Call to Action: Protecting Faculty Jobs & KFA’s Strategic Response

Posted on February 13, 2025

Dear KFA Colleagues,

As has been made clear by President Alan Davis and other senior KPU administrators, faculty jobs at KPU are at risk. The Employer is preparing for potential layoffs, and the KFA is responding. We need your help to ensure that no faculty layoff goes unchallenged.

Today, we are launching a Faculty Action and Strategy Team (FAST), a new rapid-response organizing group focused on faculty action. Alongside this, KFA has formally triggered Section 54 notice under the BC Labour Code to force transparency, negotiations, and legally mandated mitigation measures. This update provides the latest developments, key advocacy efforts, and how you can take action.

Faculty Action and Strategy Team

KPU’s administration is making decisions about faculty jobs and our future—without us. FAST (Faculty Action & Strategy Team) is about taking that power back. This is where we organize, strategize, respond, and fight for our collective future. FAST will:

Analyze the Employer’s financial claims and provide faculty with key insights and data verification.
Scrutinize layoff justifications and expose weaknesses in Employer arguments.
Support data-informed advocacy efforts to challenge misleading narratives.
Engage faculty expertise in financial analysis, enrollment data, and strategic planning.
Ensure no decision about faculty jobs goes unchallenged.

If you’ve ever thought, ‘What can we do?’—this is your answer. Join us.

We are looking for faculty with expertise in:

Data and financial analysis to challenge KPU’s layoff justifications.
Statistical research, policy analysis, and communications to strengthen our case.
Strong organizers and campaign strategists who can turn faculty frustration into action.

If you have these skills—or just the passion and determination to join a growing effort to defend faculty jobs—email me directly at president@yourkfa.ca to join FAST and learn more about how you can contribute.

Other KFA Actions on Layoffs & Section 54 Notice

The KFA is actively working to protect members facing potential layoffs by taking proactive steps within the legal framework of the BC Labour Code. We formally requested that the Employer provide Section 54 notice, which ensures that any layoffs must go through a structured process where faculty interests are protected. Thanks to KFA’s direct action and collective agreement language, the Employer is now legally required to engage in a structured process before any layoffs can take place—this means they cannot act unilaterally. Section 54 of the BC Labour Code forces the Employer to negotiate an adjustment plan that includes potential faculty protections, and if no agreement is reached, the parties must enter mediation through the BC Labour Relations Board (LRB). This gives us stronger leverage to fight for job security, retraining opportunities, and voluntary severance options.

The Employer has not opposed this request and has sent us formal notice, expressing willingness to meet and discuss an adjustment plan. We believe that utilizing the LRB process will allow us to bring forward our own proposals in a more powerful way, ensuring that mitigation strategies—including retraining, voluntary severance, and job security protections—are fairly considered in an environment where the Employer must operate in good faith.

Additionally, we have published an article outlining faculty rights and the layoff and recall process under our collective agreement. You can read it here: Layoff and Recall of Regular Faculty.

We will continue to keep members informed as this process unfolds and will advocate for the strongest possible protections for faculty jobs and working conditions. If you have questions, ideas, or want to be part of a faculty-driven response, I encourage you to join FAST. This team will be at the forefront of analyzing employer data, challenging layoff justifications, and mobilizing faculty power. Email me directly at president@yourkfa.ca to get involved.

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FPSE Facilitated Meeting with Member of Parliament Randeep Sarai

On January 14th, 2025, I met with MP Randeep Sarai as part of the CAUT Unlock Education campaign, which we accessed via our Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE). Mr. Sarai and I discussed the federal government’s international student policy changes and their devastating impact on KPU and faculty jobs. Key issues I raised included:

International Student Enrollment Decline: KPU is seeing a 21% drop in international students in Fiscal 2025, growing to 36% in Fiscal 2026 due to federal restrictions. This means fewer programs, fewer sections, and job losses.
Revenue Shortfalls: KPU reports a projected $25.6M loss in 2025 and up to $32M in 2026, forcing program cuts and layoffs.
PGWP & CIP List Changes: I urged the federal government to fix gaps in the Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) program by ensuring that programs aligned with BC’s labor market needs are eligible. Specifically, I advocated for adding key programs such as Accounting (52.0301), Marketing/Marketing Management (52.1401), Human Resources Management (52.1001), CAD/CADD Drafting and Design (15.1302) and others to the CIP list. These fields are critical to BC’s workforce development and should be included in PGWP eligibility
KPU’s Role in Workforce Development: I emphasized that KPU and other polytechnic institutions train students for in-demand jobs, yet the federal government’s policies are undermining their ability to contribute to Canada’s economy.

I made it clear that we need Ottawa to step up—whether through transitional funding, revising international student policies, or improving study permit processing. MP Sarai acknowledged these concerns and committed to taking them forward.

While I had originally been scheduled to meet with the Honourable Anne Kang, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills on February 6th, 2025, and intended to ensure that both the federal and provincial governments understand the consequences of inaction, a fire alarm at the Cloverdale Campus disrupted the occasion and we will be rescheduling the meeting. My intent is for KFA to take an active role in advocacy at KPU and within the province, ensuring faculty voices are heard. At the same time, we will continue to coordinate with FPSE and our sector allies to maximize our impact where collective action strengthens our position.

Faculty advocacy is strongest when we work together. If you have experience in political organizing, connections with MLAs or MPs, or simply want to play a role in influencing government decisions, FAST is the place to get involved. Your expertise and participation can help us amplify faculty voices where they matter most. Email me at president@yourkfa.ca to be part of this effort.

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FPSE Sector Update

Our KFA advocacy at the federal & provincial levels builds upon the long-term efforts of FPSE, which has been actively pushing for solutions to the post-secondary crisis. In May 2019, FPSE raised concerns about international student tuition masking declining provincial funding. FPSE critiqued the announced provincial budget in February 2024, seeking some kind of commitment to help BC colleges and universities adapt to the federal government’s recent decision to cut the number of international student visas for Canada. Since May 2024, FPSE has amplified concerns about the systemic funding weaknesses exposed by federal policy changes, and in January 2025 connected faculty association leaders with Members of Parliament to discuss the impacts.

FPSE’s lobbying work has centered around two key frameworks:

FPSE’s Four Core Priorities with the BC provincial government, which were raised directly in an in-person meeting at the legislature on May 1, 2024 and continue to be the foundation of their advocacy:

- Federal Policy Fallout: The provincial government must step up with transitional / contingency funding for institutions hit hardest by federal changes.
- Funding Formula Review: The province must follow through on its commitment to revamp the post-secondary funding model, which was promised in 2022 but has since stalled.
- Future Ready Plan Delays: BC must restart consultations and funding allocation for this stalled initiative to support workforce development.
- Institutional Autonomy: Colleges and special purpose teaching universities must have greater governance independence from government interference.

2. FPSE’s Five-Point Action Plan, released publicly in November 2024, which demands concrete provincial action:

- Create a contingency budget or an Emergency Hardship Fund to stabilize institutions and prevent job losses.
- Allow Institutions to Draw on Reserves to maintain essential programs.
- Aggressively Lobby the Federal Government for policy adjustments.
- Protect Regional Institutions & Student Access to ensure smaller communities are not left behind.
- Complete the Funding Formula Review to ensure predictable, sustainable funding.

Further information and updates from FPSE can be found here:

https://fpse.ca/news/fpse-news/news-release-240222

https://fpse.ca/news/fpse-news/statement-funding-crisis-241114

For those who are interested, I would also suggest you take in the:

BC Government Throne Speech – February 18th (next Tuesday)

BC Government Provincial Budget – March 4th

Both of these will be televised on the BC Government YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC

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In solidarity,

Mark Diotte

President, Kwantlen Faculty Association