Daily Bulletin, Wednesday, March 1, 1995

THE BUDGET (1):  As the front page of today's Gazette reports, the
senate finance committee meets this afternoon to talk about the UW
budget for 1995-96, and how to deal with a projected deficit from this
year that needs to be wiped out next year.  The meeting starts at
1:30 p.m. in Needles Hall 3001.

THE BUDGET (2):  More figures are on hand from the federal budget that
was brought down on Monday by finance minister Paul Martin.  The Association
of Universities and Colleges of Canada says it has been looking through
the fine print, especially about research funding:

     Despite both the recommendation of the House of Commons Standing
     Committee on Finance not to cut granting council budgets and the
     on-going work on developing a Science and Technology Strategy,
     the three granting council budgets will be cut over the next
     three years -- the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
     Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
     by 14 percent and the Medical Research Council by 10 percent.
     Moreover, it appears that the Networks of Centres of Excellence
     program has been included in the councils' reference levels,
     thereby making them susceptible to budget cuts as well.

     It will be up to the granting councils themselves to determine
     where the cuts are to be made.  NSERC has already indicated that it
     plans to hasten the phase-out of programs slated for termination.

As for the projected cuts to federal-provincial transfer payments -- the
source from which much of universities' basic funding comes -- the AUCC
has this not-surprising comment:

     The estimated $7 billion decrease over the next three years in
     federal cash transfers to support social programs raises serious
     concerns about the ability of all provinces to provide accessible,
     high quality postsecondary education. . . .  There are tough times
     ahead for Canada's universities.

STARTING WORK:  UW officials and VIPs will break ground this afternoon for
the $3 million addition to the Optometry building.  Some of the money is
coming from the federal-provincial "infrastructure" job creation program
-- hence the presence of representatives from both levels of government --
and some from private donors, especially optometrists and the optical
industry.  This afternoon's ceremony starts at 2:15 p.m. in the faculty
and staff lounge on the third floor of the existing building.

BLUE CROSS is no more, at least in Ontario.  It's been taken over by an
American firm, Liberty Mutual, and starting as of last Thursday, claims
from faculty and staff under UW's health and drug plan were being settled
by cheques from Liberty Mutual instead of the familiar Blue Cross.  There's
no change to the plan itself, says Tricia Loveday of the UW human
resources department -- only the colour of the cheque is new.

HAPPENING TODAY:  A "student exchange information session" runs from
2 to 3 p.m. today in Math and Computer room 5158.  Anybody interested in
a mathematics student exchange -- with Germany, Hungary, Australia, France, 
Austria, or maybe just another part of Canada -- is welcome to drop by
and find out more.

The sky is clear (March is coming in more or less lamblike), so it should
be a good evening for star-watching.  UW's observatory, atop the Physics
building, has its monthly open house tonight, starting at 7:00.  Anyone
interested should meet at Physics room 313.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
888-4567 ext. 3004      credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca