This election presents a valuable opportunity to put postsecondary education on the agenda and build a better future for Ontario. Each political party is making promises and proposals that will affect university faculty, students, our families, and our communities. This election, OCUFA is focused on three advocacy priorities : Fairness for contract faculty to ensure all faculty are […]
OCUFA has set out its priorities for the 2022 Ontario Budget in a written submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and in a presentation to the committee on January 20, 2022. OCUFA’s budget recommendations aim to preserve the quality and sustainability of postsecondary education in Ontario through stable, consistent, and adequate […]
The Ford government’s obsession with austerity and privatization was a major driver of Laurentian University’s insolvency and collapse. This was the message OCUFA Board Chair Gyllian Phillips delivered to participants in “Our Movement, Our Fight, Our Future,” a webinar series focused on reclaiming power through labour organizing in Northern Ontario. “Universities, especially northern universities, have […]
The Ontario University and Colleges Coalition echoes the concerns of students and workers across the province about unsafe and rushed plans to return to campus. With notice of returning back to in-person learning for some institutions as soon as January 31, students are nervous about inadequate safety plans, the accessibility of continuing with online learning […]
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 […]
Meeting and resolutions The pandemic may continue, but at its Board Meeting on October 23 OCUFA set its sights on the 2022 provincial election and the goal of electing a government committed to supporting high-quality, public postsecondary education in Ontario. Good jobs for all Since the last election, the Ford government has repealed large parts of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act and introduced wage restraint legislation under Bill 124 . […]
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 […]
Ontario faculty associations are sending letters to federal candidates running in their regions and asking those seeking a seat in Parliament to exempt public institutions from private-sector restructuring under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). It was under the CCAA that, earlier this year, Laurentian University acted […]
TORONTO, September 9, 2021 — OCUFA welcomes the Federal New Democratic Party’s commitment to reform the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) so that public postsecondary education institutions are not subject to restructuring under federal legislation. The commitment, on page 13 of the Federal NDP’s A Better Future for Northern Ontario, states that, if elected, the […]
TORONTO, September 2, 2021 — OCUFA is pleased to see the Federal Liberal Party’s commitment to exempting public postsecondary education institutions from being subject to restructuring under federal legislation. The commitment, on page 31 of the Liberal platform, states that, if elected, the Liberals would, “Protect public post-secondary educational institutions, such as Laurentian University, from […]
When Laurentian University filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), it became the first public university in Canada to do so. Let’s make sure it is also the last. Send a letter to your federal candidates today and ask them to commit to updating the CCAA and Bankruptcy Insolvency Act to exempt public institutions and protect Canada’s vital public services.
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 […]
We are proud to announce the first article published as a result of the OCUFA Fellowship in Higher Education Journalism. The Fellowship is designed to support those wishing to pursue in-depth investigative reporting on higher education in Canada. With the backing of the Fellowship, respected journalist Nicholas Hune-Brown spent two years investigating the troubling world […]
