On Monday June 13, 2016, Premier Kathleen Wynne shuffled her cabinet and appointed Deb Matthews as the new Minister of Advanced Education and Skills. This new portfolio absorbs the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, and will play a coordinating role with skills and training programs operated within other ministries.
Minister Matthews was previously the Chair of the Treasury Board, and she remains Deputy Premier and Chair of Cabinet. In addition to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills, Minister Matthews has also been given responsibility for the new Digital Government portfolio. In a statement by the government, Matthews will use her new responsibilities to lead Ontario’s “transition to a knowledge-based economy.”
OCUFA looks forward to working with Minister Matthews as we continue our work to address key issues in the university sector, including reviewing the university funding model; addressing the rise of precarious work in our universities; developing a new higher education internationalization strategy; addressing sexual violence on campus; and working on the development of a university sector multi-employer jointly-sponsored pension plan (the University Pensions Project).
OCUFA staff is currently working on scheduling a meeting with Minister Matthews, where we hope to learn more about her priorities and goals in the university sector.