Laurentian University’s board of governors approved the institutions first post-insolvency budget on April 28
“I said to someone the other day, it's like we're operating within a fenced perimeter with handcuffs,” he said. “At the same time, we've got the court monitors still watching what we're doing, with the province watching very closely. So we have limits on what we can do. With the 2023-2024 budget now approved by Laurentian’s board, it now has to be presented to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
“Yes, of course we’re pleased to see the 34.5 positions,” but he said he would have liked to see the budget correct concessions imposed on LUFA through the CCAA, including a salary cut and freeze and furlough days for professors who were not terminated. Bangs, the board chair, said that as this is the first post-CCAA budget at LU, “not everything is going to be addressed in one fell swoop,” adding that the university is very much still in a state of transition.
Beyond the hiring referenced above, Laurentian also plans to spend $8.4 million on deferred maintenance in 2023-2024, which includes $300,000 to explore repairing the long-shuttered Jeno Tihanyi Pool. Laurentian’s predicted $8.2 million 2023-24 surplus is more than the $4.9 million it predicted in a financial plan submitted to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities as part of a long-term borrowing agreement with the province.
That includes $1 million for ongoing fees and expenses related to the aftermath of Laurentian’s restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act , including paying for lawyers.