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鈥淯niversities are at a breaking point now with years of declining real, per-student funding,鈥� Orsini said in a telephone interview before speaking to the province鈥檚 pre-budget consultation held Tuesday in Oakville.

Pressure is coming from several fronts, he added, whether it be tuition cuts and freezes imposed by the province, unexpected pandemic-related expenses, or the additional salary costs they face given the raises employees are receiving to make up for the wage-capping Bill 124, which has been declared unconstitutional. (So far, schools have paid out $335 million.)

Universities are 鈥渄emonstrating that we鈥檙e doing our part in belt-tightening, and we are committed to finding efficiencies,鈥� said Orsini. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e at the point where you can鈥檛 tighten your belt any further without cutting into services. That鈥檚 the concern we have right now.鈥�

Students could see fewer services such as mental health supports or career counselling, or in incubation development programs or extracurricular activities, added Orsini, who is the council鈥檚 president and CEO.

鈥淲e鈥檙e now seeing universities pull back in these important areas that are really critical to student success.鈥�

Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop has said the province needs to ensure schools are operating efficiently before it will boost their budgets or allow tuition fees to increase.

A blue-ribbon panel she struck recommended an immediate 10 per cent funding increase to universities and a five per cent tuition fee increase for this fall.

Shortly after taking office in 2018, the Ford government slashed tuition fees by 10 per cent and has frozen them since.

The blue ribbon panel did say that while staff salaries were among the lowest in the country on a per-student basis, there was 鈥渃onsiderable room for improvement鈥� in administrative costs, including space and other non-labour areas.

Provincial grants for schools have dropped more than 30 per cent since 2006-07, and universities have taken in 20,000 more Ontario students than they are funded for, the council has said.

A spokesperson for Dunlop said the government is 鈥渃arefully reviewing the Blue Ribbon Panel鈥檚 recommendations as we focus on creating a sustainable path forward,鈥� which will include funding and tuition levels for this fall.

鈥淲e look forward to continuing the work with colleges and universities to ensure the post-secondary education sector remains financially stable and focused on providing the best student experience possible,鈥� said Liz Tuomi, Dunlop鈥檚 press secretary and senior communications adviser.

New Democrat MPP Peggy Sattler, her party’s post-secondary education critic, said last November聽 that “the University of Waterloo will end this year with a $15-million operating budget deficit,” and noted others such as Queen鈥檚 University and Wilfrid Laurier were also in the red.

“The University of Guelph has reported budget deficits for three consecutive years,” she said.

Deficits mean ”program cuts and hiring freezes, hurting students and undermining the quality of university education,” she has warned.