Non-Confidence in Senior KPU Leadership: Discussion at KFA AGM May 1st

Dear KFA Colleagues,

The KFA Table Officers have been asked by numbers of faculty members to host a non-confidence vote in the senior leadership of KPU. For information, discussion, and input purposes, we have added this matter as an agenda item to our KFA Annual General Meeting on May 1st.

The Vancouver Island University Faculty Association (VIUFA) called for a vote of non-confidence in their President in conjunction with a VIU Student’s Union call for the removal of the VIU President . The result was that the their President subsequently resigned. To help facilitate discussion, we have invited VIUFA President Gara Pruesse to speak to their experience and process.

This can be an effective strategy to usher in change, but how do KPU Faculty feel? Do we still have confidence in our senior leadership to navigate us through the tough times ahead? Please attend the meeting to share your thoughts! We welcome your feedback and direction on this crucial matter.

In solidarity,

Mark Diotte

President, Kwantlen Faculty Association

president@yourkfa.ca

Last Call for Nominations for 2025 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:

• VP Grievances (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Member-at-Large (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Secretary-Treasurer (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Humanities Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Trades & Technology Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Ombudsperson (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Social Sciences Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Qualifying Studies & Access Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Learner Support/Co-op Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Disability Management and Rehabilitation Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Human Rights & International Solidarity Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Labour Community Advocate Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirited+ Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Decolonization, Reconciliation & Indigenization Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)

This is also the last call for nominations for the following position on the KFA Working Conditions Committee (WCC):

• WCC Faculty of Health Representative

Please see the “Responsibilities of an Executive Committe Member” document and By-law 4.2 for information about these roles. Please also see the KFA Conflict of Interest Policy.

Nomination Period – April 8-30, 2025
The nomination period runs from April 8 to 30, at noon. Nomination forms are to be sent to the Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.), Marc Kampschuur. 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 Annual General Meeting on May 1, 2025. If there is more than one nominee, an online election will be held.

The nominations received to date are as follows:

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more information about the election process on our website.

Marc Kampschuur, Vice-President, Negotiations

Officer Responsible for the Election

Special Online Viewing of The Path Forward from HRISC/FPSE

The Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee of FPSE (Federation of Post Secondary-Educators of BC) has arranged for a free online viewing of The Path Forward. The documentary focusses on grieving Palestinians and Israeli Jews, coming together over the war in Gaza.

The documentary will be available from 4 PM on April 18 to 4 PM on April 21.

Notice of Amendments to the KFA Constitution and By-Laws

Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,

In accordance with By-Law 3.4.1, this is notice of changes for By-Law # 11

11. BY-LAW #10: FINANCIAL OPERATIONS

11.5 The Executive Committee may invest the funds of the Association in any savings account, term deposit, or savings certificate in a Bank, Trust Company, or Credit Union chartered by the Government of Canada or of the Province of British Columbia.

11.6 The Executive Committee may retain a professional investment management firm to manage the funds of the Association.

11.7 The Executive Committee may retain a law firm or lawyer to provide legal services to the Association.

11.87 Notwithstanding Article 11.5, 11.6 and 11.7 10.5 of the By-Laws, the Association, in accordance with the Society Act, shall not borrow money, contract a debt, or otherwise enter into agreements except by a vote of seventy-five (75%) of the members present at a General Meeting where quorum is met.

11.98   qualified, third-party Auditor shall be appointed by the Association at the Annual General Meeting, to examine the books of the Association and the Association’s Financial Statement. The Association’s Financial Statement shall be presented by the Secretary-Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting; the Auditor’s report, prepared in accordance with the generally accepted auditing practice, shall be presented to the first Fall General Meeting which follows the Annual General Meeting.

MOTION: To approve the changes to By-Laws #11.7 and 11.8 as recommended by the KFA Executive.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Marc Kampschuur, Vice-President,

Officer Responsible for the Election

Hold the Date for the KFA AGM – 3:00-6:00 pm on Thursday, May 1, 2025

Please join us:

KFA Annual General Membership Meeting

Thursday, May 1, 2025
3:00 – 6:00 pm
Via Zoom

On the Agenda:

Bargaining Update

2025 Elections and Acclamations

Changes to Constitution and By-Laws

KFA 2024-25 Year End

KFA 2025-26 Draft Budget

Second Call for Nominations for 2025 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:

• VP Grievances (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Member-at-Large (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Secretary-Treasurer (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Humanities Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Trades & Technology Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Ombudsperson (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Social Sciences Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Qualifying Studies & Access Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Learner Support/Co-op Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Disability Management and Rehabilitation Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Human Rights & International Solidarity Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Labour Community Advocate Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirited+ Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Decolonization, Reconciliation & Indigenization Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027) 

This is also the second call for nominations for the following position on the KFA Working Conditions Committee (WCC):

• WCC Faculty of Health Representative

Please see the “Responsibilities of an Executive Committee Member” document and By-law 4.2 for information about these roles. Please also see the KFA Conflict of Interest Policy.

Nomination Period – April 8-30, 2025
The nomination period runs from April 8 to 30, at noon. Nomination forms are to be sent to the Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.), Marc Kampschuur. 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 Annual General Meeting on May 1, 2025. If there is more than one nominee, an online election will be held.

The nominations received to date are as follows:

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more information about the election process on our website.

Marc Kampschuur, Vice-President, Negotiations

Officer Responsible for the Election

Update on Layoffs Situation

Hello Colleagues,

Here is a brief update on where we are with the layoffs situation.

First, I want to thank everyone who has expressed such support for each other, and all of the people who have volunteered to help, and all of the people who have stepped forward with Targeted Labour Adjustment explorations. One thousand thanks to all of you!

Here’s a brief update summary:

Mediation with a Labour Board Appointed Arbitrator:

As I mentioned in a previous update, because the parties have not been able to agree on a settlement to the situation, the Union can apply to the Labour Board for mediation assistance under Section 54 of the BC Labour Code. We have done that, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quickness of the response. We anticipate the mediation will be on April 28 and/or May 1, unless something changes in the meantime.

What is this process, and what should we expect?

The parties (the KPU administration representatives and the KFA representatives) will work with a Labour Board-appointed arbitrator who will act as a mediator to attempt settlement of our differences around the layoffs. When I submitted the application for mediation, I provided a general summary and included information, including the Employer’s own communications, regarding:

• The lack of concrete information provided by the Employer regarding the rationale for the layoffs, which to us doesn’t seem to comply with the language under Article 7 that lists reasons for layoff (the Employer’s own documents re budget and enrollment projects and rationale provided for layoffs)
• The Employer’s actions in blocking the Union’s attempts to secure registration, fill rate and international student enrollment rates by ordering department chairs not to communicate information to the Union (the Union’s query to chairs and the Employer’s communications to chairs and to the Union provided verbatim)
• The Union’s response to the Employer’s rationale and proposals for alternatives to layoffs (document provided)
• The Employer’s responses in rejection (document provided)

The mediator will be in charge of determining process for a mediation, but from my experience, it will likely be composed of a review of the situation with an attempt to secure agreement on whatever we can find to agree upon, followed by separate discussions on what it would take to reach some kind of settlement and what that settlement would look like, followed by attempts by the mediator to bring the parties closer together.

However, a key point to recall here is that the Board appointee cannot enforce or rule on an agreement; it is wholly voluntary. We may be able to get some movement with a third-party mediator present, and I hope we will be able to achieve something, though we should not over-estimate the effect of mediation. It’s one more tool in the box.

Formal Grievances Filed

Another tool in the box is filing formal grievances. This past Friday was the deadline for filing, and 70 formal grievances were filed: one Policy grievance (a general grievance filed on behalf of the whole Union) as well as 69 individual grievances for the individuals directly impacted. The Policy grievance includes the general position that the Employer has not provided sufficient information to rationalize the layoffs, and the impacts to those issued layoff notices, as well as impacts to job loss for non-regular faculty, as well as impacts to workload, etc for faculty not laid off, and so on. The individual grievances deal with violations and impacts on individuals, including 7 individuals who are impacted around the paternity and parental leave provisions of the Collective Agreement as well as legislation, as well as the lack of information that would rationalize any layoff.

Before filing the formal grievances, I did try informal resolution as a trial, for members of one department. We were able to gather all of the relevant information (laboriously, as the Employer will not provide specific information in any accessible form!), and we were able to verify that there appeared to be no rational reason to issue layoff notices in the department. There has been no decline in sections over the previous three years, there has been no decline in enrollments, and the fill rate has been above the institutional average. The response of the Employer was a rejection, and thus we have proceeded to file the formal grievances.

Governance and Policy Concerns:

On another note, a number of people have been enquiring regarding how to express concerns regarding governance and policy irregularities, in the wake of the Board meeting many faculty attended. There are few ways you can express concerns should you wish to do so.

First, a great place to start is always the direct approach, expressing concerns and asking for specific actions from those who are directly empowered to do so. If this is something you want to do, you can contact the Board Chair and/or the whole Board directly. You should be aware that this communication will go through a general enquiries email address, which is: E-mail: boardofgovernors@kpu.ca

You can also address your concerns and requests directly to the Minister of Av Ed. Here is a list of contacts in the Ministry: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/organizational-structure/ministries-organizations/ministries/post-secondary-education-and-future-skills/ministry-contacts

There also is a mechanism to express concerns through the Office of the BC Ombudsperson. All public bodies are responsible to follow their own and gov policies, as well as to maintain standards for the conduct of business. Here is how and where to file a general complaint regarding a public body: https://bcombudsperson.ca/complaints/how-to-make-a-complaint/

For public body employees, there is also the opportunity to file a “whistleblower” complaint. You can find out how and where, here: https://bcombudsperson.ca/public-interest-disclosure/how-to-report-a-wrong-doing/

To be clear, I want to emphasize that I am not suggesting you should do any of this; I am answering queries on where to express concerns, and I am saying that if you are thinking you may wish to do this, here above are the places to start. I am of the optimistic view that we all support the general notion that clearly expressing one’s views and speaking one’s truth to power helps everyone by upholding and encouraging the rightful exercise of power on the part of those who hold positions of authority. I hope this information helps.

Upcoming Rally and CAUT Campaign

Finally, as Mark Diotte mentioned previously, here are another two ways to get involved.

One way is to attend the upcoming rally.  This is happening April 25th at noon at the Vancouver Art gallery (Georgia Street side). This rally was organized by the faculty at VCC, but it is general in nature around the cuts to student visas and post-graduate work permits, as well as the overarching funding deterioration across the sector. If you can, please try to attend, and please let your students know about it, too.

Hope to see you there!

The second way is to participate in  CAUT’s ”Unlock Education” campaign. You can get more information and sign up for the campaign at https://education2025.ca/

In solidarity,

Diane.

KFA Call to Action: Help us Stop the Cuts

Dear KFA Colleagues,

We encourage faculty to take the following actions to help us stop the cuts.

1. Please join us as well as faculty and students from Vancouver Community College to protest the recent changes to international student visas and post-graduate work permits which have caused massive cuts to programs, faculty job loss, and the loss of opportunities for students.  The rally to “Stop the Cuts!” will be Friday April 25th at noon at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Georgia Street Side). Please see the attached poster for details.
2. The federal election is taking place on April 28, 2025 and Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) campaign Unlock Education campaign is ready for use by FPSE Members which includes the KFA).. Unlock Education calls attention to the four key issues (priorities) below and reminds the public of the importance of colleges and universities by highlighting how post-secondary education shapes our communities and improves our lives.

  Priorities  

1. Making college and university affordable for everyone 
2. Freedom to think, teach and learn
3. Including new people and new perspectives 

Universities and colleges we can rely on
With the recent actions and threats of the Trump Administration in the United States, there is an urgent need to ensure that the next federal government invests in post-secondary education and research to build a more resilient future for Canada.

  2 Steps for Member Engagement   

Step 1: Sign up for the campaign at https://education2025.ca/

• Public post-secondary education has never been more important – for individual students and for Canada as a whole. Yet the political threats it faces are just as significant. Learn more about the issues post-secondary education is facing and our priorities.

Step 2: Spread the word on local and member preferred social media platforms at https://app.sosha.ai/toolkit/d44226ea-6e87-4832-8465-82a225fad518

• The link above will take you to a SoSha site that houses all the Unlock Education social media content in one space, making it easy for members to spread the word on your desired platform(s) – X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky.
• It is easy to use and allows you or your association to share or edit content to reflect your local context.

In solidarity,

Mark Diotte

president@yourkfa.ca

First Call for Nominations for 2025 KFA Elections

Dear Kwantlen Faculty Association Members,

In accordance with Article 7 of our Constitution and By-Laws, this is the first call for nominations for the following positions on the KFA Executive Committee:

• VP Grievances (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Member-at-Large (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Secretary-Treasurer (until end of term, August 31, 2027)
• Humanities Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Trades & Technology Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Ombudsperson (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Social Sciences Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Qualifying Studies & Access Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Learner Support/Co-op Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Disability Management and Rehabilitation Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Human Rights & International Solidarity Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Labour Community Advocate Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirited+ Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)
• Decolonization, Reconciliation & Indigenization Committee Representative (until end of term, May 31, 2027)

This is also the first call for nominations for the following position on the KFA Working Conditions Committee (WCC):

• WCC Faculty of Health Representative

Please see the “Responsibilities of an Executive Committee Member” document and By-law 4.2 for information about these roles. Please also see the KFA Conflict of Interest Policy.

Nomination Period – April 8-30, 2025
The nomination period runs from April 8 to 30, at noon. Nomination forms are to be sent to the Chief Returning Officer (C.R.O.), Marc Kampschuur. 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 Annual General Meeting on May 1, 2025. If there is more than one nominee, an online election will be held.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more information about the election process on our website.

Marc Kampschuur, Vice-President, Negotiations

Officer Responsible for the Election

RE: [University Communicator] Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Context

Hello,

in this communication that could be objected to, but I will point specifically at this one:

And yet the overall ratios of regular administrators to staff to instructors has remained And yet the overall ratios of regular administrators to staff to instructors has remained the same throughout the years, and it is our plan to keep it that way.

This is untrue.

According to data drawn directly from the HRDB, a database which is maintained by the BC Post-Secondary Employers Association, the organization charged by the provincial government with oversight of our sector, and on student FTE data drawn directly from KPU’s own accountability plans and reports,  there has been a significant and disproportionate growth in administration FTE versus both student FTE and faculty FTE.

This is an undisputable fact. This is not conjecture. The exact figures were provided in the original article, and to repeat:  they were drawn directly from the data.

This is not as it is so disrespectfully framed, “idle rhetoric” but analysis based on facts.

I will take issue with one more statement, “the B.C. government requires the Board to approve a balanced budget each year.” Here is another fact: Two other institutions in our sector, so far, have been given permission to run a deficit.

Finally, I will point out that saying, “It is unfortunate and unseemly to see one group of employees pitted against their colleagues at these times,” ignores a fundamental truth: one of those groups of employees has power over the hiring, firing, and laying off of other employee groups.

This profound imbalance of power must be recognized. To suggest that all are equal is not only incorrect; it is a blatant disregard—one could suggest a disingenuous disregard—for a fundamental fact of our working lives.

Diane Walsh.