SBoT CEO gives education funding low marks

SURREY — While the president of Simon Fraser University (SFU) gave a speech tailored around Surrey’s prospective and potential economic growth, the Surrey Board of Trade’s chief executive officer is ready to start sounding alarm bells when it comes to government economic stimulus in the region.

“I would wager to say that we’re in crisis mode,” said CEO Anita Huberman during a meeting at Eaglequest Golf Course in Surrey April 1.

Huberman and the Board of Trade were hosting SFU president Andrew Petter, whose speech outlined the economic benefits to Surrey of SFU’s Central City campus. However, Huberman said the provincial government needs to shift its mindset when it comes to her city.

“The main hurdle is that Surrey, especially by the B.C. government, is not being taken seriously when it comes to investment in the city,” she added.

“We are a growing population – 1,200 people a month. A third of our population is under the age of 19. By 2025 another million people are going to be moving to this South Fraser region, whereas Vancouver’s population is consistent; Victoria’s is consistent. And they get more funding for their education institutes and their K [Kindergarten] to [Grade] 12 educational institutes than Surrey does. It’s 30% more, sometimes 40%.”

Petter said SFU’s Central City campus, located on King George Boulevard in a busy residential and commercial hub, and next to a Skytrain stop, is stealing a page from overseas.

“European universities traditionally were in the centre of the community and we kind of drifted away from that in Canada,” he added. “We’ve put universities on top of mountains or out in peninsulas, but in the case of Surrey the university is very much at the heart of this emerging city centre. Its presence in the community helped to energize that entire development so it’s really exciting to be an engine for the development of Surrey.”

Petter also spoke about the looming labour shortage, which he broke down into two categories: short-term in the skilled trades sector, while long-term for knowledge-based, tech-driven businesses.

SFU also has a unique problem, he added. While some university campuses in the province are hurting when it comes to enrolment, the opposite is true for SFU.

“We see other places where institutes are having difficulty filling spaces in post secondary whereas here at SFU we’re having to turn away an increasing number of students at all of our campuses. But this is particularly driven by the growth in Surrey.”

But the city will never reach its full potential unless the province steps up to the bat and delivers much-needed funding to institutions such as SFU, added Huberman.

“The province is wanting to balance their budget and they don’t want to be in deficit. And I completely understand that, but they need to relook at reallocating dollars to Surrey. Take it away from areas that don’t need it, like Vancouver and Victoria.”

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