Every month we send our supporters a newsletter with the latest CAUT and post-secondary education sector news. This newsletter was published on February 28, 2023. Subscribe to get the newsletter straight to your inbox.
In this issue:
- CAUT pressures government to change CCAA
- Activism for equity
- Canadian post-secondary sector unites to protect fair dealing
- Bargaining and job action updates
CAUT pressures government to change CCAA
More than two years after Laurentian University filed for bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the repercussions are still being felt by current and former academic staff, students, and the Sudbury community.
CAUT marked this anniversary by urging the Liberal government to follow through on its promise to exclude public post-secondary institutions from the CCAA. Though legislation has been introduced in both the House of Commons and Senate, it is unlikely that either will be passed into law without government support.
As part of this ongoing campaign, CAUT is calling on members and the public to send letters to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry urging him to back legislation that would exclude public post-secondary institutions from the CCAA, action promised by Liberals in the last election.
Activism for equity
“How do we get those who haven’t done so to embrace equity?” This was the question asked by CAUT President Peter McInnis as he welcomed participants in person and online to the Activism for Equity conference earlier this month.
Throughout the conference, a key theme discussed by panelists and attendees was moving equity forward in associations and on campuses.
On the first day, speakers on the opening panel recounted their efforts and victories furthering equity on their campuses. Two lawyers spoke about the power of unions to make gains for equity-deserving members. Throughout the day, participants also shared their own experiences and challenges, highlighting some of the most important barriers and bridges to change.
Attendees had the chance to put everything they learned into practice the next day as they went through a real-life scenario and were asked to develop the different components of an equity campaign. Consult the CAUT Equity Toolkit for further resources.
Canadian post-secondary sector unites to protect fair dealing
The week of February 20 marked the annual Fair Dealing Week, an international event that celebrates the importance of fair use and fair dealing provisions within copyright law.
This year’s event also marked the launch of Fair Dealing Works, a coalition that brings together student leaders, post-secondary institutions, academic staff, and copyright experts and practitioners to stand up for educational fair dealing rights and call on the federal government to protect and expand fair dealing provisions in the Copyright Act.
In a time when pressure is mounting from publishers and large corporations to roll back fair dealing rights, CAUT and its partners are calling on the Canadian public to send a letter to their Members of Parliament and the cabinet ministers who oversee copyright laws in Canada, asking them to protect educational fair dealing.
Bargaining and job action updates
Several CAUT member associations have concluded or remain in contract negotiations. All updates are accurate at the time of this email:
- After failing to reach an agreement with l’Université Laval, the more than 1,300 members of the Syndicat des professeurs et professeures de l’Université Laval went on strike on February 20. Read CAUT’s statement.
- CUPE 3912 bargaining units representing contract academic staff at Saint Mary’s University and Mount Saint Vincent University have both ratified new agreements following conciliation.
- The Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union (SMUFU) reached an agreement and voted in favour of ratification.
- The Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association (MUNFA) reached a tentative agreement and voted in favour of ratification, following a two-week strike.
- The Cape Breton University Faculty Association (CBUFA) membership has ratified Cape Breton University’s most recent contract offer, following a strike.
- The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association (UPEIFA) is in negotiations and has voted in favour of strike action.
- The Association of Professors of Bishop’s University (APBU) has been bargaining four different collective agreements with the university over the last year.
- Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) contract academic staff have successfully ratified their tentative agreement.
- Following months of negotiations, the University of Victoria Faculty Association (UVICFA) ratified a tentative agreement under the BC government’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
- Associate or Full Professor and Chair in Mathematics and Statistics | University of Guelph
- Assistant or Associate Professor and NSERC CRC T2 in Advanced Epidemiology and Disease Modell | University of Guelph
- One-Year Limited Term Faculty (LTF) Position in Civil Engineering | Toronto Metropolitan University
- Assistant Teaching Professor - Entrepreneurship and Experiential Learning | Ontario Tech University
- Lakehead University, Orillia - Department of Psychology LTA | Lakehead University