Students and staff at Nova Scotia Community College campuses across the province hit the streets Wednesday, hoping to raise awareness of a $9.4-million cut to the college’s operating grant and asking to have the funding reinstated.

Adrian Wilson, an instructor in the adult learning program who’s with the Atlantic Academic Union, took part in a noon-hour rally in Sydney and said the cut will mean up to 60 job losses every year for the next four years.

“At the end of the four-year period, we would be down about 230 jobs and we have about 200 employees at Sydney Waterfront Campus, so it’d be about the equivalent of losing a campus, a large campus,” he said, adding the cut will hurt students and the province as a whole.

“We consider ourselves a critical part of the economy and our students are out there building buildings and staffing hospitals and doing all that stuff, so if we have less to work with, then we just can’t contribute as much.”

Wilson said a big concern is that no one knows yet how the cuts will land or who will be affected.

April Weatherbee, a student in the adult learning program, is trying to earn enough credits to get into a paramedic course.

“Being in this program is life-changing for me and my family, and for once in my life I’m actually really happy and I feel like things are going good,” she said. “I’m terrified that these cuts are going to take all that away from us.”

Ryan Campbell, the student association president at the Sydney Waterfront Campus, said some cuts are already shortening programs.

“Compressing courses is just ruining their overall learning ability, ruining student flexibility with programs, especially people that are coming back [who] may have family or kids,” he said.

“They’ll get less time at home, more time stuck focusing at work trying to complete it in such a short time span.”

Campbell also said students are worried about the impact on instructors.

“The staff here has been nothing but supportive, so it’s just sad to see them have to go through something like this.”

The draft budget released last month is still working its way through the legislature and the government has already rescinded some of its earlier cuts.

In an email, the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration said despite the cut in operating funding to NSCC, the province increased spending on colleges this year.

“This year’s provincial budget includes $196.4 million to support NSCC operations and the province is also investing $25 million over five years to modernize training equipment and learning environments so students have access to the tools and facilities they need to succeed,” the department said.

Province looking for administrative savings

The email went on to say that public entities including NSCC had been asked to find “efficiencies, with a focus on administrative savings rather than training delivery.”

“Funding continues to support trades training, student programs and college operations across the province, and there are no provincial decisions directing cuts to specific programs or campuses,” the email said.

NSCC said in an email that it is working to balance its upcoming budget to include the operating grant cut — with an expectation to reduce staffing by three per cent.

“The college’s [acting president] has committed to approach this work with thoughtfulness and care for the full college community as we place our mission and the success of our students at the centre of this work,” the college said.

“This includes ensuring changes support the continued delivery of relevant, high-quality programming and services.”

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