A healthy, financially sustainable university system is vital to Ontario’s economic and social well-being, David Lindsay, president of the Council of Ontario Universities, said in response to the provincial budget released Thursday.

“With a shared goal to make Ontario competitive and open for business, Ontario’s universities appreciate the government’s acknowledgment of the role that talent and innovation can play in driving economic growth,” Lindsay said in a statement issued April 11.

“Our institutions continue to leverage bold ideas to achieve financial sustainability and to help Ontario remain globally competitive.”

In a section titled “Building an Innovative and Sustainable Postsecondary Sector,” the budget laid out a vision of restoring accountability to Ontario’s postsecondary education system to ensure that publicly assisted postsecondary institutions are providing the positive economic outcomes the students and people of Ontario need, as well as training people for the jobs of the future.

Read the entire statement from the Council of Ontario Universities.