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“When Laurentian University declared bankruptcy, it pulled critical education programs out of Sudbury and its surrounding communities.” said Lily Chang, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. “A university like Laurentian provides jobs, education and opportunities for a community to progress towards a better future. The federal government must act now to ensure no other publicly funded institutions follow in Laurentian’s footsteps.”

The Minister should take steps to amend the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to exclude publicly funded institutions from seeking bankruptcy protection.

Institutions like Laurentian provide vital programs specific to the communities around them. The loss of the university’s tri-cultural mandate to support French, English, and Indigenous communities will impact surrounding communities for years to come.

“The implications of the declaration by Laurentian’s board are far-reaching and attack the very core of what it is to be a public institution,” said Chang. “Our public institutions are entrusted to use our tax dollars with accountability, transparency, and integrity. There was a clear lack of oversight and a failure of responsibility to taxpayers in this situation.”

The CCAA was never intended for public institutions, because these public entities are meant to be accountable to taxpayers. If a university is allowed to go through this process, so too could our health care system or elementary and secondary education institutions. The federal government must take action now to ensure the CCAA is never again used to destroy a university or any other public institution. They must act now to protect faculty, staff, students, families and communities.

Send a letter to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada. Urge him to ensure that no other publicly funded institutions follow in the footsteps of Laurentian University:

https://canadianlabour.ca/campaigns/protect-public-institutions/

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“Every year on this sad anniversary, we reaffirm our pledge to work every day so that no workers die at their jobs,” says Bea Bruske, CLC President. “Canadian companies must take responsibility to ensure workers making their goods are doing so in safe conditions, everywhere in the world.”

Canada’s unions have been supporting workers in the Global South and demanding that government and companies introduce policy and practices that respect rights, improve working conditions and pay a living wage.

We work closely with the Bangladesh Center for Workers’ Solidarity, which trains Bangladesh’s garment sector workers on their rights at work and supports unions in promoting and defending the respect of freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Again, today we call on Canadian brands sourcing clothing in Bangladesh to sign the binding International Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which makes retailers liable to legal action if their factories fail to meet labour safety standards. The extension of the Accord to other countries will help ensure a disaster like Rana Plaza never happens again.

Canada’s labour movement continues to lobby for strong Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence legislation in Canada to require companies to review all their business activities to identify actual and potential risks to people and the environment, take steps to mitigate those risks and ensure remedy for those harmed.

Last month, Canada’s unions declared support for two bills recently tabled in the House of Commons that will ensure Canadian companies respect human rights and the environment throughout their supply chains and ensure independent investigation when cases of rights violations are brought forward. Global campaigns are calling on companies to keep workers safe. You can help by sending a message to global brands to sign the International Accord to ensure factories in Bangladesh meet safety standards and keep workers safe. Visit the Clean Clothes Campaign’s Rana Plaza Never Again remembrance page to send your message.

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