The University of Alberta is laying off more than 60 custodial staff and contracting out their jobs after significant budget cuts from the UCP government.

The U of A is shrinking. The UCP cut the base operating grant by 25 per cent or $170 million, leading to a massive restructuring campaign and 800 staff positions eliminated. And more cuts are planned.

In discussion, was the financial benefits provided to the region by the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College, and how funding cuts by the province in Budget 2021 have impacted the economy.

The University of Calgary is proposing a three per cent wage rollback for more than 5,000 support staff in contentious contract negotiations, in part due to UCP funding cuts.

Some domestic University of Calgary students could see tuition hikes as high as 32 per cent in fall 2022, with even steeper increases proposed for international students, due UCP funding cuts.

A new contract for non-academic staff at UAlberta proposes retroactive wage rollbacks and staff to repay “overpayments.” The salary cuts range from 0.3 to 25.9 per cent with 3 per cent an across-the-board.

Due to UCP cuts to post-secondary, tuition increases will range from 17 per cent to 104 per cent in some programs. Some students will face further barriers to accessing affordable education.

Post-secondary education is a vital cog in economic recovery and future prosperity of this province and the UCP cuts in Budget 2021 will be an economic circuit-breaker for Alberta’s economy.

University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan says that school will be facing a $60.1-million cut, almost one half of the total post-secondary slashing down by the UCP in the latest provincial budget.