BUFA Voice – November 2025

by Liz Clarke, President

In my campaign last spring I promised to embark on a listening tour of the membership during BUFA’s regular preparations for bargaining. Thus far, I have attended most of the department and centre meetings to hear the concerns of our members, along with this round’s Chief Negotiator for BUFA, Alison Braley-Rattai.

I have told many units that while listening to you, I have been making note of where we can find improvements or fight for better working conditions even before we begin formal negotiations next Spring. One of these cases was with Audio-Visual Services, which many of you have noted is suffering from both aging technology in the classrooms and understaffing of trained experts who can help when the technology fails.

I spoke to the Provost and the Vice President Administration and Services, while at the same time the Senate Information, Technology and Infrastructure Committee asked the VP Administration and Services to speak to the Committee about the state of AV Services this fall. Together we did make a difference. New staff are being hired, replacing broken technology is in the University’s plans now, and the Interim Associate Vice President of IT has reached out to BUFA and asked that we share his contact information so that members can reach out to him directly when there are issues: Peter Gilbert, [email protected].

However, this does not necessarily mean that the problems are solved. More VPs will not make our teaching conditions better overnight. I urge you to reach out to AVP Gilbert when AV problems are not resolved. Please copy BUFA in your correspondences so that we can continue to remind the University that investing in staff to support our teaching and research is a necessity, not an option.

As we contend with budgetary concerns, remember also that the University’s budget is a set of choices. Chronic government underfunding has put a strain on the Ontario higher education sector. That said, we must go into this bargaining year remembering that the mission of the University is teaching and research. The full- and part-time faculty, professional librarians, teaching assistants, lab coordinators, marker/graders, and others do the key work of the University. Just as importantly, the staff in our academic units and in departments like IT, AV, ORS, and others, support the core mission of teaching and research. When you feel the effects of cuts to those who support our role as teachers and researchers, reach out to BUFA. Many already have. We continue to talk to the senior administration about budgetary choices that have tipped far past the breaking point. Please keep us informed so that we can continue to fight for your right to teach and research with the supports necessary to do your jobs.

Each year, BUFA awards $1,000 scholarships to five undergraduate and two graduate students. These BUFA awards recognize excellence in academic achievements, as well as significant and on-going dedication to community service.

Congratulations to this year’s Undergraduate Award recipients:

Matthew Duarte, Computer Science

Simon Dickson, Physical Education

Ivie Omoregi, Nursing

Nicola Odu, Biological Sciences

Charvi Patel, Medical Sciences

We wish all applicants the best for their future endeavors!

by Curtis Fogel, Grievance Office

The Supporting Children and Students Act (Bill 33) was introduced to Ontario parliament by the Ford government in May of 2025 and is expected to be voted on this Fall. The Ford government has touted Bill 33 as student-centred legislation, which they claim will provide better protections and learning environments for students of all ages in Ontario. If passed, which appears to be a certainty based on the current composition of provincial parliament, it will give significant new powers to government over public education in Ontario. The Bill has received significant critical attention by teachers, school boards, concerned parents, teachers’ associations, and even the Ontario Human Rights Commission because it extends government authority, weakens educational autonomy, creates new opportunities for further funding cuts, and disregards critical issues disproportionately impacting students who are racialized, Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and/or with disabilities. While much attention has been paid to the potential negative impacts of Bill 33 on the K-12 public education system, less attention has been given to its potential impacts on university education and the working conditions of academic workers. Here, I ask: What are the potential impacts of Bill 33 on academic workers? Bill 33 has the potential to negatively impact academic workers by increasing government control over: 1) ancillary fees, 2) admissions, and 3) research security.

While the provincial government currently has powers over academic tuition, which has allowed them to freeze tuition at 2019 levels, they do not have control over student fees. Bill 33 changes that. The government will have the authority to require universities to cut fees that they currently charge students that support critical campus services related to student mental health, accessibility, campus safety, and recreation programming and facilities. While reducing student fees should be applauded, the Ford government has shown no interest or willingness to fill the funding gap with public dollars. As student supports decline, more work will be placed on academic workers.

Standards, criteria, and processes of university admission are currently, and have historically been, determined by individual

institutions. At Brock, BUFA members establish minimum admission requirements for the programs in which they work, through open and transparent collegial governance processes. At the graduate level, we are full participants in our programs in determining which students are most likely to succeed based on wholistic assessments of applicants. Through Bill 33, the Ford government will require universities to admit students based on “merit alone” and the government will have the power to define what does, and does not, constitute merit. Through this Bill, our academic freedoms and professional autonomy on admissions will be encroached upon by government with new powers in shaping who does and does not enter our undergraduate and graduate programs. Further, any attempts we are making to create more diverse and inclusive learning environments through admissions, which enhances academic experiences for students and professors, can be restricted or prohibited by government under Bill 33.

Bill 33 also gives the provincial government powers to grant research security directives to universities. If Bill 33 passes, all Ontario universities will be required to prepare and submit research security plans to the province, which academic workers must then adhere to at the risk of being denied research funds and/or facing discipline for violations. The government will retain the authority to determine what must be included in these plans. BUFA members are already subject to federal research security guidelines, which places some restrictions on academic freedoms. Bill 33 will lead to new layers of approvals and restrictions, which might heighten and potentially conflict with federal guidelines and corresponding Tri-Council funds. At best, it will increase the red tape that academic workers must navigate to do the research component of their work; at worst, it will open new avenues for cuts to research funding, constraints on academic freedom, and discipline of academic workers who are found to not be in compliance.

The 2025 Ontario Budget has confirmed that funding for Ontario Universities will continue to decline for the foreseeable future, despite already providing the lowest per-student funding in the country. With Bill 33, the Ford government has made clear that they are set on exerting more control over universities, while simultaneously funding them less. The result will be further undermining of Ontario universities and their academic workers.