TORONTO/SUDBURY, April 13, 2022 – The Auditor General of Ontario’s preliminary report on Laurentian University confirms assertions faculty have been making for more than a year—that the university’s financial crisis resulted from secretive and deficient governance practices and the Ford government’s failure to step in and support the institution when its financial needs became clear. […]
TORONTO, January 24, 2022 – The voices of Ontario university faculty and academic librarians continue to be ignored by university administrations as postsecondary institutions rush back to in-person learning—even as COVID-19 cases across the province remain high. Outbreaks at universities and in university communities are inevitable if university administrations withhold information about campus health and […]
TORONTO, January, 13, 2022 – OCUFA is disappointed that the Superior Court of Justice has denied the Ontario Auditor General’s request for documents that Laurentian University claims are privileged. Laurentian’s sudden insolvency and unprecedented implosion as a result of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process has devastated the Greater Sudbury community, raised concerns at […]
TORONTO, January 5, 2022 – With COVID-19 cases spiking across Ontario and universities planning to return to in-person learning at the end of January, university faculty, academic librarians, and other academic professionals are concerned for their physical and mental health. Further, they believe the provincial government’s most recent advice to universities is completely inadequate and […]
Ontario faculty are concerned with the government’s proposed provision regarding the power of Senate at the new Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSMU). The wording used in the Senate section of the NOSMU regulations would undermine the fundamental principle of shared bicameral governance at the new University, by subjecting the Senate’s power to “determine and regulate the educational policy of […]
TORONTO, September 1, 2021 — OCUFA’s faculty, academic librarians, and other academic professionals are looking forward to the start of the new academic year, but health and safety must remain the number one priority as COVID-19 cases rise and Ontario enters the fourth wave. With less than a week before the fall term begins, the […]
TORONTO, August 17, 2021 — Ontario university faculty and academic librarians welcome the announcement from the provincial government that will require vaccination policies for high-risk settings, including postsecondary education institutions. OCUFA had previously called on the government to implement a required vaccination policy for universities as part of a safe return to campus strategy, along […]
Laurentian University insolvency reflects a structural crisis in Ontario’s neoliberal university system By David Leadbeater “On February 1 the Laurentian University president and board got what they wanted from Ontario Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz: “This Court orders and declares that the Applicant [Laurentian] is insolvent and is a company to which the CCAA applies.” The CCAA—Companies’ Creditors Arrangement…” When the Government comes for you, you better have academic freedom By Marc Spooner, University of Regina “Every so often, […]
On May 28, OCUFA held its final Board of Directors Meeting of the 2020-21 academic year. The virtual meeting focused on continuing developments at Laurentian University, university reopening plans for fall 2021, and saw the election of a new OCUFA Executive for 2021-22. Financial crisis at Laurentian University The collapse of Laurentian University under the […]
As part of the wide-ranging Bill 276, Supporting Recovering and Competitiveness Act, 2021, the Ontario government added legislation to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine an autonomous university. In response to this proposed legislation, which was announced without appropriate consultation or notice, OCUFA has made both written and verbal submissions to the Standing Committee […]
TORONTO, April 6, 2021—Today, the Laurentian University Senate was asked to vote on a restructuring package that included program terminations and also faculty and departmental reorganizations. The Senators received the notice for the meeting on Thursday, April 1, right before the Easter long weekend, and did not receive the package of materials until the meeting was convened today. The meeting […]
Laurentian University President Robert Haché’s recent claim that the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (CCAA) process provides a constructive format to engage with stakeholders is not reflected in reality. Instead, the costly CCAA process reduces students, faculty, and staff to the status of creditors, from which the university seeks to protect itself. The CCAA is designed […]
TORONTO, Nov 24, 2020 — University students, faculty, and academic librarians are struggling with social isolation, stress, and a lack of institutional support according to the results of a new poll which finds that those working and studying at Ontario’s universities believe the shift to online education has negatively impacted quality. Without immediate action from universities and the Ontario government to […]
A new report , published by OCUFA’s University Governance Committee, highlights the concerning results of the “University Governance during COVID-19” survey. The report is the result of a survey of 27 faculty and academic librarian associations across Ontario. Among its findings, it shows that an overwhelming 88 per cent of faculty association respondents considered their institution’s pandemic response to be top-down in nature. […]
