Matt Barter

On October 25th, 2023, Matt Barter participated in a segment on CBC’s show On The Go with Anthony Germain. See below a transcript of the episode:

Anthony Germain: Long before the Auditor General placed MUN under her microscope, there was a student who was constantly raising questions about how Memorial University spends its money. Matt Barter also was the first to shine the spotlight on tens of thousands of dollars the former president spent on renos and redecorating her office, and some of that was highlighted in Monday’s Auditor General’s report, and Matt Barter joins me now in the studio. Good afternoon.

Matt Barter: Good afternoon. Thanks for having me.

AG: So, Matt, when you first read the Auditor General’s report, what did you make of it?

MB: My first reaction was I knew it was going to be bad, but I wasn’t expecting it to be really, really bad, which it is.

AG: Were there certain parts that surprised you?

MB: There were some parts in it I actually published on my website like the executive search firms, the head-hunting firms like after each search had taken place, I would publish the amount on my website, and the Auditor General reported the total amount is $1.1 million.

AG: Yeah, so that’s right. I forgot you had actually posted about the head-hunters, too, and the executive searches. Now Dr. Neil Bose, who’s the president, as you know, since Vianne Timmons left under the circumstances under which she left, he told us yesterday that they’re really going to limit the use of those firms, maybe not for the top job, for example, who’s going to replace him. Does that satisfy some of your concerns about the way they spend?

MB: Well, no it doesn’t because the top job for president not only is the issue with the head-hunting firm, the final candidates, they don’t have to make a presentation to the MUN community like the other positions do. Even the Vice-President of Grenfell the recent search for that that was open, and they had presentations, but for the MUN president position, that has not been the case in the past and unfortunately, it don’t look like they’re going to change that, and I actually published on my website the amount they spent when Vianne Timmons got it that search which was $150,000 to a head-hunting firm.

AG: So that’s just to find the new president?

MB: Yes.

AG: What do you make of the argument, Matt, though, that in terms of universities and really that campus just behind us here on University Avenue, that’s almost like its own city, right. I mean, it’s a big economy driver, it’s a big multimillion-dollar business, we found out this week that Vianne Timmons apparently had very little oversight for decisions about $190 million the non-operating funds. Isn’t there a case to be made that look if you’re going to be hiring a CEO who’s going to be in charge of that kind of money and those kinds of decisions, you gotta spend $100,000 to scour the world to find the best person.

MB: First of all, I don’t think MUN should be seen as a business, or the top position should be seen as a CEO. I think universities should be for the public good and operate as such, but even if you look at the search for Timmons, I don’t think paying all that money made any difference regarding who applied. I think that if all they did was put out an ad, I think it would have been the same end result and like Vianne Timmons was interested in the position, it would have been the same end result either way.

AG: When you saw the section about the furniture and the redecorating did you feel, I don’t know, I’m not sure vindication is the right word, but how did you feel cause you must know “hey, that’s the stuff I was trying to get people to care about.”

MB: You know I feel vindication, the whole report is vindicating. With regards to Dr. Timmons’s office renovations, I published all of that information on my website.

AG: Ages ago.

MB: Yes, ages ago, but it was actually MHA Barry Petten, the Education Critic he actually said that number in the House of Assembly that she spent around $60,000 on office renovations and then I published all the information online. People would often say that administrative bloat is not that big of an issue overall at MUN because, as you said, it’s a huge institution. There’s hundreds of millions of dollars at play here so if the president spent $60,000 on office renovations, that’s just like nitpicking, you know, and same with the other examples I brought up with the executive search firms, and people would say like you know this is small overall but with the entire report now we found that administrative bloat is actually an issue across the entire institution and especially with administrative compensation and benefits.

AG: And also, I guess these things, you know, there’s a death of a thousand cuts. These things start to add up right.

MB: They do add up, and the compensation for management positions and administrative positions is well above the comparison in the public service. Do you know which universities the Auditor General compared it to?

AG: No, and that’s the problem.

MB: So why didn’t you ask the Auditor General that?

AG: That’s an excellent question, and in hindsight, Mr. Barter, I wish I had I don’t think she would tell me. I think she was looking at some sort of average of what comparable universities are, but that’s a good point we don’t know exactly what universities, and perhaps if I get another crack at her, I’ll ask her that. I think the Auditor General was trying to say in terms of value for tax dollars, if you look at an ADM, who’s usually a pretty smart high-ranking person who knows their stuff she’s trying to find what she thinks is comparable, comparable work within the public purse I think that’s the point she’s making but coming back to the administrative rate, you’re a student, you’re a Poli Sci, Political Science student. You’re almost going to graduate, I’m sure MUN is looking forward to the day you graduate. Although I don’t think you’re going to stop doing what you’re doing.

MB: My lawyer actually joked with them and said, “If you want to get rid of your Matt Barter problem, just give him the credits he needs.”

AG: Give him a degree to get rid of him and not an honorary degree. I’m glad you managed to keep your humour because I know you’re involved in a legal dispute with MUN, which we can come back to in some other future interview, but I want to ask you because people tend to forget you started to become a real pain in their neck because of tuition right and as you were protesting the increase in tuition you started filing these access-to-information requests and find these nuggets, these embarrassing nuggets and I don’t think they actually knew what to do about you. Do we have to think about this in terms of the tuition increase because I was thinking as a student if I was reading the Auditor General’s report, I’m thinking so my tuition is going up to pay the highest administrative costs in the country.

MB: Usually when there’s tuition increases that tuition money will go towards bettering the institution rather that be for teaching, into making more course offerings or into the infrastructure.

AG: Fixing the buildings, getting profs.

MB: But no, the tuition is not doing that at all, most of it is being spent for administrative positions and MUN has actually created a number of new administrative positions at a time when they’re not financially well off like they’ve created a Vice-President of External Relations well over $200,000, they’ve increased the salary of the Provost by $50,000. They’ve created a Vice-President of Equity office is her and now four or five employees like the number of administrative positions, top administrative positions that were created during Vianne Timmons’s term it was actually fairly significant at a time when they should be trying to cut down on spending at the top.

AG: Right and try and actually streamline because you raise a good point the Vice-Presidents salaries are one thing, but the Vice-Presidents also have their own staff and other employees. Let me ask you this, one last question to wind this down because I know you keep filing these access-to-information requests. One of your most recent access requests was about panic buttons. Tell me about that.

MB: So I filed an ATIPP request for the number of panic buttons on campus and their locations and the dates they were installed, and MUN their response to that was we’re denying access to the information, we’re not releasing due to security concerns, so then I filed another ATIPP request and I just requested the total number and they did release that and it was 350 total panic buttons that been installed on campus.

AG: Now, just to be clear, someone listening, what’s a panic button? What’s it for?

MB: It’s for security purposes. They said a panic button is usually in an office somewhere that somebody can press if there’s a situation where they feel unsafe or if a conversation got really heated or something.

AG: Or an intruder.

MB: Yes, or an intruder.

AG: Okay so they hit the panic button and?

MB: So, it’s not like they hit the panic button, and the floor opens up, and somebody goes down through no it’s not that.

AG: Okay, so it rings an alarm with Campus Enforcement, and then Campus Enforcement presumably would know they need to go to this building, this classroom or office because they’ve hit a panic button. Did they say how much they were?

MB: No, I filed another ATIPP request for costs I’m hoping they will release that.

AG: Okay, to give you an idea. Alright, well, I’m sure they’ve been hitting the panic button a couple of times this week ever since the Auditor General’s report.

MB: The access request I actually filed yesterday with regards to the bonuses and special payments that were by the Genesis Centre and C-Core because that was redacted from the Auditor General’s report. So, I filed for that, and if MUN refuses it, I’m going to appeal it to the Commissioner, and if MUN still don’t release it then I’m going to take them to the Supreme Court.

AG: Alright, well, you obviously got your strategy building already. Now I think those were redacted I think because the entities, so that’s The Works, C-Core.

MB: The Daycare.

AG: The daycare, there are bonuses that were alluded to in the report, but yeah, you’re right, they’re redacted, they were blacked out, so we don’t know. Alright, so listen, you have a certain gleam in your eye. I’m glad you’re not filing access requests on me or anybody else that I know. Matt Barter, good to see you again. Thanks for coming in, and good luck with your graduation. You’re finally going to graduate, I’m sure that MUN will be the very first to congratulate you. Thanks for coming in.

MB: No problem, thank you.

AG: Matt Barter is a MUN Political Science student, he’s protested tuition increases, shined a light on numerous access-to-information requests that he’s filed over the years that looked into how Memorial spends its money.