Dear Minister Chambers,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read the material MPP Jeff Leal forwarded to you and for taking the time to respond with your letter of September 22, 2004 (pdf copy attached).

I was pleased that you specifically noted that the Government of Ontario is committed to openness, transparency, accessibility and, importantly, accountability. It has obviously not escaped your notice that our Ontario universities are not obliged in law to the same standard of openness, transparency, accessibility or accountability as other public institutions even though they receive in excess of 2 billion of taxpayer dollars annually.

I was pleased also to note the formation of the Postsecondary Review lead by Mr. Bob Rae. I see from the description of the Review on the official website that indeed accountability forms a focus (emphasis added);

"As part of the review process, the Advisor will engage Ontarians in discussions to help define higher expectations for our higher education system, and to develop a plan that gets us to a higher-quality, affordable and accountable postsecondary education system. The Review will focus on the opportunity for all Ontarians that higher education represents, as well as the need for us to allow both individuals and institutions to aspire to and achieve excellence."

I have attached for your review and comment a copy of a very short submission with three accountability recommendations that I have submitted to the Review. I plan to attend the Review's town hall meeting when it arrives in Peterborough on November 22, 2004.

Thank you again.

Best regards...

ps: please have your staff contact me if there are any difficulties with the attached documents.
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Ken Brown