i4

,esponsible, professional le who are vitally

into post-secondary education in the Maritimes join us in our opposition to this recent trend which 9,ill, if left und‘lecked, zeverse the progress that has been made in post— gecondary education over' the past twenty years.

The Commission has in successive financial

plans warned government of the consequences of the funding cutbacks which have been imposed, but gm/enmtent has refused to listen. M.P.H.E.C. funding

is very disturbing in itSelf, since you are the experts who know what university requirements

are; but even more disturb— ing to us is the manner in which the Camissicn has accepted without question

or complaint govemment funding which you know

very well will cause serious hardship to ,the

very institutions Which you are delegated to protect.

We were amazed to read the financial plan just recently released, in which the. Cannission outlined very clearly the plight of universities today, and - then recommended a funding increase of 9.5%, which is slightly more than half

the increase which the institutions required to merely maintain their present level of operation. Way is such a contradiction contained in the report?

he universities require a funding increase far in' excess of 9.5%. Why was it not recommended? We cannot Understand why yOu, as ‘ "Embers of the Oatmissim, would deliberately impose cutbacks on the institutions

When you know very well that government is doing qllite well on its own.

We; as students, are the people most affected by cutbacks, but behind us

are a host of others: fa1<=ulty members whose Salaries are the lowest in' country, suppOrt staff who find themselves faced with low wages and 1nSUfficient supplies, serVice staff who are being f0reed to make do with less equlPIIent and supplied

than necessary, and 'strators who find them-

,STUDEN

selves at wit's end trying to cope with planning and management. 'Ihese people are with us when we ask

you to do your best to resist pressure and intimidation from government and listenmore to us — the people most concerned with post-secondary education.

We understand very well the difficult position in whidu the Commission finds itself, but we are asking for your support in our efforts to convince government that their present course of actim is a dangerous one - me that must be stopped. Students are U.P.E.I. have accepted government funding cutbad<s with few questions in the past. The time has come, however, for us to stand up and make ourselves heard. The future looks very bleak, and we are not willing to see the present trends continue. Neither are our fellow students in our neighbouring provinces. The situation has progressed beyond the point where quiet tolerance can be justified.

Finally, I would like to impress upon you that our concern for post—secondary education is not entirely selfish. (h the ccntrary, it: reflects ,a yery great ,

give .

problems which will continue to become more acute as the 20th century draws to a close. There will be no hope for achieving peaceful solutions to these problems unless we have the ability, the expertise, the methods, and the desire to find solutions. We will require a population that must be educated as never before. Or, if you prefer a more limited scale, the Maritime Provinces, as

partners in the Dominion

of Canada, must continue to develop a regional ‘ identity, a regional intellect and a regional purpose if we are to improve our position in this country. All these necessities can best be achieved if we have sufficient native intell- igence and ability in the region to describe our alternatives and plot the best course to their realization. But regardless ofwhether one is concerned with global, national, or regional problems, the unavoidable truth is that in future years we will require the ability and intellect that only a university experience can The future of our '

v ' ‘ . I V I r \ ‘ . rv f ' .. ' [hut -' Mr. X 1%,

anxiety about the future of our society, and what our role may be in determining what type of world we will live in. Our society is rapidly approaching an end as we know it, like it or not. V Global problems such as the disappearance of conventional energy supplies, the growing power and demands of the emercinc Third World countries, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and generating facilities, contimed population growth are all

. - ‘%1 w_ 'H “\OM I sue your son is planning to go to college]! ‘

society depends upon it. The stakes are much larger than whether or not we,~ as students, may find jobs when we graduate, and by imposing such drastic cut— backs on universities and colleges government is " exhibiting an extremely dangerous, Short-sighted and narrow-minded train of thought which demonstrat demonstrates their inability to see beyond tomorrow, and. to realize the full consequences of their actions. Butmve

. consequences.

T's VIEWS m THE ‘ MPHEC

can see beyond tatorrow, and we can guess at the The 20th century belcngs to us.

We are the generation that will lead Canada our of this century and into the next; we are the' generation whose heritage will be to find solutions to problems of such immense importance

and such vast scale

that they have never seen? equals. We expect that our society and its present leaders will do everything possible to assist us in our efforts to ensure that we are prepared and capable of shouldering the very great burden which will be our inheritance in the years to come.

Excuse me, please, if I sound a bit lofty and pompous, but it is time to sit up and take notice of where we are headed.

We can no longer live from day to day, ignoring the difficult problems, and continue to believe that the present world order has been ordained by God. It has not; and it will change. Unless we are prepared to accept the future and adapt to it, we will be left behind. There is no way to prepare our society for the let century other than to ensure that our intellect has

been expanded, our perspective broadened, and our abilities developed to the point where we are capable of understanding our cm society, and the society of others. Oily then will peaceful solutions be found. Will our society be equal to the task which it will soon face? that is the question which must be answered now, and that answer will be reflected in social policy. We know what answer we must put forth. We ask you to support us, and make your concerns understood by the legislators who govern us today.

In closing, I Would like to thank the members of the Commission for giving us this opportunity to make our views known to you. Please consider seriously some of the points which we have made. We sincerely hope that sure of the concerns expressed here today will be reflected in efforts on your part to modify Commission policy and, through such efforts, regional government policy.

Thank you.