Ontario universities, such as the University of Waterloo, have two primary sources of revenue – tuition and grant payments from the provincial government.Nicole Osborne/The Canadian Press

Jeffrey Casello is a professor of planning and engineering at the University of Waterloo.

As a university professor, and former administrator, I believe unequivocally in the value of postsecondary education. Students and alumni from the University of Waterloo have produced companies valued at more than US$40-billion, creating jobs and prosperity. Faculty members at Waterloo have built this culture of transformation and innovation. Strengthened by nearly $300-million in annual externally funded research, nearly all my colleagues are committed to creating and sharing knowledge, mentoring students, and preparing them for rewarding careers and futures.

But Waterloo, and other Ontario universities, are in an intractable financial situation, and a politically viable solution is badly needed – not to protect our institutions but to maintain opportunities for our students. Ontario universities have two primary sources of revenue – tuition and grant payments from the provincial government. In 2019, the government cut tuition by 10 per cent and has since held it constant. Grant funding per student hasn’t increased for two decades. Combined, university revenues (when adjusting for inflation) have decreased by 25 per cent in the past decade. With

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