Provincial government pulls $305 million plug
on three GTA university campus expansions
The GTA Construction Report staff writer
The Progressive Conservative
government has revoked funding for
three GTA university campus exten-
sions, including a $127.3 million
commitment for a York
University/Seneca College project in
Markham that was set to begin con-
struction by the end of the year.

The other two campuses can-
celled include a partnership be-
tween Wilfred Laurier University and
Conestoga College in Milton and
one in Brampton with Ryerson Uni-
versity and Sheridan College.

The latter two projects were to
receive $90 million each, bringing
the overall funding cancellation to
$305 million.

“We promised the people of On-
tario to restore accountability and
trust in Ontario’s finances,” training,
colleges and universities minister
Merilee Fullerton said in a state-
ment. “Part of that process means
making tough decisions about pro-
jects across Ontario.”
Markham and York Region offi-
cials indicated they hope to find a
way to continue the campus pro-
ject, with an original $253 million
budget. The City of Markham had
agreed to contribute land, with York
Region investing a further $25 mil-
lion. “York University is raising critical
funds for this important facility,”
York Region chair and CEO Wayne
Emmerson said in a statement.

The Globe and Mail quoted a
spokeswoman for Fullerton as say-
ing that the ministry is working with
the institutions to understand what
has been completed “and if there
are termination or reasonable wind-
down costs.”
“Our government would be will-
ing to consider a business case for
how these projects may proceed in
the absence of provincial capital
funding,” Stephanie Rae said.

In a joint statement, Seneca pres-
ident David Agnew and Rhonda
Lenton, York University’s president
and vice-chancellor, said the provin-
cial government informed them of
its “unexpected decision” late on
Oct. 23.

They said that the campus pro-
ject is “already well under way,”
with the design and development-
planning phase completed. “The
procurement process to secure a
construction firm is nearing comple-
tion and construction was set to
begin later this fall,” they wrote.

“We are committed to working
with all involved to determine if
there is a path forward that will still
meet the post-secondary needs of
York Region and its residents,” they
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Editor’s
column Your Construction
Construction Insurance
Your Insurance Leaders
Leaders For Over
For Over 30 35 Years.

Years. Mark Buckshon
President, Construction News
and Report Group of Companies
I’ll be on the road (and in the air) a fair bit more than usual
in the next month. There are trips to the West Coast (for an
annual Google summit and to visit family in Vancouver) and
to Toronto for the Buildings Show Nov. 28 to 30. Between
these two travel experiences, my wife and I are heading to
New York and then to Singapore, experiencing the longest
flight in the world - an 18.5 to 19 hour non-stop taking us al-
most literally half-way around the world. (With the 12-hour
time difference and the fact that New York is a bit more
north of the Equator from Singapore, the shortest route is
over the North Pole.)
Besides travel endurance bragging rights and some use-
ful (and exotic) experiences, can we learn anything about ef-
fective construction business management and marketing?
To answer the question, consider the communications
issue. Or more accurately, the non-issue. With an exception
of a few hours over the polar regions, the extremely long
Singapore Airlines flight provides Wi-Fi interconnect connec-
tivity. It isn’t super cheap or fast, but email will get through.

There’s no problem at Google headquarters in California, of
course – we’re expected to have our laptops on and tuned in
even as we conduct our business.

The Buildings Show is a different experience. When I’m
on the show exhibit floor, I’ll be without any Internet connec-
tivity, because the Metro Toronto Convention Centre uses its
monopoly to charge extremely high internet access fees.

This isn’t a total problem, because all you need to do is to
take the escalator one floor up and you are back in touch
with the world.

The second point relates to business management and
delegation. Our business isn’t very large and I do many jobs
that can be delegated. And fortunately, I have the ability to
enhance/increase the delegation level so that most of the
routine workload will be taken off my plate during the trav-
els. The final point relates to cost. These trips aren’t free but
they aren’t budget breakers. Google pays my costs to fly to
California and Vancouver in economy class, and I’m staying
with family in Vancouver. An $80 points ticket allows me to
fly home in business class – and I splurged on a paid up-
grade for the California flight; after all the trip is almost free
otherwise. With Singapore Airlines, premium economy seats are less
than $1,200 return, and we’ve found highly-rated hotels at
truly reasonable rates. We’ll stay at AirB&B places in Toronto,
keeping our costs down there, as well.

I think the main costs for this travel will be time and loca-
tion stress. However, the travel will likely induce some prof-
itable and creative ideas.

You can reach Mark Buckshon by email at
buckshon@constructionmarketingideas.com. He publishes a
regular blog at www.constructionmarketingideas.com.

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The GTA Construction Report – NOVEMBER 2018 – PAGE 3