Season’s Greetings from your Kwantlen Faculty Association
Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,
Season’s Greetings! We hope this message finds you and yours all shoveled out of the snow and somewhere safe and warm with a hot beverage.
At the close of 2022, we would like to thank all faculty members for their day-in and day-out dedication, perseverance, and hard work in support of our students and our university community. Thank you. Your work is much appreciated.
We also wish to thank all of our colleagues, especially those on the Executive and other KFA committees, who volunteer on behalf of the association and our membership all year long.
We especially wish to recognize our support staff, Kyla Meermann, Amy Nagi, and Gill Jones, who do extraordinary work to support the KFA Executive and membership. Thank you all.
We hope you have noticed the number of communications to members from your KFA Table Officers and your KFA Executive. In case they ended up buried in the avalanche of email, here are a few highlights from the last few months.
Recent communications include those from our Executive Representatives including a statement from Seema Ahluwalia, our KFA Executive Representative for Decolonization, Reconciliation, and Indigenization regarding Canada’s 2nd National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, an update from David Sadoway, the KFA Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee Representative, and a letter from our Status of Women Representative, Cherylynn Bassani, regarding the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. For more information please see our KFA News & Updates.
Other News & Updates communications range from the recent municipal elections, to the labour issues in Ontario, to KFA in the Courtyard, Fair Employment Week, and the digitization of personnel files.
On the bargaining front our Members Area (login required) includes recent updates from KFA Vice President, Negotiations, Raphael Lagoutin. Thanks especially to Kristie Dukewich for her KFA organizing work on “talking points” and observers to support bargaining.
Please also see the two recent KFActs articles by Member-at-Large Rachelle Hollaway: KFActs: Working Post-65 and Benefits Coverage & KFActs: Accommodations, Short-Term Disability, and Manulife
As we try out new ways of communicating with members, we hope you will reach out if you have a suggestion for how we might better communicate with you in the future.
Please Note
The KFA virtual office is closed as of Thursday, December 22, and will reopen on Thursday, January 5th. If you require urgent assistance during this closure, please email any of the Table Officers. We will be checking email intermittently over the holidays.
Happy Holidays!
Wishing you a restorative break,
Your KFA Table Officers
Mark Diotte, KFA President
Diane Walsh, VP Grievances
Raphael Lagoutin, VP Negotiations
Rachelle Hollaway, Member-at-Large
Betty Cunnin, Member-at-Large
Kristie Dukewich, Member-at-Large
Emma Baggott, Secretary Treasurer
KFA-HRISC 2022 Update for KPU Faculty
Dear Colleagues,
This Saturday, December 10th, is the annual International Human Rights Day. Once again this is an important time for (re)affirming and (re)asserting the human rights of all people in all communities at home and around the globe. I wish to direct your attention to the United Nations, which explains that: “Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. Available in 500+ languages, it is the most translated document in the world.”
Your Kwantlen Faculty Association (KFA) has been actively working with the Federation of Postsecondary Educators of B.C. (FPSE-BC) and its Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee (HRISC). In 2022, we supported new and ongoing projects or resolutions related to human rights. These included:
- Supporting resolutions to remind governments and institutions about scholars’ and students human/labour rights in the Ukraine, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iran and other locations.
- Affirming the important work of our FPSE Climate Action Standing Committee (FPSE-CASC) in relation to the human rights impacts of climate change for communities in Turtle Island and around the globe. NOTE: Your KFA seeks to recruit one or more KPU faculty members who are interested in being a CASC Rep in 2023-24. If you are interested in our KFA Climate Action Standing Committee, please send me a short private email.
- Organizing in 2022, two virtual FPSE Human Rights & International Solidarity Speaker’s Tour events. The first was a Migrant Workers Panel (Feb.22/22) and the second was a focus on Canadian Mining Impacts Panel (March 10/22). You can find the video recordings for these events via embedded links here Migrant Workers Panel
In addition, through FPSE-BC in 2022, your International Solidarity Fund (ISF), funded 12 human rights and community enhancing projects (valued at just over $65,000), including two projects sponsored by members of the KFA (projects in India and Brasil). I wish to encourage all KFA members to consider proposing such small but impactful international solidarity projects if they have community partners in mind. ISF proposals will be accepted starting Jan 1st, 2023 (for a 6-week period normally up to a mid-Feb deadline). For more details, contact me or please see: https://fpse.ca/campaigns-issues/international-solidarity
Furthermore, through your KFA Antiracism Working Group (ARWG) we also desire to hear, see and better understand the voices, visions and concerns of Indigenous colleagues who are fully or precariously employed at KPU. We wish to better understand Indigenous concerns and priorities related to employment security, workplace cultural safety (and how we might improve our workplace solidarity actions). Indigenous faculty are encouraged to speak with and/or join your KFA Executive, Table Officers, Bargaining Committee and the ARWG. We aim to be reaching out more on this front in 2023.
Coming-up in the new year, HRISC is planning two FPSE-HRISC 2023 Speaker’s Tour events. One of these will be focused on Academic Freedom / Rights in our educational workplaces (online event planned for March 2023). Another event will be focused on International Student Rights Issues (hybrid event, also planned for March 2023). I will pass on details about both of these FPSE-HRISC Speaker’s Tour events once times and locations have been confirmed.
Finally, if you are interested in learning more or taking further action(s) in support of International Human Rights Day, I would propose that you join one of the many December 10th actions on human rights available online, such as Amnesty International’s (AI’s) “Write for Rights 2022″ Writing Campaigns. Writing just one thoughtful letter about an issue or a person can be an action that makes a difference. For more information please visit: https://amnesty.ca/news/news-releases/write-for-rights-2022/
Thanks for taking the time to think about Human Rights and International Solidarity now and during the coming year.
In Solidarity,
~david
KFA Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee Rep
Member of KFA Antiracism Working Group
Polytechnique Montreal Memorial on December 6
Circulated on Behalf of KFA Status of Women Representative, Cherylynn Bassani
Hello Everyone,
The Kwantlen Faculty Association warmly welcomes you to attend a Memorial tomorrow, Tuesday, December 6, on the Cloverdale KPU Campus from 12 noon to 12:30 pm to pay respect to the 14 women who lost their lives, and to all who have experienced gender based violence. We will meet outside in the courtyard where the rainbow sidewalk is housed (direct access through inside doors of student commons/lunch area). Please dress warmly!
We come together to remember the 14 women’s lives that were taken December 6, 1989, on the Montreal Polytechnic Campus. Since this time, the Canadian government has pledged to aid in the reduction of violence against women and special days have been designated to remember and reflect. Tomorrow is one of these days and was passed as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in 1991 … but truly little has changed in our society in 30 years 1.
- One in four women are still estimated to experience gender-based violence in their life.
- Over a three-year period (2019-2021) official records show a 26% increase in the number of women killed by violence.
- Intersections of inequality matter, as women who are -disabled, Indigenous, racialized, trans, non binary and homeless or underhoused experience higher incidence of violence 2.
Whether you attend the Memorial tomorrow at KPU or elsewhere 3 please ponder gender based violence, as it is happening on our campuses, in our neighbourhoods and in our communities. In 2023 I will be organizing a series of events at KPU surrounding gender based violence. If you are interested in speaking at an event or helping to organize, kindly email me.
In Solidarity, working towards a kinder society, where hatred of others is no longer tolerated.
Cherylynn
Status of Women Representative, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Solidarity with Ontario CUPE Workers & Letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford
Dear KFA Colleagues,
We want to share the below message and attached letter sent by Federation of Post-Secondary Educators President Brent Calvert to Ontario Premiere Doug Ford.
The attached letter was sent to Ontario Premier Doug Ford today, adding the FPSE voice to those speaking out against invoking the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ “notwithstanding clause” to bypass the collective bargaining process, in an effort to prevent the Province’s CUPE education sector workers from striking.
The KFA stands in solidarity with the unionized workers in Ontario whose Charter rights are under attack by the Ford Government.
In Health Services and Support-Facilities Subsector Bargaining Association v. British Columbia, 2007 SCC 27, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Section 2(d), freedom of association, of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does protect collective bargaining. In this context, the actions of the Ontario Provincial government are a direct threat to the fundamental rights under 2(d) to take job action and bargain collectively in Canada.
As we bargain locally with our Employer here at KPU, the KFA encourages faculty members, where appropriate, to take 10 minutes out of their classes and meetings over the next week to discuss the implications of the situation in Ontario for labour rights in British Columbia and across Canada.
For further information on the 2007 decision and the connection between the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and collective bargaining, please see:
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art2d.html
In Solidarity,
Mark Diotte
Important Update: Digitization of Personnel Files beginning October 21
Hello KFA members,
We wanted to take a moment to provide additional context to the message below sent out by KPU HR.
As is mentioned in the below email from HR, KPU will be working on the digitization of faculty personnel files.
Article 18.01 in our KPU/KFA 2019-2022 Collective Agreement speaks to the subject of faculty personnel files at KPU. The highlights of this Article include:
- Each faculty member’s ability to have access to all materials in their Personnel File, as well as any other files that include this member’s personal information, except for letters of reference and interview reports in the application file.
- When information is added to a faculty member’s file, a copy of this information is to be shared with the faculty member
- Apart from HR and appropriate administrators having routine administrative access to the personnel file, files will not be open to any other individual except with the written permission of the faculty member concerned.
- All documents of a disciplinary nature will be automatically removed from the faculty member’s personnel file after:
- 5 years for discipline that involves suspension, or an issue involving harassment, discrimination or the health and safety of students or employees, provided there has been no further infraction of that type
- 2 years for all other disciplinary matters, provided there has been no further infraction of that type.
The KFA’s ongoing advice to all members is to perform an occasional review of their personnel file to ensure that there is nothing inappropriate in their file (e.g. disciplinary letters beyond time limits in Article 18.01(d); mediation resolutions outside of the timelines in Harassment Article 23.03 (f) (v); etc.).
Should you have any questions about this, or any other aspect of your working conditions at KPU, please reach out to us here.
KFA Table Officers:
Mark Diotte
Diane Walsh
Betty Cunnin
Rachelle Hollaway
Emma Baggott
Kristie Dukewich
Raphael Lagoutin
Notice of Acclamation for the position of KFA Member-at-Large
Hello KFA members,
At our last KFA General Meeting on October 18th , the results of nominations was announced for the position of KFA Member-at-Large. On October 19, one of the nominations was withdrawn, leaving only one nomination. According to the KFA bylaws, if there is only one nomination, that nominee will be acclaimed to the position.
I am pleased to announce Kristie Dukewich has been acclaimed to the position of KFA Member-at-Large.
Once again, I would like to thank all members who put their names forward for these important roles.
Best Regards,
Raphael Lagoutin
Chief Returning Officer for the election
Last Call for Nominations for 2022 KFA Elections
Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,
In accordance with Article 7 of our Constitution and By-Laws, this is the last call for nominations for the following positions on the KFA Executive Committee:
- Member-at-Large
- Faculty of Health Representative
- School of Design Representative
- Qualifying Studies & Access Representative
Nomination Period – September 27- October 17, 2022
The nomination period runs from September 27- October 17, 2022, at noon. Nomination forms are to be sent to the Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.), Raphael Lagoutin. Three calls for nominations will be made during this time period. In the event that the call for nominations results in only one nomination being received by the close of the nomination period, the nominee shall be acclaimed at the General Meeting on October 18, 2022. If there is more than one nominee, an online election will be held.
The nominations received to date are as follows:
| Nominee | Nominator | Position |
| Jeffrey Meyers | Michael Ma | Member-at-Large |
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more information about the election process on our website.
Raphael Lagoutin, Vice-President, Negotiations
Officer Responsible for the Election
Second Call for Nominations for 2022 KFA Elections
Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,
In accordance with Article 7 of our Constitution and By-Laws, this is the second call for nominations for the following positions on the KFA Executive Committee:
- Member-at-Large
- Faculty of Health Representative
- School of Design Representative
- Qualifying Studies & Access Representative
Nomination Period – September 27- October 17, 2022
The nomination period runs from September 27- October 17, 2022, at noon. Nomination forms are to be sent to the Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.), Raphael Lagoutin. Three calls for nominations will be made during this time period. In the event that the call for nominations results in only one nomination being received by the close of the nomination period, the nominee shall be acclaimed at the General Meeting on October 18, 2022. If there is more than one nominee, an online election will be held.
The nominations received to date are as follows:
| Nominee | Nominator | Position |
| Jeffrey Meyers | Michael Ma | Member-at-Large |
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more information about the election process on our website.
Raphael Lagoutin, Vice-President, Negotiations
Officer Responsible for the Election
Notice of Amendments to the KFA Constitution
Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,
In accordance with By-Law 3.4.1, this is notice of changes to the KFA Constitution:
Proposed wording changes to the Constitution
WIND-UP
3.0 In the event that the Association should at any time be dissolved, the remaining assets after payment of all debts and liabilities shall be turned over to a recognized charitable organization in the province or elsewhere in Canada as directed by the members. This provision is alterable.
MOTION: that paragraph 3.0 Wind-up be deleted from the KFA Constitution.
Please Note: The GM information package will be distributed prior to the Fall General Meeting.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Raphael Lagoutin, Vice-President,
Officer Responsible for the Election
Canada’s 2nd National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
Dear Colleagues,
I am Seema Ahluwalia, KFA’s Executive Representative For Decolonization, Reconciliation, and Indigenization.
I greet you from the sacred and unceded territories of MST (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waatuth, and offer my respect to all the Coast Salish-speaking nations of these territories, including Kwantlen First Nation, whose name is borrowed by our University. Regrettably, I humbly acknowledge that I am not yet in your territories in a good way because I am here as a Canadian, a nation that has no paddle song. My life journey is to live in right relationship with the Original nations of this continent. Someday, your sovereignty will be respected again, and I will be able to take permission from you to be in your territories according to your laws.
Today, Canada’s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is a day meant for Canadians to contemplate and reflect upon Canada’s colonial project, its historical and current impacts on Indigenous peoples, and the ongoing ignorance, denial and silence of most Canadians about these very things.
Some of you may be looking for resources to help you understand what this is all about. I will share the guidance I am taking today, hoping it may be of use to you.
Today, I will remember the children who did not survive the genocidal residential school system. I will honor the survivors, my husband included, and read or listen to their brave testimony provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Canada), some of which you can access here:
I will reflect on how we can respond to the TRC 94 calls to action:
I will read the Yellowhead Institute’s report “Calls to Accountability: A 2021 Status Update on Reconciliation” by Dr. Eve Jewell and Dr. Ian Mosby that documents how little has been done thus far:
https://yellowheadinstitute.org/trc/
I will learn more about the LandBack Movement and the intergenerational efforts of Indigenous people across Great Turtle Island who work for the return of their lands:
I will reflect on the way the Canadian Government is co-opting resistance discourses like anti-racism and decolonization and deploying them in performative ways that substitute surface gestures for meaningful change. One example of this is the Canadian government’s enormous efforts since 1946 to confuse and degrade the understanding of what the term “genocide” means in international law in order to hide its culpability for this crime. Nehiyaw scholar Tamara Starblanket documents this in her research:
I will continue the struggle to bring Indigenous voices for decolonization into my workplace and curriculum, knowing that this will make me the target of racist backlash, marginalization, discrediting, and silencing as has been the case for over 30 years.
I express my gratitude to Elders who have taught me to see beyond highly codes, state-sponsored uses of the term “decolonization.” Canada cannot be on a “decolonization journey” as it is not colonized. The Canadian state, and we its citizens, are the colonizers. Our consent for colonization and complicity in genocide is gained through the extension of citizenship. That is our truth.
May we all spend this day reflecting on and learning about how to take meaningful action in support of Indigenous underlying title and self-determination.
Seema Ahluwalia
KPU Dept. of Sociology
