Ontario unions say struggling colleges can be lifeboat through economic turmoil [Video]

A coalition of labour groups is the latest to call on the Ford government to spend more on Ontario’s public colleges as part of a tariff response strategy, saying the training they provide is key to reducing economic reliance on the United States.

On Monday, union leaders took to Queen’s Park to make their pitch to “save” Ontario’s college sector, linking the struggling institutions to Canada’s trade war with the United States.

“How well Ontario can weather this storm depends on our college system, a system that is crumbling under provincial neglect,” said JP Hornick, president of OPSEU, which represents 45,000 college support and faculty staff.

“Our colleges touch every sector in every corner of the province yet we are seeing access to education shrink at a time when we desperately need to expand upon it.”

The request is similar to a pleamade by Colleges Ontario, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Ontario Universities last …