On May 7th, students from Fleming College’s Frost Campus in Lindsay presented a deputation at the City of Kawartha Lakes Committee Meeting of the Whole to urge council to “look for a resolution to keep these important programs at the college’s Lindsay-based Frost Campus, and for the public to put pressure on the college for a reversal of their decision.”

The delegation is in response to an April 24 announcement in which Fleming College president Maureen Adamson announced the suspension of 29 programs, citing the recent federal cap on international students and the “elimination of educational private partnerships” as cause for the suspensions. 15 of the 29 courses took place at Fleming’s Frost Campus. 

The students who put forward the deputation, Emily Wakeham and Suzanne Mooser, noted that their delegation comes at a time of widespread public outrage following the announcement, citing an online petition to reverse the suspended programs.

Wakeham acknowledged the college’s reasoning behind the suspension of these programs, but questioned the connection between the extent of the losses and the rationale behind the college’s decision. 

“The lack of transparency surrounding the decision-making process has left students and faculty questioning the integrity of these decisions,” Wakeham said.

Notably, programs that are exclusive to domestic students such as Conservation and Environmental Law Enforcement, and Fish and Wildlife Technology were included in the cuts. 

As Fleming College’s Frost Campus specializes in environmental education, Wakeham also stated that these suspensions not only undermine the integrity of the college, but further “jeopardizes the number of qualified people working for the growing environmental and natural resource sector.”

Wakeham continued by outlining the importance of the Frost Campus to Lindsay’s economic growth and development. 

She cited numbers from students who tracked their yearly spending, and estimated that the average Frost Campus student spends $20,000 per year in Lindsay. These cuts, she implied, could result in an estimated financial loss of $24 million to the region.

“Losing such a large portion of the student population at Frost Campus may result in small businesses closing which would be a major loss for the community,” Wakeham stated. 

Additionally, Wakeham spoke to the loss of student jobs and the increased pressure on the community to search for external employment, citing the 2018 Fleming economic fact check sheet which states that 1 in every 18 jobs in Central Eastern Ontario is filled by Fleming College students or graduates.

“Having a widespread variety of program offerings in town draws people from around Ontario—suspending half of these programs will force people out of Lindsay,” Wakeham said.

Wakeham also spoke to her personal experience studying at the Frost Campus, sharing that she was drawn to Lindsay by its charm and “promise of quality education.” 

But her plans next year to enroll in a fifth semester of the Environmental Technology program and the continuation of the technician diploma were disrupted when this program was included in the list of programs to be cut—contradicting President Adamson’s claim that no current students would be affected by the suspensions.

“I never would have come to Fleming had I known I would not have the opportunity to take a third year,” Wakeham said. “Many other students are in the same circumstances. This has completely disrupted our educational careers.”

Notably, Wakeham also shared to council that several students—including herself and Mooser—signed year-long leases before the suspension announcement in addition to turning down job offers “as our assumption was that our acceptances would be honoured by the college.”

Councillor Eric Smeaton thanked Wakeham and Mooser, and emphasized that though this is not municipal jurisdiction “it is certainly a municipal issue.” He added that the Urban Forestry program, General Arts and Sciences program, and Heavy Equipment program—all of which were suspended—have “an extremely high domestic student enrollment.”

Councillor Dan Joyce also echoed the urgency of the potential consequences the City of Lindsay will face as a result of these cuts. 

“It’s only a matter of time until another college picks up the programs and we lose [the economic growth] here in Kawartha Lakes…we’ll really have to put our heads together on what we can do to save this,” he said. 

The deputation was unanimously received for information and plans to combat the suspensions will be discussed further at the Regular Council Meeting on May 21st.

After the deputation, Arthur spoke with Wakeham and Mooser further on their hopes for the future in the wake of the suspensions.

Mooser stated that she is happy with how the deputation went, and stressed the importance of understanding all the moving factors that come as a consequence of a decision like this, but hopes they were able to stress a sense of urgency to the matter given the short time alloted for the delegation. 

“It was kind of difficult putting everything into a five minute presentation,” she said.

The pair shared their hopes in encouraging more students to use their voice in a show of solidarity, and wants to gain municipal support for their cause. Additionally, they shared they had reached out to various MPs who encouraged them to gain support outside of the student body to “greatly help our case.”