With Pride celebrations taking place around the world this month, it is an important opportunity to recognize the challenges faced by members of the LGBTQ2S community in the fight for equity. It is a moment to celebrate the victories that have been won and to focus on the work that remains to be done to […]
Posts from June 2016
OCUFA welcomed the announcement on June 20 that Finance Ministers have reached an agreement on modest expansion to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). University professors and academic librarians have long supported the expansion of public pensions to provide dignity and a decent standard of life in retirement. A commitment to CPP expansion means that plans for an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan […]
On Thursday, June 23, 2016, the Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel released its final report . The panel was created to help Ontario’s workforce, “adapt to the demands of a technology-driven knowledge economy.” Not surprisingly, the report contains multiple recommendations with implications for the province’s universities. The report recognizes that good work is already being done […]
On June 13, 2016, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) ruled that part-time support staff at Ontario’s 24 public community colleges will vote on whether to join the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). According to OPSEU, this will be the largest representation vote in Canadian history. “This is a great moment in Ontario labour […]
On Monday June 13, 2016, Premier Kathleen Wynne shuffled her cabinet and appointed Deb Matthews as the new Minister of Advanced Education and Skills. This new portfolio absorbs the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, and will play a coordinating role with skills and training programs operated within other ministries. Minister Matthews was previously the […]
The latest issue of Academic Matters – now available online – takes a critical look at university governance from the perspective of professors and academic librarians. Recent controversies at UBC, Carleton, Western, and others have shone a harsh public light on serious failings in how our universities are run. The issue features incisive examinations of these issues, including: […]
The Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities is Canada’s largest gathering of scholars, with more than 70 scholarly associations meeting under one umbrella event. Not surprisingly, it’s a place where university issues are raised, explored, and debated. As in past years, OCUFA was pleased to be able to attend the 85th Congress at the University of Calgary. Academic Matters editor and […]
The next phase of Ontario’s review of the university funding formula is beginning to take shape, and OCUFA remains engaged with all aspects of the project. On May 11, 2016, Deputy Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Sheldon Levy announced that Glenn Craney, formerly of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT), has been […]