Ten universities are projecting deficits totalling $175 million this year and that’s set to grow to $273 million next year, said Steve Orsini, CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. He told The Logic his members are in a “perfect storm” of provincially ordered cuts to tuition, caps to funding for domestic students, voluntary reductions in international enrolments and retroactive pay hikes for staff. (The Logic)

Talking point: “If the tuition freeze continues, more and more universities will find themselves in financial distress, and that’s going to put more pressure on the system to cut in areas that the economy desperately needs,” said Orsini, a former head of Ontario’s public service. At Queen’s University, provost Matthew Evans told a contentious staff meeting in December that he’s “concerned about the survival of this institution” because it could run out of money in two years and six Ontario universities are “close to bankruptcy.” Orsini said he couldn’t corroborate that.