The Ontario government is cutting universities a break. They are giving them time to balance their pension plans by amending the Pension Benefits Act to grant universities a special exemption which gives them up to ten years to tackle their pension deficits.

The exemption comes with a catch though. In return for reprieve, the government is asking universities to submit a plan to the Ministry of Finance on how they plan to make their pension plans sustainable. Once they do, they will get a three-year reprieve.

A recent DBRS report of universities that issue bonds provided the following figures:

• University of Toronto: $748 million
• McMaster University: $373 million
• University of Guelph: $165 million
• York University: $95 million
• Laurier: $27 million
• Windsor: $23 million
• Brock: $4 million
• Queen’s: $3 million