For all the uncertainty around what the recent suspension of 29 Fleming College programs means for the future of the post-secondary institution, one thing remains crystal clear — those students affected by the cuts aren’t going quietly into the night.
On Tuesday (May 7), Fleming Frost campus students Emily Wakeham and Suzanne Mooser appeared before City of Kawartha Lakes councillors meeting at the committee level, asking that they consider and pass a resolution calling for the college’s reversal of the suspension of the programs.
Their appeal for councillors’ support comes as a Frost Student Action petition calling for the same continues to garner strong support, with more 3,150 signatures attained as of Wednesday afternoon (May 8).
Meanwhile, two other petitions remain active: one titled ‘Reinstate Environmental Technician/Technologist Programs at Fleming College’ and the other, launched by Fraserville based Iron Equipment, titled ‘Reinstate Heavy Equipment and Generator Technician Programs at Fleming College’. All three petitions are online at Change.org.
The plan is to eventually present the petitions to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Fleming College’s board of governors, and the college’s administration.
On April 23, staff and faculty of the affected programs were notified of the Fleming College board of governors’ decision to cut them. The following day, college president Maureen Adamson, in a prepared statement, confirmed that action, referencing “significant external events that have had an adverse effect on our college.”
Adamson pointed to the federal government-imposed cap on the number of international students coming to Ontario and the elimination of educational partnerships with the private sector as being the primary culprits.
In her address to City of Kawartha Lakes council, Wakeham noted that 15 of the 29 programs suspended were offered at the Frost campus in Lindsay.
“I understand that colleges are not within your jurisdiction,” she acknowledged.
“My purpose here today is to urge council for a resolution to keep these important programs at the Frost campus, and for the public to put pressure on the college for a reversal of its decision.”
Wakeham added that Adamson’s stated reasons for the “unprecedented” program cuts don’t make sense in light of which programs were actually suspended.
“The rationale does not fully justify the extent of these cuts. Even programs not open to international students, such as Conservation and Environmental Law Enforcement and Fish and Wildlife Technology, have been suspended. However, Advanced Water Systems, which primarily caters to international students, remains untouched.”
For the benefit of those councillors wondering if passing a resolution calling for a reversal of the college’s decision is within council’s purview, Wakeham laid out the effects the cuts will have on the City of Kawartha Lakes.
“For over five decades, Lindsay has thrived as a college town, experiencing benefits including economic spending, a more educated workforce, and accessible post-secondary education which has enriched the community and fuelled its growth,” she said.
Noting that the unions representing Fleming faculty and support staff estimate the loss of 1,200 students over the next two years as a result of the cuts, Wakeham said that will have ramifications.
“Students spend, on average, $20,000 a year in Lindsay. That’s tens of millions of dollars lost from the local economy. This will also have an impact on local businesses that rely on students to fill part-time positions, and losing such a large proportion of the Frost student population may result in small businesses closing.”
“Reduced program offerings will encourage residents to seek education elsewhere, hindering accessibility to post-secondary education. Having a wide variety of program offerings in town draws people from around Ontario. Suspending programs will push people out of Lindsay.”
Wakeham added the loss of the program also “jeopardizes the environmental stewardship of our region.”
“Graduates from these programs play a vital role in organizations like Kawartha Conservation, contributing to the preservation of our natural resources and the economic vitality of our community.”
“Without the expertise of these graduates, the sustainability and the beauty of the Kawartha Lakes is at risk, which contradicts the Kawartha Lakes strategic plan that emphasizes a healthy and growing economy, and aims to support environmental sustainability and resilience.”
As for the personal impact of the programs’ suspension, Wakeham said she was drawn to Fleming “because of the promise of a quality education.”
“It is really devastating that my time here has ended so suddenly. My plan was to continue here (at Fleming) for another year to take the Environmental Technology program, a continuation of the (Environmental) Technician diploma. However, that program was suspended after my acceptance.”
“I never would have come to Fleming had I known I would not be able to take a third year,” Wakeham added. “Many other students are in the same circumstance. This has completely disrupted our educational careers. We have signed year-long leases, turned down job prospects, and haven’t applied to other programs because our assumption was that our acceptances would be honoured by the college.”
Before the request for a resolution was deferred to the May 21st regular council meeting for a vote, Ward 5 Councillor Eric Smeaton said that while the programs’ suspension “is not municipal jurisdiction, it is certainly a municipal issue.”
Councillor Smeaton referenced an April 20th Fleming College open house that saw parents and prospective students tour the college, asking Wakeham and Mooser if they’re aware of any students who signed a lease for accommodation only to hear that their programs had been cut.
“I am in that situation,” replied Mooser.
“I was planning on returning to the Environmental Technology program. I actually signed a year-long lease and moved into a house already. Everyone I’m living with, and many others, are in the same boat.”
Meanwhile, Ward 2 Councillor Pat Warren asked for clarification of the college’s contention that the elimination of educational partnerships with the private sector is a factor in their decision.
Wakeham couldn’t provide a definitive answer but Marcia Steeves, the president of OPSEU/SEPFO Local 351 that represents full-time and part-time Fleming support staff, has since shed some light on that via an email to kawarthaNOW.
“Like 14 other colleges in Ontario, Fleming College entered into an approved Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Trebas Institute in 2022 to create Fleming College Toronto,” she wrote.
“The partnership provided the private partner (Trebas) with the ability to run a facility with Fleming College branding, offering specific Fleming College programs to mainly international students in the GTA. The college benefits financially from this partnership, and like many other underfunded Ontario colleges, found this as a way to grow.”
“The IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) announcements in January regarding international student immigration caps also removed the ability of new international students studying at private colleges to obtain graduate work permits for the next two years.”
“This along with the overall caps on international students at Fleming College will mean a large decrease in the number of international students attending Fleming College and Fleming College Toronto,” Steeves wrote. “These are the reasons the college has given for needing to make these unprecedented cuts, though, at the Frost campus, the majority of the programs being cut are believed to be mainly domestic student programs.”
As for Wakeham and Mooser, Kawartha Lakes Mayor Doug Elmslie thanked the students for their “very articulate, very thought-out, and very well-presented” deputation and invited them to return to the May 21st meeting to observe council’s discussion of the issue.
Watch kawarthaNOW for more updates to this story as they become available.
