Weekly Update – December 10, 2021
December 10, 2021
Weekly Update – December 10, 2021
CUASA Office Holiday Closure
Please note, the virtual CUASA Office will be closed from Thursday, December 23, to Tuesday, January 4, inclusive. No services will be provided during this time. The virtual office will reopen on Wednesday, January 5, at 9:00am.
Accordingly, the final weekly update of 2021 will be next Friday, December 17. Updates will resume in January.
If you need to contact CUASA during the office closure, please contact the following and we will get back to you when the virtual office reopens in January:
- for grievance concerns or matters: members with a last name beginning with the letters A-M, please email Hanan Mankal ([email protected]); members with a last name beginning with the letters N-Z, please email Alex Aucoin ([email protected])
- for non-grievance matters, please email [email protected]
We thank you for your patience and understanding during the holiday closure.
ARWG Drop-In Session
Members from CUASA’s Anti-Racism Working Group (ARWG) will host a drop-in session on Thursday January 13th, 2022, from 1-4pm (via Zoom) for BIPOC and Jewish-identified members to have an open discussion about the results of the BIPOC Experience Survey that was circulated last year. The last hour of this session will be more informal and we invite members to stay on, with a drink of your choice, so we can get to know each other better. If you are interested in attending, please contact [email protected] to RSVP to receive the Zoom details.
Carleton Community Updates
Carleton University Retirement Plan – Personal Pension Statement
If you are currently an active member of the retirement plan (as of June 30, 2021) and have consented to receive your annual personal pension statement electronically, it is now available.
Access your pension statement by:
- Going to https://i.carleton.ca/my-hr/.
- Enter your MyCarletonOne Username and Password.
- Go to My HR.
- Click on 2021 Pension Statement.
If you selected printed copies, they will be sent by mail and will go out by Dec. 10. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Faculty Consultations on Sexual Violence Policy Review
The University is reviewing its Sexual Violence Policy throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. As part of this process, it will be offering information and feedback sessions to solicit input from the campus community.
The objective of these sessions is to host a supportive, creative space wherein members of the community can provide their feedback on the Sexual Violence Policy.
There are faculty sessions scheduled for the following dates and times:
- Wednesday January 12, 10am-11am
- Tuesday January 18, 1pm-2pm
Participants are recommended to read the policy ahead of the sessions and review the considerations outlined in the Sexual Violence Review Work Plan. For more information or to register for one of the faculty sessions, click here.
Academic Community Updates
University of Manitoba Faculty Association ratifies agreement
CUASA extends sincere congratulations to the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA), which has ratified a new agreement, ending its 35-day strike. The agreement comes after UMFA members worked together with students and community supporters to improve recruitment and retention at the University.
The agreement enhances working conditions for UMFA members by improving maternity and parental leave benefits, and establishes a Family Resources Position to assist UM community members in finding childcare. Compensation will be determined through binding arbitration, which will ignore government mandates and be guided by a “reasonable advancement toward” the 25th percentile when compared to Canada’s top 15 research universities.
To read UMFA’s full statement, click here.
Harry Crowe Foundation Conference 2022 – Academic Freedom and the Law
Academic freedom in Canada is the right of academic staff to teach and discuss, to research and publish, to participate in the academic governance of and to criticize their administration, and to exercise their civil liberties, including freedom of expression, without institutional censorship. The exercise of academic freedom is both facilitated by and constrained by the law. This conference will explore the legal foundations of academic freedom, as well as the legal limits placed on it with a view to strengthening the protections for academic freedom in Canada.
This important conference will be held online February 10-11, 2022. The registration link and the conference agenda are available at: http://www.crowefoundation.ca/events/.
The Harry Crowe Foundation was established as a charitable organization by the Canadian Association of University Teachers in 2002 to carry out education and research on the role of academic freedom in contemporary society. The Foundation is named in honour of Professor Harry Crowe whose celebrated academic freedom case in the 1950’s helped establish the mission of what was then a fledgling CAUT.
Call for Nominations to CAUT Executive Committee
Nominations are being actively sought for election to the CAUT Executive Committee.
The deadline for nominations to all positions is March 1, 2022. Elections will take place at the CAUT Council meeting in Ottawa on April 28 to May 1, 2022.
The nomination procedures, description of positions, terms of office and CAUT release time policy are available on the CAUT website.
December News Wire: Highlights from CAUT’s 91st Council meeting
Delegates to Council met virtually on November 25 and 26, 2021 to discuss key issues facing academic staff associations, notably the ongoing University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) strike action, the lifting of the University of Toronto censure, and the implications of Laurentian University’s use of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
In this issue:
- Strong support for UMFA strike action
- Council pledges support for Ontario community colleges
- University of Toronto censure is lifted
- CAUT members reject IHRA definition of antisemitism
- The Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and PSEs
- Award Nominations
- Academic freedom in Québec
- Support for Afghan academics
Click here to read the NewsWire and to subscribe.
