WLUFA Statement on Vaccinations and Return to Campus

The WLUFA Executive is encouraged by the Wilfrid Laurier University administration’s recent decision to require all students, faculty, librarians and staff to be fully vaccinated with an approved COVID-19 vaccine upon return to in-person activities on campus this fall.  Vaccination against COVID-19 coupled with other mitigation strategies such as masking, social distancing, proper ventilation and other measures is the best way to ensure that we maintain a safe and healthy working and learning environment on campus.

Proof of vaccination, rather than attestation, should be required as verification to access campus. WLUFA acknowledges that in some cases there are legitimate exemptions for individuals based on medical reasons or the Ontario Human Rights Code. In such cases, WLUFA urges the University to provide a reasonable and appropriate accommodation plan as well as suitable alternative health and safety measures that ensure the well-being of all members of the Laurier community.

Since the information on the university’s health and safety protocols has significantly changed since faculty agreed to in-person teaching, WLUFA calls on the administration to stand by the Principles for return to work (2021-2022) and allow those who agreed to in-person teaching, but who now see reason to switch to remote course delivery, to do so.

In Solidarity,

The WLUFA Executive

With the recent confirmation of 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School on the territory of the Cowessess First Nation, WLUFA asks members to take action to support survivors and Indigenous peoples.

While many are reacting with dismay or shock, former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Chair Murray Sinclair estimated earlier this month that thousands more unmarked graves will be uncovered. Releasing statements alone does not go far enough, and as Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said, ” …the bureaucracy of the government of Canada and the province have a lot of work yet to do.” The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has called for former Residential Schools to be deemed crime scenes, and for criminal charges to be laid on the architects of and those involved in the creation and administration of Residential Schools. Marion Buller, former chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, challenged the federal government to move beyond its “very well-crafted statement of sympathy and empathy” in reaction to the findings at Marieval, and instead prove their commitment to these issues “with concrete action,” including the release of documents related to residential schools.

WLUFA recognizes that statement-making is not enough. We will be developing a resources page on WLUFA’s website to enable our members to keep informed through links to Indigenous led and created news sources, as well as providing members with suggestions for action including donation links. WLUFA will also make a donation to the Save the Evidence Campaign which works to restore the former Mohawk Institute Residential School into a historic site and educational resource.

If you are a former residential school student or an Indigenous person and you need support at this time, you can call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419.

Actions and Resources:

WLUFA calls on all members, and the WLU administration and broader community, to:

1. For non-Indigenous community members, acknowledge the truth about residential schools and ongoing colonial violence. Speak out against people who deny or excuse or justify this violence. Hold your friends, family members, MPPs, MPs, religious leaders, colleagues to account. 
2. Commit to learning more and educating others about the histories of white supremacy and genocide of Indigenous peoples in the making of this nation we call Canada.
3. Read the TRC and its 94 recommendations and work to implement them in your own teaching, research, work and service.
4. Share TRC resources.
5. Make a donation to Indigenous organizations and movements. WLUFA will be providing some suggestions for these on our new Resources webpage (link to be circulated soon).

In the largest and deadliest mass killing in London’s history, a Muslim family was targeted in a violent, brutal and premeditated truck attack on Sunday. This resulted in the killing of 4 members of the family, leaving only their 9-year-old child in Intensive Care as the only survivor. This act of racism, Islamophobia and white supremacy have shocked many in our and other communities. And while we mourn for those lost and grieve alongside all our colleagues, friends, allies, and community members affected, we also recognize the ongoing issues of white supremacy, Islamophobia, and racism that continue to permeate across Turtle Island and across the globe. One only needs to take a cursory glance at the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Hate Crime Map to see the extent of reported crimes over the years.

The Afzaal family – who have only recently approved the release of the names of those who were killed  – lost three generations, a grandparent, the parents of two children, and their high school aged daughter. As the Ontario Federation of Labour President Patty Coates stated in a release by the Federation, ” This act of hate is tragic and horrific. No one should fear going for a walk, or worshipping, or taking public transit because of their faith,””

WLUFA fully endorses this sentiment. We further commit ourselves to engaging in action to challenge racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim racism in our community. We have provided actions and resources below for those grieving and those who wish to take action.  We echo the National Council of Canadian Muslim’s call for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia. As of publication the petition has secured approximately 30,000 signatures.

Further, we call upon Laurier to work with Muslim faculty, staff, students, and community to ensure they are protected and to introduce and intensify efforts to combat Islamophobia on campus. Oppression, prejudice and discrimination have no place on our campus, or in our communities.

Actions and Resources:

You can also watch the entirety of the Vigil in London, attended by thousands, to bear witness to the harm that was caused as well as the community efforts to come together, at the London Muslim Mosque Facebook Page

 The Muslim Chaplaincy will be hosting drop in sessions on June 9th and 10th at noon:

The National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Petition on a National Action Summit

In the context of the present tragedy, WLUFA urges the University to consider the following calls put forward by a number of our colleagues:

1. Include Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism in the EDI Action Plan along with all other prohibited grounds of discrimination outlined under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
2. Provide training for Laurier staff on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism.

This week the following letter was sent to the Board of Governors of Laurentian University:

To the Board of Governors of Laurentian University:

I am writing on behalf of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) to support the demands of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) that the Board of Governors immediately remove Dr. Robert Haché, Lorella Hayes, Serge Demers, and Marie Josée Berger from their positions.

The Board must at last do its job and signal to the Laurentian community, to the city, region and province, and to the country as a whole, that it does not condone the egregious mismanagement of the institution.   

WLUFA deplores the unscrupulous resort to commercial creditor protection and the cruel purge of faculty and staff which followed.  We are disgusted over the treatment of Laurentian’s affiliated universities.  We are shocked that the Board has accepted a process that is doing irreparable reputational damage to the university and harming so many people’s lives. Given the damage done to Laurentian’s reputation, who would now admit to being a Laurentian alumnus?  What student would apply to Laurentian knowing about this appalling situation?

You have a responsibility to hold to account the President and Vice-Chancellor, Vice- President Academic and Provost, Vice-President Administration, and Registrar for their incompetence and failure. The overwhelming majority of LUFA members no longer have confidence in these administrators. They do not have legitimacy and cannot represent the university or provide collegial leadership. Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association stands in solidarity with the faculty, staff, students, and community members who are suffering the consequences of the actions taken by these administrators.  Why do you allow them to maintain their roles and positions when so many have been unjustly fired because of what they did?

Act promptly, dismiss the individuals responsible, and begin the process of restoring Laurentian’s reputation. You have a responsibility to try and mitigate the long term damage that has already been inflicted on the Laurentian community, and prevent further harm. You have already failed the institution and people you were chosen to protect, irreparably harming the long-term future and sustainability of this University community; but it is not too late to heed the wishes of the Laurentian University community, and the Faculty, Staff, students and community members who make up this University.

The Board must at last do its job and signal to the Laurentian community, to the city, region and province, and to the country as a whole, that it does not condone the egregious mismanagement of the institution.   

WLUFA deplores the unscrupulous resort to commercial creditor protection and the cruel purge of faculty and staff which followed.  We are disgusted over the treatment of Laurentian’s affiliated universities.  We are shocked that the Board has accepted a process that is doing irreparable reputational damage to the university and harming so many people’s lives. Given the damage done to Laurentian’s reputation, who would now admit to being a Laurentian alumnus?  What student would apply to Laurentian knowing about this appalling situation?

You have a responsibility to hold to account the President and Vice-Chancellor, Vice- President Academic and Provost, Vice-President Administration, and Registrar for their incompetence and failure. The overwhelming majority of LUFA members no longer have confidence in these administrators. They do not have legitimacy and cannot represent the university or provide collegial leadership. Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association stands in solidarity with the faculty, staff, students, and community members who are suffering the consequences of the actions taken by these administrators.  Why do you allow them to maintain their roles and positions when so many have been unjustly fired because of what they did?

Act promptly, dismiss the individuals responsible, and begin the process of restoring Laurentian’s reputation. You have a responsibility to try and mitigate the long term damage that has already been inflicted on the Laurentian community, and prevent further harm. You have already failed the institution and people you were chosen to protect, irreparably harming the long-term future and sustainability of this University community; but it is not too late to heed the wishes of the Laurentian University community, and the Faculty, Staff, students and community members who make up this University.

Sincerely,

David Monod

President, WLUFA

On Monday, April 12 it was publicly revealed that 110 full-time faculty members and an untold number of contract faculty and staff had lost their jobs and 69 programs (mostly in social sciences and humanities, leaving most STEM programs intact) were being cut at Laurentian University. These devastating cuts are the direct result of the negligence of both the Minister (who was aware of the financial challenges Laurentian was facing at least six months before they became public) and LUs senior administration. The Minister has chosen not to support Laurentian University and its students, faculty, or community. Minister Romano has demonstrated the same resistance to consultation, transparency, and accountability as the Laurentian U administration throughout this debacle. Romano has made numerous announcements regarding the postsecondary education sector without consulting faculty, academic librarians, staff, or students. The above constitute an egregious mishandling of the situation at LU by both the Minister and senior administrators at the university.

This week, the WLUFA executive approved the following Motion calling for the resignations of Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Ross Romano, The President of Laurentian University, Robert Haché, and his senior leadership team.

The text of the motion is below:

Whereas: The financial crisis facing Laurentian was created by the provincial government which has chronically underfunded Ontario’s universities and has cut or frozen tuition fees without providing equivalent public funding.

Whereas: The provincial government has abandoned an important Northern Ontario university just when faculty, students and staff needed their support most.

Whereas: Minister Romano has repeatedly refused invitations to meet with representatives of OCUFA to discuss the situation at Laurentian and other challenges facing Ontario universities today.

Whereas:  The Laurentian University administration chose to engage, with implicit approval from Minister Romano, in secretive, untransparent and inappropriate legal proceedings (using the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act – CCAA) that were imposed on faculty and staff without consultation.

Whereas: Laurentian faculty were also put in a position where they had little choice but to ratify changes to their collective agreement that will see salaries reduced, teaching loads increased, and forced furlough days due to administration of LU’s use of the CCAA process.

Whereas: President Robert Hache and his senior leadership team have failed the university community through chronic mismanagement of its finances.

Whereas: catastrophic changes were imposed on faculty and staff at LU less than 12 hours before their acceptance was required; where faculty and staff were threatened that they had to either accept concessions or risk having the university close completely; where among those who lost their jobs were 17 faculty members who chose retirement to ensure that as many of their colleagues as possible would keep their jobs.

Be It Resolved That: WLUFA, having lost confidence in the Minister’s commitment to the university sector, as well as in LU’s leadership’s ability to lead the university through this crisis, calls for the resignation of the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano, and President of Laurentian University, President Robert Hache, and his senior leadership team, in light of their catastrophic mishandling of the situation at LU.

WLUFA Stands in Solidarity with our Asian Colleagues April 6, 2021

On behalf of the WLUFA Executive Committee:

WLUFA condemns the increase in violence against people of Asian descent in North America and around the world. The murder of six Asian-American women in Atlanta, Georgia is not an isolated incident, nor is it something to which Canada and Wilfrid Laurier University are immune. In July 2020, data from Statistics Canada indicated that one-third of Chinese Canadians saw themselves at higher risk for possible harassment or violence. The Chinese Canadian National Council, the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, Project 1907, the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, and Elimin8hate have documented an explosion of anti-Asian incidents across Canada. In September 2020, these organizations released a report that found Canada to have a higher number of anti-Asian racism reports per capita than the United States. In February 2021, Vancouver police reported that there had been a 717 percent increase in a year in anti-Asian hate crimes in the city. Police services in Toronto and Ottawa have also reported increases. Asian-Canadian organizations have been issuing calls to action.

Now more than ever, it is important for us all to be proactive in seeking a safe and inclusive work environment. As university faculty, we have a responsibility to address the culture that incubates and emboldens such acts, through our research and teaching and in interactions with our students and colleagues.

WLUFA reaffirms its commitment to workplace equity (Equity Statement reproduced below). It is increasingly clear that we should take immediate action to listen to and support our Asian colleagues who have faced increased bigotry in the past year. We recognize that we need to do better in listening to and responding to the concerns of other marginalized communities as well.