tario Budget 2001 : BUDGET PROVIDES CERTAINTY IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

TORONTO — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty today announced in the Ontario Budget certainty for students - and their parents - through one of the largest investments ever made in Ontario's postsecondary education system.

"We will increase our support for colleges and universities by a projected $293 million by 2003- 04," Flaherty said.

This significant investment will address anticipated enrolment increases resulting from secondary school reform, demographic factors and the increasing number of students choosing to attend college and university.

"These are landmark events in our education system," Flaherty said. "They demand a landmark response."

The government has already provided more than $1 billion through the SuperBuild Corporation, to expand and modernize post-secondary facilities, creating more than 73,000 new spaces for students. Together with its partners, the government will invest a total of $1.8 billion, the largest capital investment in post-secondary education in 30 years.

"We must continue to find creative ways to educate our young people, to prepare them for the working world beyond college and university, and pinpoint the skills they need to get a job and provide courses that teach those skills," Flaherty said.

Flaherty also announced $60 million to start a new and innovative post-secondary institution, the Ontario Institute of Technology (OIT), in Durham Region. This university will focus on preparing students for careers that call for both practical skills and theoretical grounding. It will provide them with the skills they need to find jobs and contribute to their local economy.

"Building growth in our economy requires an investment in our people and our young people are perhaps our biggest resource," said Flaherty. "This government has invested strongly in the wellbeing of children and young people - from the moment they take their first steps to the day they start their first job," he added.

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For more information visit www.fin.gov.on.ca