TORONTO – The senior leadership of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) today announced that it was resigning, including President Harvey Weingarten. HEQCO has been the chief advisor to the Ford government on a number of controversial initiatives, including an attack on Ontario faculty over the age of 65. Since its inception HEQCO’s […]
The Ford government introduced sweeping legislation to cap public sector wage increases. The proposed legislation represents an attack on the right to free and fair collective bargaining, and is in line with the government’s broader anti-worker agenda. The legislation was introduced on June 5, and although the legislature has now risen until October 28, the bill […]
OCUFA has been working with our partners in the postsecondary sector and the broader labour movement to respond to the government’s proposed wage-cap legislation. There is consensus in the labour movement that this legislation is an attack on the right to free and fair collective bargaining. On June 5th, the day after the legislation was […]
TORONTO – Ontario faculty are deeply concerned by the Ford government’s attempt to cap public sector compensation increases at one per cent per year. This legislation represents an attack on the right to free and fair collective bargaining, a threat to pay equity and benefits for contract faculty and other marginalized workers, and an erosion […]
June 7 is the one year anniversary of the Doug Ford government. It mark’s a year of reckless cuts to education, health care, the minimum wage, and decent work laws that made life better for Ontario’s most vulnerable workers. To mark this milestone, citizens from every corner of the province are organizing and hitting the […]
Ontario faculty are concerned that the Ford government intends to interfere in collective bargaining relationships throughout the public sector, including at universities across the province. In a written submission to the Treasury Board Secretariat regarding its consultations on public sector compensation, OCUFA detailed its concerns about the consultation process and the government’s motives. Ontario’s faculty […]
The latest issue of Academic Matters asks whether universities are doing enough to respond to colonization in higher education. An insightful group of scholars contribute their perspectives. It’s a must read and available online for free. Bringing Indigenous viewpoints to higher education By Tanya Talaga and Victoria McMurchy Ojibway author and journalist Tanya Talaga sits down with Victoria McMurchy to discuss how Canadian postsecondary institutions have responded to the Truth […]
OCUFA is concerned about the motives behind the Ministry of Finance’s “consultations” on compensation for workers in the broader public sector. It has become increasingly clear that these consultations are not being conducted in good faith and are, instead, part of the Ford government’s political agenda to undermine the rights of workers and unions in […]
On April 11, the 2019 Ontario Budget was tabled. Given the track record of the Ontario government to date, this budget delivered what OCUFA expected: a continued attack on workers’ rights, university autonomy, and public services, including postsecondary education. The overall postsecondary education and training sector budget is projected to be cut by $700 million, […]
On April 4, over 100,000 students at over 700 high schools across Ontario walked out to protest the Doug Ford government’s proposed cuts to education on April 4. Organized by students, this mass walkout is believed to be the largest student protest in Canadian history. Days later, on April 6, over 30,000 educators, students, parents, […]
As part of the Ministry of Labour’s consultation on pay transparency reporting, OCUFA sent Minister Laurie Scott a letter expressing faculty concerns about the staggering 31.5 per cent gender pay gap that exists in Ontario and the pervasive pay inequities that exist within most sectors. The Ontario Pay Transparency Act, passed in May 2018 by […]
TORONTO – Ontario’s faculty are alarmed by the Doug Ford government’s budget proposal to allocate 60 per cent of university funding based on institutional performance. By design, performance-based funding threatens education quality as it rewards institutions that meet specific performance targets while penalizing those that do not. Faculty are also concerned by signals that the […]
There is more to Academic Matters than just the print issue. New articles are being added to the Academic Matters website every week. Healthy research ecosystem – healthy researchers? The researcher as an organism of focus within a ‘research ecosystem’ By Michelle L.A. Nelson and Ross Upshur “The academic research environment is changing and researchers report struggling to adapt in order to be successful. Funding shortfalls are perennial, but what systemic shifts […]
During the week of March 11th, OCUFA member associations from across the province participated in a series of advocacy meetings with MPPs in their ridings. These meetings were organized during a “constituency week” – a week when the provincial legislature is not sitting and many MPPs return to their ridings to hold meetings with their […]
TORONTO – Ontario’s university faculty were troubled to learn the results of the Ontario Government’s Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey released today. It is deeply disturbing that over 63 per cent of university students surveyed disclosed an experience of sexual harassment and that sexual violence remains so pervasive on campus. These results point to […]
