BRAMPTON Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon on Wednesday applauded Brampton City Council’s decision to ratify $150 million in funding for the new Ryerson University campus as historic.
The staff report was received by City Council for ratification and was approved unanimously.
As per the report, $100 million of the funding will go towards a city-owned, state-of-the-art, joint-use centre for education, innovation and collaboration in the downtown core, and $50 million over 10 years directly towards the post-secondary facility for Ryerson.
“This is a game changer for our city’s economy and the future of our youth,” said
Dhillon, a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee tasked to establish the university in Brampton. “With the new campus, and Brampton’s downtown being located in the Province’s new Innovation Corridor, we will now be able to tap into our City’s true potential.”
Similar to Silicon Valley with technology, the Innovation Corridor will span 100 km between Toronto, Brampton and Waterloo, and has been identified as a new global centre for research and innovation, with Brampton being located directly at the midpoint.
“Along with my June 2016 motion to increase Brampton’s job forecast by up to 25,000 jobs, and being a catalyst for job growth, the University will not only have a significant educational impact, but an economic one as well,” said Dhillon. “We will potentially see $220 million in on-going economic impact, thousands of jobs created, additional youth employment, and $18.3 million in visitor spending annually.”
Dhillon also stated that though Council “had achieved its goal to attract and invest in the new University”, the $90 million allotted by the Province is “not nearly enough funding for a city of Brampton’s size,” and that the City will continue the negotiations to receive its fair share.