Owning it in public, worrying in private

And Deputy Ministers shuffle

ABOVE THE FOLD

Premier DOUG FORD is owning his government’s patronage appointments and making a stony-faced repeal of his unconstitutional wage-cap law — but first, there’s cash for colleges incoming. Here’s what we know so far.

BIG CASH ON CAMPUS — Later this afternoon, Colleges and Universities Minister JILL DUNLOP is expected to drop specifics on the heavily-teased funding for the post-secondary sector.

Spoiler alert: The Tories already leaked the news — $1.2 billion over the next three years that will be doled out to schools based on their level of need. That’s roughly half of what colleges and universities are asking for.

A drop in the bucket: Sources previously told me the cash won’t be enough to cover the losses expected from Ottawa’s international student cap and Ontario’s ongoing tuition freeze (Ford isn’t budging on the latter). Another source suggested universities will get a bigger slice of the pie compared to colleges.

“It’s going to be a disaster” added one industry-conn…