HEARST— The Canadian government has announced $5.7 million in funding to support two major projects at the Université de Hearst.
The Minister of Official Languages, and, Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, along with Marc Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, and the Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities, announced more than $5.7 million in funding for two major projects at the Université de Hearst.
This announcement represents a significant investment in support of the Université de Hearst in Ontario.
Over the next three years, the Government of Canada is investing nearly $1.9 million to help the Université de Hearst enhance its academic program offerings and to boost its reputation as an institution operated by Francophones for Francophones. This funding will also be used to hire faculty and develop a mental health and wellness strategy aimed at student retention and success. For its part, the Université de Hearst is investing more than $1.1 million in this project over three years, with support from the Ontario government.
"To ensure the long-term survival of French, we must continue to invest in post-secondary institutions in official language minority communities. During Francophonie Month, we are proud to reiterate our support for post-secondary institutions and invest in innovative projects that will attract the most talented and give them a quality education in their own language." stated, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
An additional $887,500 investment from the Government of Canada will allow for renovations to several rooms and spaces, which will encourage learning and better meet the needs of a growing student body. The Université de Hearst, supported by the Ontario government, is investing more than $1.8 million to this project over two years.
"The funding announced today for these two projects is significant. Modernizing the Université de Hearst's infrastructure will allow it to enhance its profile as a post-secondary institution of choice. The funding will also stabilize and support the university's development by welcoming international students and strengthening the support services available to them. This is another concrete measure that demonstrates our support for access to quality education so that Francophone students can pursue rewarding careers and contribute to Canadian society,” shared Marc G. Serré, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages.
Luc Bussières, Rector, Université de Hearst, shared his appreciation of this announcement. "L'Université de Hearst appreciates this very significant supplemental financial support announced today by the federal and Ontario governments. It allows us to first stabilize and consolidate our financial situation, while developing and enriching our programs and support services to better serve our growing and increasingly diverse student body. L'Université de Hearst has offered French programs in Northern Ontario for 70 years. The increased enrolment in the last eight years, combined with our signature educational approach and use of technology, means we must modernize the facilities dedicated to learning on our Hearst campus. Today's announcement comes at an ideal time and allows us to compete the financial arrangements needed to carry out this infrastructure project. Our entire university community will soon realize the benefits.”
The Honourable Jill Dunlop, Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities, spoke of the important role Université de Hearst plays in providing students with access to French-language studies in northern Ontario, and that the Ontario government knows this.
“This is why we have taken recent steps to establish Hearst as an independent university with degree-granting authority. We're proud to continue our support of Hearst with funding for enhanced facilities that will ensure collaborative and innovative learning, and support for mental health initiatives that will ultimately help students succeed in their studies."
In 2021, the Government of Ontario issued an autonomous charter for the Université de Hearst, making it the second fully French-language university in Ontario.
On March 1, 2022, the Government of Canada introduced an enhanced bill promoting the substantive equality of Canada's official languages, in order to adapt the Official Languages Act to a changing society. Among other objectives, the bill aims to address the decline of French in Canada, clarify and strengthen the section of the Official Languages Act dealing with the promotion of official languages and support official language minority communities.
Both projects, announced today, are funded under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction (2020-2021 to 2022-2023).