Today, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario (CUPE Ontario), and Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) filed an appeal to unseal correspondence between Laurentian University and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities that relates to the insolvency being claimed by Laurentian University.
The Laurentian University insolvency engages a number of public policy issues concerning public university education in Ontario. Laurentian is an access university, providing higher education to many students who are the first in the families to attend university. It services Northern, Indigenous, and Francophone students with specialized courses that reflect the needs of these communities.
Laurentian’s filed materials in this insolvency do not say much about the position of the Government of Ontario, which is the major funder of Laurentian. However, the university’s President filed an affidavit with two sealed exhibits, one from the Ontario government to Laurentian and the other from Laurentian to the Ontario government. These documents are sealed and not available to the stakeholders, the public, or the media.
The court’s Sealing Order raises vital questions about the transparency of Ontario’s role and its commitment to its public universities.
OCUFA, LUFA, CUPE Ontario believe it is vital that stakeholders and the public have full, transparent access to this court-supervised insolvency and to all relevant files and materials, including the two sealed documents.
Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 17,000 professors and academic librarians in 30 faculty associations across Ontario. It is committed to enhancing the quality of higher education in Ontario and recognizing the outstanding contributions of its members towards creating a world-class university system. For more information, please visit the OCUFA website at www.ocufa.on.ca.
CUPE Ontario is the political wing of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canada’s largest union, representing over 280,000 public sector workers.
Founded in 1979, LUFA represents over 400 full-time and over 300 part-time professors at Laurentian University, the University of Sudbury, Huntington University, and Thorneloe University. For more information, visit the LUFA website at www.lufappul.ca.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Ben Lewis, OCUFA Communications Lead at 416-306-6033 or communications@ocufa.on.ca
Daniel Tseghay, CUPE Ontario Communications Representative at 647-220-9739 or dtseghay@cupe.ca
Fabrice Colin, LUFA President at 705-698-6763 or fcolin@lufappul.org