From November 9-13, faculty from across the province held virtual meetings with their elected Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to advocate for stronger public funding for postsecondary education, fairness for contract faculty, faculty renewal, and against the threats to academic freedom and human rights in Bill 213 and the Order in Council on the definition of antisemitism.
Faculty met with more than 30 MPPs representing all political parties, many of whom have universities in or adjacent to their ridings.
This year’s advocacy week provided important opportunities for MPPs to learn about faculty priorities, including:
- the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the learning and teaching process
- protecting and expanding public funding for postsecondary education in Ontario to promote quality and accessibility;
- delivering fairness for contract faculty and committing to supporting good jobs on university campuses;
- moving away from punitive university funding models based on performance metrics and urging greater consultation with faculty about university funding frameworks; and
- respecting academic freedom and democratic processes by withdrawing the IHRA definition of antisemitism and list of illustrative examples, as presented in Bill 168 and the Order in Council, and denying the Canada Christian College the ability to grant bachelors of arts and science degrees.
OCUFA representatives also had a strong social media presence throughout the week, reporting on their meetings with MPPs and the issues they discussed.
Despite COVID-19, advocacy week facilitated many important conversations with MPPs, which we hope will continue.