Weekly Update – December 4
December 4, 2020
Weekly Update – December 4
Your Rights During COVID-19
Goldblatt Partners LLC will be providing an information session on what you need to know about your rights during COVID-19. This session takes place next Friday, December 11, from 12:00-1:30pm, and is open to all CUASA members. A reminder and Zoom details will be sent next week.
Update on T2200
CUASA has been informed that the following message will be sent to all faculty and staff from Cindy Taylor, Assistant Vice-President, Human Resources:
“Many Carleton staff and faculty who have been asked to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised questions about claiming work from home/home office expenses on their tax returns. In prior years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has required the employer to complete a T2200 in order for a claim to be filed. For the 2020 tax year, CRA acknowledges that many more people will be eligible to include this type of expense on their tax return and are developing a simplified process. However, CRA has not yet provided employers with direction on the new process.
Carleton is awaiting guidance from CRA and anticipate having more information for staff/faculty by mid-January 2021.”
CUASA is monitoring for updates and will pass them along to members as they become available.
CUASA Anti-Racism and BIPOC Community Members’ Experience Survey
CUASA’s Anti-Racism Working Group has launched a survey to seek input from CUASA members about how we can promote specific changes to protect the rights of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) community members and other marginalized communities at Carleton. This is only one step in CUASA’s ongoing commitment to support and learn from grassroots movements to redress colonial oppression, anti-Black racism, and white supremacy in CUASA, Carleton and the wider community.
The survey will be open until Monday, December 14.
Members can find the link to the survey in their email. Please note that this survey is meant only for CUASA bargaining unit members. We kindly ask that you please not share the link to the survey.
Note: if you can’t find the link to the survey in your email, please contact [email protected].
Nominations for Steering Positions
We are still accepting nominations for the following Steering positions:
- Communications Officer
- Chair, Nominations and Elections
- Chair, Internal Affairs
Information on the nominations process can be found on our How to Volunteer page. The work of the Association continues, despite the current environment we find ourselves in. Remember that our Association is only as strong as its membership, so we count on the time and commitment of our members to achieve our goals. Some of these positions come with a course release subject to the availability of funds.
Call for Volunteers
We are seeking one CUASA member to serve on the Joint Committee on Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JCEE). Details on the mandate of this important committee can be found here. If you are interested in serving on the JCEE, please email [email protected].
We are also seeking CUASA members to serve on the Association’s internal Equity Committee. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested.
Academic Community Updates
Ontario faculty hold advocacy week virtually
From November 9-13, faculty from across the province held virtual meetings with their elected Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to advocate for stronger public funding for postsecondary education, fairness for contract faculty, faculty renewal, and against the threats to academic freedom and human rights in Bill 213 and the Order in Council on the definition of antisemitism. Click here to read more.
CAUT Council passes motion of censure against the University of Toronto
CAUT has moved a step closer to censuring the University of Toronto over a hiring scandal in the Faculty of Law. Click here to read more.
CAUT Council condemns publisher’s reversal as violation of academic freedom
CAUT is speaking out against Springer Nature after it cancelled a book deal about Canadian mining companies, allegedly due to legal threats by an un-named third party. Click here to read more.
CAUT welcomes supports for students in the Fall Economic Update
CAUT welcomes measures in the Fall Economic Update to help vulnerable Canadians, including students, but calls on the government to make more concrete, robust and transformative commitments to research and post-secondary education in Budget 2021. Click here to read more.
