TORONTO – Without increased public funding for Ontario’s universities and colleges, the Progressive Conservative Government’s announced tuition fee reduction is nothing more than an ill-conceived political gimmick designed to distract Ontarians from damaging cuts to the province’s already under-funded postsecondary education system. OCUFA has long advocated for tuition fee reductions but not in the absence […]
Over the past few years, the debate about freedom of speech on university campuses has intensified. Often sparked by high profile and provocative speakers from outside the academy, this debate has focused on expression rights, whether some groups have more privileged rights than others, how exercising these rights can harm certain individuals or groups, and […]
Congratulations are in order for the Brescia Faculty Association (BFA). The BFA managed to organize Brescia contract faculty and get them consolidated into the main bargaining unit just two days before Bill 47 passed. Introduced by Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, Bill 47 wiped consolidation language from the Ontario Labour Relations Act. The previous Ontario government […]
The University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) has reached a four-year agreement with the Western University administration. The agreement includes significant advances towards expanded job security provisions for contract faculty and important improvements and clarifications on the uses of Student Questionnaires on Courses and Teaching in the faculty appointment, evaluation, tenure, and promotion processes. […]
Le récent énoncé économique du gouvernement de l’Ontario en automne dernier a révélé que les progressistes-conservateurs ne financeraient plus ni n’iraient de l’avant avec l’université de langue française devant être construite à Toronto. Dans le cadre d’une tendance devenue inquiétante pour ce gouvernement, l’annonce a été faite sans discussion avec les intervenants du secteur, notamment […]
The Ontario Government’s recent fall economic statement revealed that the Progressive Conservatives would no longer be funding or moving forward with the French-language university set to be built in Toronto. In what has become a disturbing trend for this government, the announcement was made without any discussion with sector stakeholders, including faculty and students, and, […]
The York University Faculty Association (YUFA) has reached a three-year agreement with the York University administration. As part of the settlement, YUFA achieved a commitment from the university to hire six Indigenous faculty over the life of the agreement, and to work with the faculty association to undertake an equal pay exercise for women, racialized […]
On November 13, faculty from across the province gathered at Queen’s Park for a day advocating for stronger public funding for postsecondary education, fairness for contract faculty, and good jobs. The day started with a breakfast reception attended by numerous MPPs and their staff. The reception featured remarks from David Piccini, the Parliamentary Assistant to […]
On Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, OCUFA held its first Board of Directors Meeting of the 2018-19 academic year. The weekend oriented new board members to OCUFA and allowed members to discuss the results of the 2018 provincial election and what it could mean for Ontario’s universities. With that context, members reviewed OCUFA’s […]
On Thursday, November 15, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Government released its fall economic statement. The 155-page document offers an update on the status of Ontario’s finances and contains numerous government announcements across many different sectors. Also known as the mini-budget, the fall economic statement outlines some of the government’s plans for the public sector and […]
Faculty across the province are deeply disappointed that recent improvements to labour laws could be cancelled if Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act is passed. Rolling back equal pay, options for consolidating bargaining units, fairer rules for joining unions, and other basic rights represent a major step backwards in efforts to address precarious […]
TORONTO, November 5, 2018 – The Ontario Universities and Colleges Coalition (OUCC), which represents more than 435,000 faculty, students, and staff at every public postsecondary institution in the province, is calling on the Ontario Government to protect decent work laws. Millions of workers, including hundreds of thousands employed by or studying at Ontario’s universities and […]
In a surprise announcement made at 6pm on Tuesday, October 23rd, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities declared they would no longer be funding three new university and college campuses. The expansion campuses being built by York University and Seneca College in Markham, Ryerson University and Sheridan College in Brampton, and Wilfrid Laurier University […]
Yesterday, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government announced they intend to cancel recently introduced fair work laws, including the $15 minimum wage, paid sick days, equal pay for equal work, enhanced bargaining unit consolidation provisions, and fairer rules for joining a union. This rollback legislation seeks to take away basic protections from those who need them […]
