Ontario's colleges and universities need to be more accountable for the taxpayers' dollars that support them, says Premier Dalton McGuinty, warning that his government is not getting enough bang for its investment in higher education.
During his six years in office, Mr. McGuinty has made education one of his highest priorities, directing billions in new funding to Ontario campuses, including a $310-million infusion in this year's budget to add 20,000 new university and college spaces.
But beyond higher enrolment numbers, postsecondary institutions have not delivered the same kind of results as elementary and secondary schools, which have used their funding to hire more teachers and develop special programs to engage students, Mr. McGuinty told The Globe and Mail's editorial board on Friday.
"Can I honestly say that I have got qualitative improvement as a result of these investments? I don't think so, and we need to talk about that," he said. "We have not demanded the same kinds of accountability that we have with our hospitals and elementary and secondary schools."
Mr. McGuinty is looking at taking on the cherished principle of academic freedom as his government attempts to erase a $21.3-billion deficit. He is ushering in a new era of restraint that includes wage freezes for non-unionized public-sector workers, proposed pay-for-performance measures for top executives of hospitals and other provincial entities, and a review of Crown assets.
If the government does sell off any assets, a decision that Mr. McGuinty stressed on Friday is very much "up in the air," he would reinvest the proceeds in such things as postsecondary education, rather than paying down the deficit.
But he is not about to rush out and sell off the province's lottery corporation, liquor retailer or any other asset unless he can strike a deal that stands the test of time. Mr. McGuinty said he doesn't want future generations to look back and accuse his government of "burning the furniture to stay warm today."
The review of taxpayer-owned companies, including the provincial lottery corporation, the electricity-generation company, the power-distribution company and the retail monopoly on liquor sales, is part and parcel of his plans to kick-start the ailing economy.
"I'm not looking for a quick fix here," he said. "This is not about generating a quick buck."
Government officials are examining whether they should just allow economic forces to play themselves out, and wait for Canada's largest province to slowly emerge from the deepest recession in decades, or help it "leap forward" by selling assets, he said.
The classroom is the centrepiece of Mr. McGuinty's five-year plan to return Canada's one-time economic engine to prosperity. It calls for building on the backs of a new generation of workers trained for the highly skilled jobs that will supplant those on assembly lines.
But at a time when his government needs to push harder to wring value out of every dollar it invests, Mr. McGuinty intends to put those who run the province's hospitals, postsecondary institutions and other public entities on a shorter leash.
He said he needs to have "honest conversations" in the coming months with university and college campus leaders about what they can expect in return for the funding they receive.
"There is this issue of academic independence," he said. "I think we are going to have to come to grips with that in a 21st-century kind of way if we are going to continue to be the principle funders for our colleges and universities."
The government also plans to introduce pay-for-performance rules that would link a hospital chief executive officer's salary to the institution's mortality rate and patient satisfaction. Mr. McGuinty is looking at expanding the concept to the top executives of every Crown corporation and agency in the province.
"I think we've got to take a look at some of the salaries we're giving to senior executives in the public sector," he said. "I'm talking about more than a freeze."