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News & Events

Gender-Based Violence: War, Genocide, and Oppression

Please join the Gender Equity and Diversity Committee of NUFA in the Sandbox at the Teaching Hub or on Zoom for a panel discussion on Gender-Based Violence: War, Genocide, and Oppression. This panel will be moderated by Sarah Clermont and will feature Dr. Anahit Armenakyan (School of Business), Dr. Nancy Stevens (Indigenous Studies), and Dr. Anahita Baregheh (School of Business).

The panel will run from 12-1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10. On-campus attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch; tea and cookies will be provided.

Please register at this link to let us know whether you will attend on-campus or via Zoom: https://forms.gle/boUJMvJ88gA9t7bG8

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Drivers of Organizational Change in Post-Secondary Organizations

On Thursday, February 16, at 7 p.m., Dr. Denise O’Neil Green will be leading a discussion titled “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Drivers of Organizational Change in Post-Secondary Organizations”. The event, organized by the Gender Equity and Diversity Committee, will be over Zoom, but there will be an on-campus gathering (with refreshments) in B200 for those who would like to attend.
Dr. O’Neil Green is a former Vice-President at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she founded the Equity and Community Inclusion division. She is an award-winning, visionary and internationally recognized expert in equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), anti-racism, organizational change and transformational leadership with 30 years of experience. As a global thought leader, she has worked across various sectors, including postsecondary education, government, business, and healthcare, as a keynote speaker, innovative strategist, educator and changemaker.
This event is made possible by the support of the Nipissing University Faculty Association, Nipissing University, and Canadore College.
You can register for the event here:
https://www.nipissingu.ca/events/equity-diversity-inclusion-denise-oneil-green

NUFA Socials

On February 11, we will be watching the Lakers’ Women’s hockey team take on the University of Toronto at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Gardens, with food and (some) drinks provided.

On March 4, we will be having an outdoor social at the Lot 8 trailhead starting at noon, featuring nordic skiing, snowshoeing, fat bikes, hot drinks and a campfire.

Both events are partner and family friendly, and open to all members of NUFA. More details to follow shortly!

CASBU Ratification Voting for 2022-2025 Collective Agreement

A CASBU tentative agreement was reached with the employer on December 21, 2022. The NUFA Executive voted to recommend this agreement to CASBU for ratification and a meeting was held on January 11, 2023 to provide details to the Membership.  Ratification voting will run from 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 12, and conclude Monday, January 16, at 7 p.m. Voting can be done in person at the NUFA office (A244) between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on January 12, 13, and 16, or online via SimplyVoting at any time between 9 a.m. on January 12, and 7 p.m. January 16.  Only CASBU Members who are on contract as of January 12 are eligible to vote on ratification
On behalf of the Membership, the Executive would like to thank the CASBU Collective Bargaining Committee  of Evan Hoffman, Laura Killam, Dan McGarry, Erin Dokis, Adrian Langdon, Rhiannon Don, for all of their hard work over the last year to get this deal.

Pathways Teach-In with Alysha Allaire

See the attached poster for a teach-in with Alysha Allaire, Nishnaabemwin teacher from Nipissing First Nation, on December 13th from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Miigwech to Jonathan Pitt, Indigenization Advisor to NUFA, for organizing this.

Pathways

National Indigenous History and Pride Month – June 2021

June is National Indigenous History Month, a time for all Canadians to recognize the history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. This is also a time to reflect on the ongoing work of reconciliation. We hope that you will use this time to appreciate the culture, contributions, and resiliency of Indigenous peoples across Canada.

June is also Pride Month, a time to celebrate diversity and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, to uplift 2SLGBTQ+ voices, and to support 2SLGBTQ+ rights. There are events happening throughout the community and many resources available. Attached is a list of activities for the month of June from Outloud North Bay. Outloud North Bay is an organization driven by 2SLGBTQA+ individuals that supports the mental health and well-being of youth by providing a safe space for ALL YOUTH in our community.

NUFA brings you North Gay Trivia on Wednesday, June 30 2021 from 7:00-9:00 pm.  There will be rounds on 2SLGBTQ+ history, politics, celebrities, TV shows, art history and visual cultures, as well as questions dedicated strictly to Nipissing University.

Asian Heritage Month – May 2021

May is Asian Heritage Month, when we celebrate the contributions that Asian communities have made to Canada. It is also a time to honour and support the activism of peoples of Asian descent. COVID-19 has amplified anti-Asian racism with Asian communities reporting an increase in racism, discrimination, and acts of violence. These resources are being provided to highlight the diversity that is our strength and with the belief that education is the best weapon to fight fear and ignorance. Resources for Asian Heritage Month.

Nipissing University Faculty Association calls for Resignations of Ross Romano, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and Robert Haché, President of Laurentian University

April 16, 2021 – North Bay, Ontario 

Today, the Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) echoed the calls of the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) and other bodies, for the immediate resignations of Ross Romano, Minister of Training Colleges and Universities and Robert Haché, President of Laurentian University along with his senior leadership team.  These motions were taken due to “the loss of confidence in the Minister’s commitment to the university sector, as well as LU President Robert Haché and his senior leadership team in failing to lead the university through this crisis, and the catastrophic mishandling of the situation at LU.”

Please see the two motions approved by the NUFA Executive below.

MOTION 1: That the NUFA Executive calls for the immediate resignation of Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano

RATIONALE: Minister Romano was made aware of the financial situation at Laurentian more than six months prior to the announcement of the CCAA process.  Not only did he fail to act to protect the students and institutions under his charge, which have now suffered serious harm; he also has consistently refused to meet with the affected parties and to be transparent about the intentions and actions of his government.  The cuts to Laurentian, now revealed, have produced outrage across the country.  His inaction has also resulted in considerable harm specifically to the residents of Northern Ontario, whose interests he is charged, as MPP, to represent.  He has failed in the most basic of ways to satisfy the obligations of his office, and must resign immediately.

MOTION 2: That the NUFA Executive calls for the immediate resignation of President of Laurentian University, President Robert Haché and his senior leadership team.

RATIONALE:

Beginning with the stalled negotiations with the Laurentian Faculty Association (LUFA), President Haché has acted in an irresponsible, untransparent, and uncollegial manner.  Indeed, LUFA was forced to pursue a bad faith bargaining complaint in an effort to force the administration to disclose the very financial information they were apparently already sharing with the government but refused to discuss with affected faculty and students.  President Haché’s decision to enter the University into the CCAA process, rather than make use of the financial exigency clauses of the negotiated Collective Agreement, was unprecedented and completely inappropriate, an effort simply to shirk his responsibilities in collective bargaining and collegial governance.  Finally, his public threats to shut down the university entirely should faculty senators or LUFA members fail to agree to the results of the secretive CCAA process demonstrates a callous disregard for the interests of the students of Laurentian and its affiliated campuses, as well as for the broader Sudbury and Northern communities that haven been and will be impacted.  He has forfeited the trust required in order to occupy the position of President, or any leadership role, and must resign immediately along with his senior leadership team.

Nipissing University Senate passes Motion in support of Laurentian University Senate

At the April 9, 2021 Nipissing University Senate meeting, the following motion was passed unanimously:

Whereas a first principle for university quality and integrity is expressed in the bicameral governance structure shared between the Board of Governors and the Academic Senate, a process clearly identified in the Nipissing University Act and Laurentian University Act; and

Whereas Senators have a right and responsibility to generate and evaluate decisions, including such decisions as program restructuring or cancellation, affecting the academic integrity of the university openly and democratically within this governance structure,

Be it resolved that Nipissing University Senate affirm its own support for the Senate of Laurentian University’s avowal of its power and responsibility to pronounce on the academic integrity of the proposals that come before it, and

Be it further resolved that the Nipissing University Senate express strong concern with the  Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act process at Laurentian that has effectively by-passed transparency and academic decision-making.

NUFA Responds to CCAA Process at Laurentian University

 

North Bay, ON, March 23, 2021 – The Nipissing University Faculty Association echoes the call of the North Bay District Labour Council, published online in the Nugget/Bay Today/My North Bay Now on March 17th, for the province to end the CCAA process at Laurentian University and to provide adequate and sustained funding to ensure the continued viability of this important institution. On March 19th, the Ontario government announced $106.5 million in emergency funding for post-secondary institutions suffering financial effects of COVID 19, but have allocated none of this funding to Laurentian University.  This decision is troubling for reasons that extend well beyond the particulars of the situation at Laurentian.

First, the government’s decision to permit Laurentian to enter the CCAA process is unprecedented in Canada.  This process was designed for private corporations, and the precedent set by allowing a public institution, funded by the Province, to declare insolvency and enter the CCAA could not be more troubling: if a public university can be dismantled by a secretive, closed-door process intended for private businesses, then why not any other public institution?  A Crown corporation, perhaps?  Or a hospital?  The province needs to act immediately to stop the inappropriate and radical misuse of the CCAA process at Laurentian.

Second, there should be little doubt in anyone’s mind that what is happening at Laurentian would not be permitted to happen in vote-rich Southern Ontario.  The threat to Laurentian – and the underfunding of Northern Universities, generally – is part of a familiar story in the North, where unequal access to healthcare, under-funded education systems, and inadequate transportation networks are all well-known and long-standing problems.  As a member of the opposition, MPP Fedeli spoke up for Nipissing University when the Liberal government of the day unilaterally imposed changes to Education programs that disproportionately affected us.  Now he sits as a cabinet minister in a government that has dramatically cut support to the University system as a whole.  These cuts have a disproportionate effect on smaller, Northern Universities.  Emergency handouts, while desperately needed, do not fix the underlying problem that Ontario funds its universities at the lowest rate in the entire country. He and the government of which he is a part needs to stand up for all Northern Communities, including Laurentian and Sudbury.

Finally, it is worth noting that, just as Nipissing University contributes just shy of $140 million each year to the economy of North Bay, and is one of the top three employers in the city, Laurentian makes an enormously important economic contribution to its community.  As Minister for Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade, MPP Fedeli should know perfectly well that anything that diminishes Laurentian as an institution will be deeply harmful to the economy of Sudbury and to its people.  It is time for MPP Fedeli and the Ford government to act, now, before the April 30th deadline imposed by the CCAA.