Facing a $6.5M deficit, Confederation College takes heat over suspension of culinary program
At town hall meeting, community members in Thunder Bay, Ont., question school's decision
Eve Roy says she was drawn to Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont., by the smaller class sizes and supportive learning environment.
That's why the first-year culinary management student says she was surprised when the school announced the program is one of 11 being suspended in the fall.
"The teachers are amazing. They're really cool. They teach a lot. They're really professional and they're down to earth. My classmates are amazing," said Roy, who came to the northwestern Ontario city from Ottawa.
Roy was one of about 80 people who packed the college's Dibaajimogamig lecture hall on Monday night. The name translates to "the place where stories are told."
The session was scheduled to last an hour but lasted nearly two hours, with more than a dozen people posing questions to senior college staff.
Graduates of the program shared what they went on to do in the industry. Former teachers talked about the impact of giving back. Prominent members of the restaurant and hotel industries expressed concerns about staffing shortages. Meanwhile, a Grade 11 student shared she had been planning to enrol in the program since the seventh grade.
A member of one of the college's own advisory committees said they learned about the program suspension through the media, while another person questioned the lack of consultation with Indigenous people over the decision.
"On the positive side, it is incredible to see this amount of support come out of the woodwork. For us to come in here and talk on a Monday night about this and really push the boundaries of what we thought we could do is amazing," said Pete Middaugh, executive chef at the city's Valhalla Hotel.
Middaugh is behind an online petition aimed at keeping the culinary management program open.
"The fact that we saw 2,200 [signatures] in a relatively short period of time really speaks to how important this program is to the community at large and to its businesses and its people that live here," he said.
While several people pushed back against the reasoning behind the college's decision — a decline in domestic enrolment and international study permits — the school committed to exploring options for keeping culinary education in place, even if that means in alternative formats.
The college said no staff layoffs have been announced in connection with the program suspensions. However, it has seen a 50 per cent uptake on its voluntary retirement incentive plan. There's also been a hiring pause and vacancies are being held, senior staff shared during a presentation at the town hall.
"I'm hoping to engage with an even broader group of people beyond just the program advisory committee," said Richard Gemmill, dean for the school of business, hospitality and media arts at the college.
"Hoping to get more voices to that table to help inform us as to what that community need is and how we can respond to that need in a meaningful way that is financially viable for the institution."
Growing deficit, declining enrolment
Confederation College is facing a $6.5-million deficit, said Aaron Skillen, vice-president academic. The culinary management program saw more than $330,000 in losses last year.
There were 52 students in the program in 2024. Of those, 28 were international students.
Now, with the federal government capping the number of international study permits across the country, Confederation College is expecting 40 per cent fewer international students this fall compared to 2023.
Domestic enrolment has declined by 30 per cent over the last decade, according to Skillen.
"We're in a set of circumstances where we are greatly impacted by some federal policy, certainly the IRCC [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] decisions throughout 2024 have created a new reality in the post-secondary sector across the country, and certainly here in Ontario," said Skillen.
The IRCC has also introduced new post-graduate work permit eligibility, which only 27 of the college's programs qualify for; the culinary management program isn't one of them.
Alternative options, advocacy
Pushed by the town hall participants, Gemmill committed to look into what a different culinary diploma program might look like in the future, but couldn't make any promises as far as timelines.
"I think we're at the point now where we need to look at what type of program is required and how can we build that up, from the ground up, to respond to that need," he said. "I'm optimistic that we can do that with the proper consultation with the proper community members."
For Middaugh, the answer lies with the people in the industries most affected.
"I would like to see them make an announcement that they're gonna continue the program, but they're gonna take more recommendation[s] from the culinary community at large, and that the program is going to maybe be evolved to make sense for all shareholders," he said.
"It's got to make sense to the college. It's got to make sense to the restaurants and everything else that goes into it, it's not just one party."
In the meantime, the college is looking into offering more cook apprenticeships, contract and corporate training, and micro-credentials to help support the food industry.
With the federal election on April 28, Skillen said the college is continuing to advocate to both the provincial and federal governments for more support, especially when it comes to meeting the community's labour needs.
Ultimately, he said, the town hall's high turnout "signals to me exactly how we feel about the program as being a high-quality one, one that's met a labour market need in the past."
"[There is] certainly a real desire to say, 'How can we continue to meet that local and regional labour market need going forward?'"
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