Well, the Laurentian saga continues to develop in interesting ways and the latest developments are part of the rescue package by the provincial government. Better late than never one supposes though doing things late often leads to additional complications. Obviously, Laurentian and the province are trying to make up for what they failed to do earlier on given the preliminary report of the provincial Auditor General concluded that Laurentian did not need to file for CCAA protection.
There is a detailed document related to the return to court May 30th, but briefly the package for Laurentian to date is $35 million in operating money, COVID-19 funding of up to $6 million and up to $22 million dollars in funds to compensate for the drop in enrollment. Incidentally, applications from high school are down 43.5 percent. However, on top of all this, the provincial government is offering to buy $53.5 billion worth of Laurentian University’s real estate – namely land or buildings.
Laurentian is apparently asking the province to put the buildings of the newly independent NOSM University at the top of the list which would be 60 percent of the Health Services Education Resource Centre and the Medical School/NOSM building. Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM University's President, Vice Chancellor and CEO, and one of the most powerful physicians in Canada, said she has not been privy to any discussions around the province's proposed purchase of Laurentian real estate. But then Dr. Verma apparently was also not initially aware the province was going to make NOSM a university either. However, lack of awareness has not stopped her from suggesting that it would be ideal if land adjacent to the two building was also part of the deal to accommodate “expansion.” Nimbleness of narrative is an obvious requirement for broader public sector CEOs these days.
So, what to make of all this? Well, for those worried about provincial government intrusion into university management, becoming a university’s landlord is definitely going to be an interesting development. If a market based rent is charged, there will be claims of gouging. If a very low or zero rent is charged, then it will be seen as a unique and special subsidy and one suspects other medical schools in the province not to mention other universities will raise the issue. And, as for the $22 million dollars to compensate for an enrollment drop, that also sends another message from the province. The provincial government was obviously sufficiently rattled by the prospect of a university going bankrupt on its watch that it is making a major effort now. Can other universities also count on the same assistance should their enrolment drop without having to wait for bankruptcy proceedings? After all, to almost lose one university is unfortunate but having several go would suggest a disregard bordering on carelessness, neglect and other things we teach our children to avoid.
The final interesting message is for Thunder Bay and Lakehead University. Let us be clear. There is no danger of NOSM leaving Thunder Bay or the northwest. At the same time, should NOSM acquire convenient expansion space near its Sudbury site, the odds are the bulk of expansion is going to go into the Sudbury campus with Thunder Bay becoming a satellite in endless orbit around its Sudbury star. Needless to say, such projections of potential outcome will be dismissed as the delusions of yet another tenured university faculty member with no real world experience. I say, you have been served notice.
