its first months raised taxes and doesn’t allow my children to go an English public school, although I pay taxes for it, as I pay taxes for the French school system with its high dropout rate and only one hour of English per week. And the money this government wants to save, goes to things not even 1/3 of the population is in favor of. I work hard for McGill, its students and for Quebec and Canada, and don’t deserve a salary cut for it.
  • Cutting faculty lecturers without cutting senior administration not good optics in light of top heavy nature of our organization.
  • I do not support ‘across the board’ cuts; not sure if senior administration tracks ‘productivity’ in any way but the ‘least productive’ would be a place to start cutting.
  • Please don’t do across the board salary cuts. Many people making under at least 50k can’t afford any cuts. 
  • If people are going to be laid off, it should be based on past performance evaluations. The first to go should be those who have gotten “needs improvement”, not the “leading” and “strong” performers, to minimize the impact on the department as much as possible.

Quebec and its universities

  • The budget cuts to the universities as well as the reductions in provincial research funds are political in nature. There is no pressing need to impose any of these Draconian measures except to present some political facade of budgetary conservatism. Quebec has been in debt and deeper in debt than any other province for years, so why is now the time to try and strangle the debt (which will take decades to manage) with such short-sighted and potentially damaging actions? The answer is simply that now is not the time. One can speculate on the reasons behind the government's actions but the reality is that this is a politically generated problem that requires a political response. While action must be taken to comply with the imposed cuts, there needs to be a strategic and focused political response in order to return the government to a more reasoned, justified and sustainable course.
  • How do we stop or make a dent in the notion or perception that McGill and/or other Quebec universities are either spending irresponsibly or are not able to budget. Is the solution to be more transparent? I believe this also needs to be reviewed so that the public’s perception is addressed. I would like you to know that I have enjoyed my many years as part of the McGill community and will continue to do my part to assist in whatever ways I can.
  • One has to ask themselves in all of this, what the Quebec government is ultimately trying to achieve with a $124 million cut to Universities. Is it merely an attempt to balance the Quebec budget? Is it intended to “trim the fat”? University’s owe it to students to provide a quality education. The average Quebecer wants to ensure that their tax dollars are well spent. Universities owe it to society to take a critical look at operations and economize if at all possible—while maintaining quality. This is our moral obligation to society.
  • If the government had waited for a new budgetary year, these cuts would still have been deeply unwise; as it is, they are also clearly incompetent in their cavalier disregard for any normal process. I recall people standing outside my office chanting “education is a right.” Where are they now, that their ideals have been so casually betrayed, to eviscerate the system that makes education possible? The way the government has proceeded has removed any normal duty of civility or restraint in the University’s response: I am glad the Provost and the Principal are speaking with blunt horror. As a whole community we should be looking for ways to take as dramatic a stance of resistance and non-compliance as we legally can. What color square should we wear? At the same time we should be careful to maintain solidarity, ensuring that damage and burden are not distributed unequally or irreparably.
  • The situation is still changing. Today (13 February), I heard on Radio Canada that the Ministry of Education is now planning to allow universities to increase their deficit and some of that increased deficit would be paid back in a new budget year. Given that this goverment has gone back on decisions (the latest, today, is the partial reinstatement of money cut for research), it makes it difficult to plan intelligently.
  • When I arrived at McGill three years after the 1995 referendum both Montreal and McGill were falling to pieces… infrastructure was horrible and there was a general sense of despair. However, with changes in the economy and a real modification of government priorities, which were by no means partisan (I believe they were initiated by the PQ), there was an incredible feeling of working together to overcome all obstacles and regain a place of pride and accomplishment. The city changed radically and suddenly it was an attractive place to live and work not only for Quebeckers, but for English Canadians, Americans and Europeans who grew to love what was happening here.
  • Sadly, in less than six months we have risked all that we have built and invested in here at McGill. Professors are to understand that we are clearly overfunded, and yet when we look abroad, our colleagues in other provinces or in other countries, are earning more money salary-wise and have considerably more resources available to them. If we lose our academic base we lose everything that McGill represents and McGill; the loss will be greatest for Quebec and Canada, since they will lose everything that they invested in to build over the last 12 years; rebuilding will not take 6 months! I simply cannot understand how a government can be so irresponsible and particularly so short-sighted, to cut funding in the sector that is most likely to drive innovation and economic well-being of our future generations. Something has to be done before Quebec undergoes a silent suicide at the hands of its new government; a suicide that many current McGill staff will not stick around to attend, but will sadly monitor from afar.
  • As someone who was in a unique administrative position at a US University when the economic downturn began and saw significant cuts to higher education, I believe a key lesson for University administrators is not to be scapegoated in the debate. Once members of the public and the Government can blame University officials as those to blame for excessive costs, the debate becomes about University officials and their pay as opposed to the real issue of staff layoffs, fewer academic support programs for students, and larger class sizes.
  • The demise of the Quebec University system (or its near-death experience) does not trouble a government who wishes to get to a balanced budget extremely rapidly so as to be able to call a referendum (not simply to please the students - unfortunately, our government will again have the students' vote for the referendum with the simple promise to give free tuition when she is able to be enriched by "all that money we are sending" to Ottawa.  The impossibility of deconstructing a sizeable portion of a University that took nearly two centuries to build up is the reason the Government should be given for McGill deciding to take a slower approach to meeting their unreasonable demands. Let the good faith show through, but let the Sword of Damocles (~$30 million) fall if it must (if they dare!). But let it be on the head of this Government. Show a steady and well-planned reduction in expenses, taking as much (but no more) time as is necessary and prudent. With each cut, let there be a pre-announcement, so that the Government (and community) can know clearly the consequences of each move, and by their silence inherit responsibility for the eventual damages. Also, I wonder if the student body can begin an initiative to make the community more aware of the situation McGill is being forced into by our government -an excellent use of a few thousand dollars of funds (student union funds, even! What irony).

McGill community

  • Everyone at McGill is loyal to the community, and there has to be a feeling that this will affect us from the bottom up: If you won’t take the hit, the person next to you will.
  • McGill really is a top employer in terms of the opportunities it provides. Most of us feel very proud to be working here.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of people to make a personal sacrifice to preserve the well-being of our institution.
  • Before this is applied to every Unit and Faculty, they should have a chance to brainstorm with their staff and come up with a scheme that works for them and has the least impact on their clients. People can be very creative if they are given a chance to be accountable.
  • How about putting out the call to all McGillians at large: let us turn this budget cut—this cowardly and despicable attack on our university—into a rallying cry for all of us. Let us each and everyone put on the Red Martlett—who never rests and is always in flight. 
  • As an alumni of the School of Social Work—I have been encouraged and supported by faculty and colleagues both at Wilson and the Centre for Continuing Studies to turn what was a long-time dream into an entirely new area of practice in the field of financial literacy—I would gladly donate from my earnings to see the same opportunities afforded other graduates.
  • As the mother of a Quebec-based McGill student—I was ready to pay the tuition increase when it was first announced—I would be happy to pay the same amount or more to ensure my son has access to the quality of education the McGill name stands for. 
  • The government’s position is obscene and aims to bribe the student community in order to build a future voting block. This is at best a short term vision which will condemn the very country that the PQ wants to build to a future of academic mediocrity. From the various pieces of information available from the media, it is clear that the government’s mind is already made up. University administrators must refrain from endorsing any sort of deal which will further weaken the quality of our excellent teaching institutions.
  • Je suis complètement accablé-Ҫa nous a pris 40 ans de sortir des années noires ombrées par l’église et un gouvernement archi-autoritaire pour d’arriver à un point dont nos institutions académiques font partie des meilleurs au monde… et six mois pour défaire tout ce qu’on a accompli-Bravo Pauline, mais vraiment Bravo! On sera obligé d’accepter la médiocrité à partir de cette année si le gouvernement continue à diriger de cette façon sans vision de l’avenir.
  • I realize this has been a successful dossier but given the urgency of the budget cuts it would be to put a freeze on the hiring of a new Deputy Provost Student Life and Learning. Life will be harder without this position but given the choice between cuts like this vs ones that have a direct impact on teaching and research it would be the right thing to do.
  • In academic circles we began to build both in personnel and in infrastructure through major paired investments provided by both the Federal and Provincial Governments, and science and engineering were priority targets to address the problem of building for the future technology-based economy. By 2010, McGill was again highly visible and a wonderful place to work and study…we went from 4/5th position in National university rankings to a perennial pole position—despite still being comparatively underfunded. McGill always punched above its weight!

Updated on Fri, 2013-03-01 16:43
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