Faurschou blames tuition freeze for research station closure

University says that’s only part of problem

Posted By Rob Swystun, The Daily Graphic

Updated 2 months ago

The NDP government's years-long tuition freeze is the reason the University of Manitoba has to close the Delta Marsh Field Station this winter, a local politician contends.

"I'm gravely concerned as to the field station's future," Portage la Prairie MLA David Faurschou said.

Faurschou said because the University of Manitoba has not been able to raise its tuition over the last 10 years, it has had to cut programs and services, just as other post–secondary institutions in the province have had to do. The Delta Marsh Field Station has fallen victims to these cutbacks.

The U of M announced last week it would be closing the research station located along the southern shore of Lake Manitoba for the winter and reopening it in spring after looking at ways to run the facility more efficiently.

But Faurschou had a far more dire prediction for the future of the facility.

"I believe it will not reopen," he stated.

But it's impossible to say the tuition freeze was directly responsible for the field station's closure, said John Danakas, director of public affairs for the U of M.

"The university's larger financial challenges are certainly connected to the issues around the tuition freeze," the public affairs director said.

rswystun@cpheraldleader.com

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