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Jonathan Migneault · CBC News · Posted: Aug 09, 2022 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: August 9
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Laurentian University’s staff and faculty unions want to take some of the Sudbury, Ont., school’s directors and officers to court once it exits its insolvency proceedings.
The unions allege Laurentian mismanaged the Retiree Health Benefits Plan, which members have paid into since 1998.
When Laurentian filed for insolvency in February 2021, retirees were cut off from the annual payments they received through the plan.
Tom Fenske, president of the Laurentian University Staff Union, said his retired members received $700 to $1,500 per year from the plan, depending on whether they paid into a single or family option.
“I think the idea is that when someone retires, they should be left alone,” Fenske said.
“And what that means is, you know, they gave at the office, they worked their whole career, they worked hard. And many of them are on fixed incomes, so they can’t adjust.”
The staff and faculty unions have said Laurentian placed the millions of dollars members paid into the plan into a single account, mixed in with other funds meant to operate the university.
Fenske said the money should have been placed in a separate account instead.
When Laurentian filed for insolvency, retirees could no longer access the money from that benefit plan, which they had relied on in the past.
Linda St-Pierre, chief steward of the Laurentian University Faculty Association, said in an email to CBC News that the university’s administration was “aware as far back as 2014 they were not properly maintaining the funds.”
St-Pierre said the faculty association tried to resolve issues with the benefit plan, including moving the money to a third-party plan, but those plans fell through.
“There was a lot of liability that they were trying to shift to employee groups,” she said.
St-Pierre said both unions will work together on legal action against the university’s senior administrators, responsible for the plan.
Laurentian’s insolvency proceedings, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), have protected it from lawsuits. Under the CCAA, the school has been allowed to operate while sorting out its financial issues.
But Fenske, of the staff union, said the university’s proposed plan of arrangement would let the unions take legal action.
The plan is the culmination of the 18-month CCAA proceedings, and represents the final terms between Laurentian and its many creditors.
Laurentian filed the plan with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last month, and got court approval for its creditors to vote on the proposal.
That vote will be held on Sept. 14 and will require a two-thirds majority to pass.
Fenske said he will meet with his members on Aug. 16 to discuss the plan of arrangement and see if there’s an appetite for legal action.
“The idea that people would be held accountable for what they did here, especially with pensioners’ retiree health benefits, that should be a priority,” he said.
“We are fully focused on readying for students’ return in September and the important vote on September 14 on the Plan of Arrangement,” Laurentian said in an email to CBC News.
It has now been six years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its six-volume Final Report along with the 94 Calls to Action, meant to remedy the ongoing structural legacy of Canada’s Residential Schools and to advance reconciliation in Canada.
OSSTF/FEESO has been a proud participant at the Pride Toronto annual celebrations for several years and will be involved again in 2022, in its 42nd year. The festival is one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world, bringing together people from all over Ontario as well as other provinces and countries to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Ontario’s 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
The Pride Toronto organizers are excited to be able to return to an in-person month of events and will ensure Pride Month and the Festival Weekend will be organized in alignment with the City of Toronto’s Public Health recommendations.
Events:
For exact times and locations of these and the other Pride events, please visit the Pride Toronto website.
On Sunday, June 26, OSSTF/FEESO will be marching in the Pride Toronto Parade. There will be music, T-shirts for marchers and swag to hand out along the parade route. We encourage Districts and their Members to attend this festival and end their visit by marching with OSSTF/FEESO in the parade.
Thousands of workers at York University could be on strike by Canada Day.
York University Staff Association, which represents administrative, technical and laboratory staff on campus, has been without a contract since July 31, 2021.
Despite meeting with York University 25 times to negotiate, the two sides remain at an impasse.
Back on April 29, York University requested the appointment of a provincial conciliation officer
They then asked for a no-board report “in an effort to bring collective bargaining to a successful conclusion” on June 8 after an agreement once again failed to be reached.
A neutral third-party mediator is now meeting with both sides in an effort to reach a successful conclusion.
As of July 1 at 12:01 a.m., either side could legally walk off the job.
June 3, 2022
Dear OSSTF/FEESO Members,
Yesterday, the Progressive Conservative Party led by Doug Ford won another four-year majority. Though the results did not bring Ontario an education-friendly government, we are filled with pride as throughout the election campaign we saw local leaders and organizers reach new levels of engagement and we are deeply thankful for all your hard work. Each vote, donation, and hour of volunteering made a difference for us as education workers, for the students we serve, and for your local community.
We reached more people and more candidates than ever before, and this matters for our long-term future. We endorsed over 90 candidates and early results show that 37 of them were elected yesterday. All of them are strong advocates and education-friendly leaders we can count on at Queen’s Park.
Many other aspects of this election fill us with hope, especially as we come together and prepare for the next round of bargaining. The majority of voters in Ontario, 53%, did not vote for the Conservatives and instead voted for the three opposition parties who all ran on making major investments in education, lowering class sizes, improving supports for students, and prioritizing people and communities over profits. The people of Ontario overwhelmingly support public education and do not want to see cuts made or an expansion of privatization of education. Yesterday’s election results confirm the level of public support for investing in our public education system.
Our fight is not over. Now, more than ever, we need to remain focused on our most important goals: protecting our rights as workers and strengthening the public education system in Ontario
.Let us celebrate how far we have come and know that together, we can make a difference.
In solidarity,
https://allevents.in/waterloo/lgbt-pride?ref=cityselect-eventlist
In recent years, Canada has seen an alarming rise in the theft of catalytic converters, particularly since the start of the pandemic. Let’s take a look at what a catalytic converter is, why thieves are targeting it, and what you can do to protect yourself against catalytic converter theft.
Read more at www.otip.com/article147.
Counter-protesters will include the ONA and supporters, along with community activists
Listen to this article00:02:13
With six days remaining until Ontario votes, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is hosting a rally in Kitchener Friday night.
Doors are set to open 7 p.m. at Bingemans, and follows an afternoon campaign stop in Oakville for an announcement.
In response, the Ontario Nurses’ Association plans to stage a protest at Bingemans.
It’s inviting nurses, health-care professionals, friends, family and supporters “since Doug Ford refuses to speak with nurses.”
The union is putting the blame on the PC leader and “oppressive legislation” for the ongoing nursing shortage.
“Healthcare has been underfunded for the better half of a decade, but it certainly has worsened for the past, well, three or four years now. We are seeing in Waterloo Region that we are hundred of RN’s short in our hospitals,” said Erin Ariss, the regional vice-president for the ONA.
“Mr. Ford, we need to speak to you. You need to come to the table with recruitment and retention strategies. We need to do something now before it’s too late.”
A group of community members will also hold an information picket and are planning to speak out against Ford’s record on public education, and environment and climate issues.
“We need MPPs who listen to the community,” said Stephanie Goertz, a local resident. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1529915388577861639&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fkitchener.citynews.ca%2Flocal-news%2Fdoug-ford-to-host-rally-at-bingemans-friday-night-5412807&sessionId=5566b6530c58e6b42148247084bfc0979906f651&siteScreenName=CityNewsKIT&theme=light&widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&width=550px
A local group, concerned about Ford’s environmental record, will also be holding an information picket outside the event.
“There just hasn’t been enough focus on Doug Ford’s environmental crimes, the fact that his cancellations of climate action programs cost Ontarians hundreds of millions of dollars, while Ontarians meanwhile have had to pay millions to clean up the floods, fires, and storm damage caused by our rapidly changing climate,” Kae Elgie said in a statement.
OSSTF/FEESO’s education platform, Strengthen Public Education – Rebuild Ontario, centres publicly-funded education as a key component in the rebuilding of the province post-pandemic. It recognizes the value of publicly-funded education in the development of strong, healthy, and equitable communities.
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