An Ontario University Is Reportedly Millions Of Dollars In Debt & Needs 'Drastic Action'

The president of Laurentian University announced today that the university has filed for creditor protection and is facing "unprecedented financial challenges."

Ontario has assigned a special advisor to support the university, which is now insolvent, according to the school's president, Dr. Robert Haché.

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Our financial health is currently amongst the weakest in the province compared to other universities. Dr. Robert Haché

In a statement, Dr. Haché said the university's dire financial situation stems from the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people living in Sudbury, and 2019's domestic tuition reduction and freeze.

But he added that day-to-day operations at the university will not be affected.

As of April 2020, Laurentian University had recorded millions of dollars of losses in four of the last five years.

And CTV reports that the university is facing approximately $200 million of debt, prompting the decision to seek creditor protection.

The situation is serious enough that the provincial government has assigned a special advisor to oversee a financial and operational restructuring.

It’s an “unprecedented situation” requiring "drastic and immediate action," the government said in a release, and they will consider various options to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

“[This] could include introducing legislation to ensure the province has greater oversight of university finances and to better protect the interest of students and Ontario taxpayers,” the release states.

“The government wants to ensure this issue does not repeat itself in other institutions in the postsecondary educational sector."