Dawson board holds special meeting, with support from French colleges, after provincial snub

Dawson College's board of governors is planning its strategy in the wake of the province's sudden decision to cancel the CEGEP's long-planned $100-million expansion.

A special meeting Wednesday night is dedicated to the topic, and the board will hold a press conference Thursday morning to announce its plans.

The project was abruptly shelved late last month when the province decided it wanted to focus on "francophone" students, but Dawson's leaders are joined by the head of a French-language CEGEP, Nathalie Vallée, Director General of Collège Ahuntsic.

Vallée is also the head of the Regroupement des cégeps de Montréal (RCM), a coalition of Montreal-area colleges. Christina Parsons, a spokesperson for Dawson, said that Vallée is at the meeting to support Dawson because it is a member of the RCM.

The college's expansion was in the works for seven years. Part of the question now facing the college is, of course, how to deal with its space crunch.

The expansion would have added the equivalent of 10 floors from an average office tower. The need for more space was recognized by the Education Ministry a decade ago, noted a release from the board of governors.

However, the college doesn't seem to be certain the project is dead, with the board's statement referring to "recent statements from the Government of Quebec about possibly cancelling the new healthcare pavilion project."

--With files from CTV's Andrew Brennan