Milton mayor will continue work to get Laurier-Conestoga campus
Milton, Ont. mayor Gord Krantz says he's not planning to walk away from attracting a satellite Wilfrid Laurier University-Conestoga College campus to his city after the province announced Tuesday it would pull funding from the project.
"I'm in it to win it," Krantz told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. "I mean to have this facility be put in Milton."
Krantz and the university had been working to implement a campus in Milton for the past decade.
He adds the city has over 180 hectares set aside for the Milton Education Village and planned to give Laurier 40 of those hectares for the new facility.
In April the province announced it would put $90 million toward the project.
Tuesday's announcement to pull funding also affected two other GTA joint campuses: the York University-Seneca College campus in Markham and a Ryerson University-Sheridan College campus in Brampton.
Work continues
Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and Krantz are all committed to continue the project.
Conestoga College president John Tibbits told CBC he was not surprised with the government's decision, adding that it could be an opportunity to explore how to better implement a joint campus in Milton.
If I have to wait another year so be it.- Milton mayor Gord Krantz
Deborah Dubenofsky, vice-president of finance and administration at Laurier said they have reached out to the ministry to discuss potential next steps.
"We will be looking to meet with the ministry in the coming weeks to start a discussion about a path to start moving forward," Dubenofsky said.
"The government has indicated that they are willing to entertain a business case."
Krantz said his work with Laurier will continue and he is hopeful to have the matter resolved.
"Anything that is worthwhile is sometimes worth waiting for and I've been waiting 10 years for this, so if I have to wait another year so be it. It'll still be worthwhile in the long run," he said.