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Addressed to Federal Government, Provincial Governments, Canada’s Research Funding Councils, and University senior administrators:

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to graduate students across the country. We recognize the steps taken by both the federal and provincial governments, and post-secondary institutions, to protect not just graduate students, but all students, faculty, and staff. These measures include the six-month suspension of student loan repayment and the expansion of the Canada Summer Jobs program. These measures are important steps towards redressing the financial burden on students. However, we would like to emphasize that graduate students are facing additional challenges that have not been addressed.

OTTAWA, ON - Contract Instructors (CIs) at Carleton University, represented by Unit 2, Local 4600 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 4600-2), have voted overwhelmingly this week to authorize job action if necessary to secure a fair deal at the bargaining table.

The Union has been negotiating with Carleton since last summer, but several major issues remain unresolved. The union has also requested the assistance of a Ministry of Labour conciliation officer to help move discussions forward.

Students’ unions, founded by and for students, are fully autonomous organizations governed by democratically elected boards and executives. They are membership-driven organizations funded by their members through dues.

University administrations do not have the authority and cannot justify violating the legal autonomy of students’ unions or any other campus unions.

Regardless of their motives for doing so, university administrations have no right to:

• withhold students’ union membership dues;
• interfere in students’ union elections or operations; or
• attempt to shut down students’ unions (or any other legally autonomous organization).

It is vital that university administrations understand the limits of their authority. As concerned as a university administration might be, they have no right to withhold students’ union membership dues, interfere in a students’ union operations, or dictate the terms by which democratic students’ unions operate on campus.

Students declare victory in lawsuit against Ford’s attempt to defund them

Link to PDF of decision

The Canadian Federation of Students, the York Federation of Students and Goldblatt Partners held a joint press conference Friday morning, November 11, 2019, to respond to the Ontario Divisional Court’s unanimous decision to quash the Ford government’s “Student Choice Initiative”.

“Today the Ontario Divisional Court has confirmed what students already knew: The Student Choice Initiative is unlawful, and the Ford government acted beyond their authority. Doug Ford’s attempt to wipe out students’ unions under the guise of giving students ‘choice’ has been exposed for what it really was: an attempt to silence his opposition,” said Kayla Weiler, Ontario representative of the Canadian Federation of Students.

Announced in the Ontario Budget, the Ford government’s reckless new market-based approach to funding postsecondary education will fundamentally compromise the integrity of Ontario’s higher education system. This alarming shift in education funding will create greater inequity, hurt students, and threaten the quality of education in our province.

The proposed market-based performance funding model will tie 60 per cent (over $3 billion dollars) of postsecondary funding to each institution’s “performance” against a set of arbitrary and flawed metrics. This dramatic shift follows years of stagnant public funding for postsecondary education in Ontario, and is only the latest in a series of attacks on the foundations of postsecondary education in the province, including cuts of over $400 million to college and university budgets, cuts of almost $700 million to student financial assistance, and cuts to the democratically determined student fees that allow students’ unions to advocate on behalf of, and provide vital support to their members.

The Ford government has introduced legislation to cap increases in total compensation at an average (benefits and wages) of 1% per year for all public sector employees, including university and college workers. The legislation will affect all collective agreements on expiry and last three years. Current bargaining will continue, but while the bill has not passed yet, it’s current language says it will apply retroactively to June 5, 2019.

Government attack on workers’ rights will deny fair wages and benefits to contract faculty and already underpaid academic staff | OCUFA

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 of the foundations of Ontario’s important public services.

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Federation of Students and the York Federation of Students have jointly filed a legal challenge against the Government of Ontario’s Student Choice Initiative, on the basis that the government lacked the authority to implement such a policy and acted with improper purpose.

“This policy is a direct attack on students’ ability to organize and provide essential services on campus,” said Sofia Descalzi, incoming chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “It is a clear attempt to silence students’ unions and student organizations who have a long history of holding administrations and governments accountable when it comes to creating accessible, affordable and safer campuses.”

Join an action in a community near you

June 7 marks one year of resisting government cuts to public services, education, health care and decent work.

We will be hitting the streets across Ontario to show that we didn’t vote for that.

Actions are being organized right now for EITHER June 7 or June 8. RSVP here and we will send you details of the actions in your area for you to take part.

Province Wide Student Walkout

• Wednesday, March 20
• 12 pm (noon)

Add to calendar

Join students from across the province in a walk out on Wednesday March 20 at 12 pm to demonstrate to the Ontario government that we will not tolerate their attacks on students.

Students are walking out of the classes and calling on the government to:

• Provide More Grants NOT loans,
• Eliminate Tuition Fees for ALL Students,
• Increase Public Funding for Public Education,
• Protect Students’ Independent Voices, and
• Demand the Right to Organize.

How Ryerson students will be impacted

On January 17th, the provincial government announced sweeping rollbacks to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), funding for Ontario colleges and universities and dramatically altering how student fees are administered.

The provincial government has announced a 10 per cent cut to tuition fees for domestic students across all programs, which will adversely affect each institutions’ funding. The government has also rolled back OSAP regulations to their 2016 form, which will result in a reduction in non-repayable grants and an increase in student loans and, therefore, the amount of student debt, while also proposing to remove the 6-month grace period for charging interest on student loans. These changes will make OSAP less accessible to the most marginalized who would be left with unsustainable debt. The announcement of a 10 per cent tuition cut seems like a welcome relief at first, but coupled with the OSAP changes this produces an overall loss for the majority of students. With both of these taken into account, the average student will save around $800 to $900 but lose several thousands more in grants.