Resources and FAQ

Grievance Training in Classroom

The Basics

The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) is the certified bargaining agent for all faculty and professional librarians.

An election of the Executive Committee is held at the Spring Annual General Meeting. Only members of the Association are eligible to vote (click here to become a member). The Executive acts on behalf of the Association, subject to the direction of the general membership. Its primary function is to implement the general policies of the Association and to administer the collective agreement. Individuals who have grievances against actions by the Administration relating to the collective agreement, should contact the Grievance Coordinator, Terry Poirier, Executive Director, ext. 2367.

Membership in WLUFA includes automatic membership in the following organizations:

* The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA):
A provincial organization which engages in lobbying and provides technical information to Ontario Faculty Associations. A news magazine, OCUFA FORUM is distributed quarterly to Faculty Association members.

* The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT):
This organization works at the national level and lobbies with the federal government in such areas as taxation and immigration, and in areas affecting academic freedom and tenure. CAUT is also involved in assisting various local Associations with certification campaigns and in the negotiations of collective agreements. The CAUT Bulletin is published monthly and distributed by CAUT to all members of the bargaining unit.

* CAUT Defense Fund:
This organization within CAUT was established several years ago to provide funds to our members in the event of a strike. Approximately 41 Faculty Associations in Canada, including ours, have joined this Fund.

WLUFA is the certified bargaining agent for two bargaining units: the one representing all full-time faculty and professional librarians and the other all part-time faculty and professional librarians.

Full-time Academic Appointments

It is advisable to consult it before you begin contract discussions with your Dean or University Librarian.

This information is directed to candidates for full-time academic appointments. Its purpose is to provide useful information and assistance to candidates who have been offered a full-time faculty or librarian appointment at Wilfrid Laurier University and are about to enter into negotiations on their terms of appointment:

Pamphlet for Full-time Candidates

The general terms and conditions of employment for Members of the full-time bargaining unit are set out in and subject to the current Collective Agreement for July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. Under the Agreement the Employer is required to include a copy of the Collective Agreement with the letter of appointment. 

Part-time Academic Appointments

This information is for Contract Academic Faculty (CTF), to assist in understanding the terms and conditions of employment as set out in the CTF Collective Agreement:

Pamphlet for Part-time Candidates

The general terms and conditions of employment for Members of the part-time bargaining unit are subject to the current Collective Agreement for September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2025.   Under its provisions, the Employer is required to include a copy of the Collective Agreement with the initial letter of appointment. 

WLUFA Equity Statement

The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) is committed to fostering equity for members of marginalized groups, including but not limited to: Indigenous, Black, and other racialized peoples; persons living with disabilities; Two-Spirit, LGBTQ, and all sexual orientations and gender identities; women; all persons whose first language is not English; immigrants; and WLUFA calls special attention to the purposely-created and unnecessary occupational marginalization of Contract Teaching Faculty.

The goal of equity is to achieve inclusiveness and social and economic justice through mutual respect, cooperation, understanding, representation, accountability, responsibility, and the development of balanced, healthy, and harmonious workplaces and communities. This commitment to equity spans the acknowledgement of inequities, identifying and eliminating systemic and institutional factors perpetuating those inequities, and seeking proactive redress for the harmful effects. WLUFA acknowledges its own complicity in the inequities at Wilfrid Laurier University and commits to change both within itself and the broader university community.

Realizing that equity, inclusivity, and economic justice are both individual and collective responsibilities, WLUFA commits to providing leadership that opposes systemic discrimination, removes barriers, and encourages inclusivity by promoting equity within WLUFA’s work and governance structures as well as holding Wilfrid Laurier University’s administration accountable by advocating for substantive, binding commitments to foster equity and inclusion. Success requires transparency and accountability in all aspects of the organization, including but not limited to all forms of anti-racism, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, employment and compensation equity, and accommodation equity. This is a living document and will be reviewed annually.

WLUFA Statement on Mandatory Vaccinations

WLUFA Statement on Vaccinations and Return to Campus

The WLUFA Executive is encouraged by the Wilfrid Laurier University administration’s recent decision to require all students, faculty, librarians and staff to be fully vaccinated with an approved COVID-19 vaccine upon return to in-person activities on campus this fall.  Vaccination against COVID-19 coupled with other mitigation strategies such as masking, social distancing, proper ventilation and other measures is the best way to ensure that we maintain a safe and healthy working and learning environment on campus.

Proof of vaccination, rather than attestation, should be required as verification to access campus. WLUFA acknowledges that in some cases there are legitimate exemptions for individuals based on medical reasons or the Ontario Human Rights Code. In such cases, WLUFA urges the University to provide a reasonable and appropriate accommodation plan as well as suitable alternative health and safety measures that ensure the well-being of all members of the Laurier community.

Since the information on the university’s health and safety protocols has significantly changed since faculty agreed to in-person teaching, WLUFA calls on the administration to stand by the Principles for return to work (2021-2022) and allow those who agreed to in-person teaching, but who now see reason to switch to remote course delivery, to do so.

In Solidarity,

The WLUFA Executive

WLUFA Statement on ongoing confirmation of unmarked graves at Residential Schools

With the recent confirmation of 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School on the territory of the Cowessess First Nation, WLUFA asks members to take action to support survivors and Indigenous peoples.

While many are reacting with dismay or shock, former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Chair Murray Sinclair estimated earlier this month that thousands more unmarked graves will be uncovered. Releasing statements alone does not go far enough, and as Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme said, ” …the bureaucracy of the government of Canada and the province have a lot of work yet to do.” The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has called for former Residential Schools to be deemed crime scenes, and for criminal charges to be laid on the architects of and those involved in the creation and administration of Residential Schools. Marion Buller, former chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, challenged the federal government to move beyond its “very well-crafted statement of sympathy and empathy” in reaction to the findings at Marieval, and instead prove their commitment to these issues “with concrete action, including the release of documents related to residential schools.

WLUFA recognizes that statement-making is not enough. We will be developing a resources page on WLUFA’s website to enable our members to keep informed through links to Indigenous led and created news sources, as well as providing members with suggestions for action including donation links. WLUFA will also make a donation to the Save the Evidence Campaign which works to restore the former Mohawk Institute Residential School into a historic site and educational resource.

If you are a former residential school student or an Indigenous person and you need support at this time, you can call the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419.

Actions and Resources:

WLUFA calls on all members, and the WLU administration and broader community, to:

  1. For non-Indigenous community members, acknowledge the truth about residential schools and ongoing colonial violence. Speak out against people who deny or excuse or justify this violence. Hold your friends, family members, MPPs, MPs, religious leaders, colleagues to account. 
  2. Commit to learning more and educating others about the histories of white supremacy and genocide of Indigenous peoples in the making of this nation we call Canada.
  3. Read the TRC and its 94 recommendations and work to implement them in your own teaching, research, work and service.
  4. Share TRC resources.
  5. Make a donation to Indigenous organizations and movements. WLUFA will be providing some suggestions for these on our new Resources webpage (link to be circulated soon).

WLUFA stands with the Muslim Community in London and across Turtle Island 

Image Courtesy of Inkquisitive

In the largest and deadliest mass killing in London’s history, a Muslim family was targeted in a violent, brutal and premeditated truck attack on Sunday. This resulted in the killing of 4 members of the family, leaving only their 9-year-old child in Intensive Care as the only survivor. This act of racism, Islamophobia and white supremacy have shocked many in our and other communities. And while we mourn for those lost and grieve alongside all our colleagues, friends, allies, and community members affected, we also recognize the ongoing issues of white supremacy, Islamophobia, and racism that continue to permeate across Turtle Island and across the globe. One only needs to take a cursory glance at the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Hate Crime Map to see the extent of reported crimes over the years.

The Afzaal family – who have only recently approved the release of the names of those who were killed  – lost three generations, a grandparent, the parents of two children, and their high school aged daughter. As the Ontario Federation of Labour President Patty Coates stated in a release by the Federation, ” This act of hate is tragic and horrific. No one should fear going for a walk, or worshipping, or taking public transit because of their faith,””

WLUFA fully endorses this sentiment. We further commit ourselves to engaging in action to challenge racism, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim racism in our community. We have provided actions and resources below for those grieving and those who wish to take action.  We echo the National Council of Canadian Muslim’s call for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia. As of publication the petition has secured approximately 30,000 signatures.

Further, we call upon Laurier to work with Muslim faculty, staff, students, and community to ensure they are protected and to introduce and intensify efforts to combat Islamophobia on campus. Oppression, prejudice and discrimination have no place on our campus, or in our communities.

Actions and Resources:

You can also watch the entirety of the Vigil in London, attended by thousands, to bear witness to the harm that was caused as well as the community efforts to come together, at the London Muslim Mosque Facebook Page

 The Muslim Chaplaincy will be hosting drop in sessions on June 9th and 10th at noon:

The National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Petition on a National Action Summit


In the context of the present tragedy, WLUFA urges the University to consider the following calls put forward by a number of our colleagues:

  1. Include Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism in the EDI Action Plan along with all other prohibited grounds of discrimination outlined under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
  2. Provide training for Laurier staff on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism.

WLUFA Stands in Solidarity with People Experiencing Islamophobia and Racism on Campus

WLUFA, along with most members of the campus community, is aware of the widely circulated Islamophobic and Anti-Muslim social media posts. WLUFA condemns Islamophobia, discrimination and persecution of Muslims, and the targeting of Muslims in Canada. Following the targeted killings in the Quebec Mosque shooting, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and Coalition of Muslim Women – Kitchener Waterloo released a report from a community consultation which showed Muslims in the Kitchener-Waterloo community found that Islamophobia is ever-present and prevalent. Educational Institutions were specifically named along with public spaces and in workplaces. WLUFA recognizes that Islamophobia and racism remain a broad problem on our campus and indeed in society at large, and is committed to working with student organizations, and with the WLU administration to reduce the exposure to Islamophobia and racism in our campus community, and to help support those who nonetheless experience discrimination while here. WLUFA is here to support all of its members. Please reach out to us.

Rob Kristofferson, WLUFA President: [email protected]

Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer, Women’s Faculty Colleague, Brantford: [email protected]

Christine Neill – Women’s Faculty Colleague, Waterloo: [email protected]

Lamine Diallo, EDI Faculty Colleague, Brantford: [email protected]

Ann Curry-Stevens, EDI Faculty Colleague, Waterloo: [email protected]

WLUFA Statement on Mass Grave

On Thursday, Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation confirmed that the bodies of 215 Indigenous children were discovered in an unmarked mass grave at a former residential school in Kamloops, BC. This is one more piece of already overwhelming evidence of the colonial genocide of our nation toward Indigenous peoples.  WLUFA is also cognizant of the fact that the Canadian education system has a history of imposing biased values, pain, and inequity upon Indigenous peoples.

WLUFA calls on all members, and the Wilfrid Laurier Administration, to commit to reconciliation, including learning more about colonial-state violence, taking the time to read the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and actively working to implement them in our own teaching, research, and service. We should not just move on with our lives once the headlines die down. We are responsible to the memories of those children for making real change.

As such, WLUFA is committed to working with Laurier’s Indigenous Initiatives to make Laurier a safer space for all Indigenous students, staff, and faculty and pledges to continuously engage with the processes of reconciliation, decolonization and helping to create space for Laurier’s Indigenous community members to create an environment where Indigenous worldviews are able to flourish.

WLUFA is here to support all of its members. Please reach out to us.

Important Resources and Further Reading:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report: 

http://www.trc.ca/about-us/trc-findings.html

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action: 

http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

Indigenizing at Laurier 

http://wlu.ca/about/discover-laurier/indigenization/index.html

CAUT policy on Indigenizing the Academy: 

https://www.caut.ca/about-us/caut-policy/lists/caut-policy-statements/indigenizing-the-academy

Tuck & Yang: Decolonization is not a Metaphor 

https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/18630/15554

Pete: 100 ways to Indigenize and decolonize academic programs and courses 

https://www.coastmountaincollege.ca/docs/default-source/about/colt/indigenization/indigenize_curriculum.pdf

WLUFA President calls on Laurentian BOG to remove Senior Leadership Team

This week the following letter was sent to the Board of Governors of Laurentian University:

To the Board of Governors of Laurentian University:

I am writing on behalf of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) to support the demands of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) that the Board of Governors immediately remove Dr. Robert Haché, Lorella Hayes, Serge Demers, and Marie Josée Berger from their positions.

The Board must at last do its job and signal to the Laurentian community, to the city, region and province, and to the country as a whole, that it does not condone the egregious mismanagement of the institution.   

WLUFA deplores the unscrupulous resort to commercial creditor protection and the cruel purge of faculty and staff which followed.  We are disgusted over the treatment of Laurentian’s affiliated universities.  We are shocked that the Board has accepted a process that is doing irreparable reputational damage to the university and harming so many people’s lives. Given the damage done to Laurentian’s reputation, who would now admit to being a Laurentian alumnus?  What student would apply to Laurentian knowing about this appalling situation?

You have a responsibility to hold to account the President and Vice-Chancellor, Vice- President Academic and Provost, Vice-President Administration, and Registrar for their incompetence and failure. The overwhelming majority of LUFA members no longer have confidence in these administrators. They do not have legitimacy and cannot represent the university or provide collegial leadership. Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association stands in solidarity with the faculty, staff, students, and community members who are suffering the consequences of the actions taken by these administrators.  Why do you allow them to maintain their roles and positions when so many have been unjustly fired because of what they did?

Act promptly, dismiss the individuals responsible, and begin the process of restoring Laurentian’s reputation. You have a responsibility to try and mitigate the long term damage that has already been inflicted on the Laurentian community, and prevent further harm. You have already failed the institution and people you were chosen to protect, irreparably harming the long-term future and sustainability of this University community; but it is not too late to heed the wishes of the Laurentian University community, and the Faculty, Staff, students and community members who make up this University.

The Board must at last do its job and signal to the Laurentian community, to the city, region and province, and to the country as a whole, that it does not condone the egregious mismanagement of the institution.   

WLUFA deplores the unscrupulous resort to commercial creditor protection and the cruel purge of faculty and staff which followed.  We are disgusted over the treatment of Laurentian’s affiliated universities.  We are shocked that the Board has accepted a process that is doing irreparable reputational damage to the university and harming so many people’s lives. Given the damage done to Laurentian’s reputation, who would now admit to being a Laurentian alumnus?  What student would apply to Laurentian knowing about this appalling situation?

You have a responsibility to hold to account the President and Vice-Chancellor, Vice- President Academic and Provost, Vice-President Administration, and Registrar for their incompetence and failure. The overwhelming majority of LUFA members no longer have confidence in these administrators. They do not have legitimacy and cannot represent the university or provide collegial leadership. Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association stands in solidarity with the faculty, staff, students, and community members who are suffering the consequences of the actions taken by these administrators.  Why do you allow them to maintain their roles and positions when so many have been unjustly fired because of what they did?

Act promptly, dismiss the individuals responsible, and begin the process of restoring Laurentian’s reputation. You have a responsibility to try and mitigate the long term damage that has already been inflicted on the Laurentian community, and prevent further harm. You have already failed the institution and people you were chosen to protect, irreparably harming the long-term future and sustainability of this University community; but it is not too late to heed the wishes of the Laurentian University community, and the Faculty, Staff, students and community members who make up this University.

Sincerely,

David Monod

President, WLUFA

WLUFA Executive calls for Resignation of Ross Romano and Laurentian Senior Leadership Team

On Monday, April 12 it was publicly revealed that 110 full-time faculty members and an untold number of contract faculty and staff had lost their jobs and 69 programs (mostly in social sciences and humanities, leaving most STEM programs intact) were being cut at Laurentian University. These devastating cuts are the direct result of the negligence of both the Minister (who was aware of the financial challenges Laurentian was facing at least six months before they became public) and LUs senior administration. The Minister has chosen not to support Laurentian University and its students, faculty, or community. Minister Romano has demonstrated the same resistance to consultation, transparency, and accountability as the Laurentian U administration throughout this debacle. Romano has made numerous announcements regarding the postsecondary education sector without consulting faculty, academic librarians, staff, or students. The above constitute an egregious mishandling of the situation at LU by both the Minister and senior administrators at the university.

This week, the WLUFA executive approved the following Motion calling for the resignations of Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Ross Romano, The President of Laurentian University, Robert Haché, and his senior leadership team.

The text of the motion is below:

Whereas: The financial crisis facing Laurentian was created by the provincial government which has chronically underfunded Ontario’s universities and has cut or frozen tuition fees without providing equivalent public funding.

Whereas: The provincial government has abandoned an important Northern Ontario university just when faculty, students and staff needed their support most.

Whereas: Minister Romano has repeatedly refused invitations to meet with representatives of OCUFA to discuss the situation at Laurentian and other challenges facing Ontario universities today.

Whereas:  The Laurentian University administration chose to engage, with implicit approval from Minister Romano, in secretive, untransparent and inappropriate legal proceedings (using the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act – CCAA) that were imposed on faculty and staff without consultation.

Whereas: Laurentian faculty were also put in a position where they had little choice but to ratify changes to their collective agreement that will see salaries reduced, teaching loads increased, and forced furlough days due to administration of LU’s use of the CCAA process.

Whereas: President Robert Hache and his senior leadership team have failed the university community through chronic mismanagement of its finances.

Whereas: catastrophic changes were imposed on faculty and staff at LU less than 12 hours before their acceptance was required; where faculty and staff were threatened that they had to either accept concessions or risk having the university close completely; where among those who lost their jobs were 17 faculty members who chose retirement to ensure that as many of their colleagues as possible would keep their jobs.

Be It Resolved That: WLUFA, having lost confidence in the Minister’s commitment to the university sector, as well as in LU’s leadership’s ability to lead the university through this crisis, calls for the resignation of the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano, and President of Laurentian University, President Robert Hache, and his senior leadership team, in light of their catastrophic mishandling of the situation at LU.

WLUFA Stands in Solidarity with our Asian Colleagues April 6, 2021

On behalf of the WLUFA Executive Committee:

WLUFA condemns the increase in violence against people of Asian descent in North America and around the world. The murder of six Asian-American women in Atlanta, Georgia is not an isolated incident, nor is it something to which Canada and Wilfrid Laurier University are immune. In July 2020, data from Statistics Canada indicated that one-third of Chinese Canadians saw themselves at higher risk for possible harassment or violence. The Chinese Canadian National Council, the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, Project 1907, the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, and Elimin8hate have documented an explosion of anti-Asian incidents across Canada. In September 2020, these organizations released a report that found Canada to have a higher number of anti-Asian racism reports per capita than the United States. In February 2021, Vancouver police reported that there had been a 717 percent increase in a year in anti-Asian hate crimes in the city. Police services in Toronto and Ottawa have also reported increases. Asian-Canadian organizations have been issuing calls to action.

Now more than ever, it is important for us all to be proactive in seeking a safe and inclusive work environment. As university faculty, we have a responsibility to address the culture that incubates and emboldens such acts, through our research and teaching and in interactions with our students and colleagues.

WLUFA reaffirms its commitment to workplace equity (Equity Statement reproduced below). It is increasingly clear that we should take immediate action to listen to and support our Asian colleagues who have faced increased bigotry in the past year. We recognize that we need to do better in listening to and responding to the concerns of other marginalized communities as well. 

#AllOutSep30 Posted in Main Postings on September 24, 2020

The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association joins with those organizing the #AllOutSep30 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day, a day of remembrance of the state-sanctioned violence against Indigenous children and communities through the Residential School system. All Out September 30 is a labour action/teach-in/social justice advocacy happening on September 30, 2020.

We ask University administrators to support students, faculty, librarians and other staff in this action. While WLUFA members are unable to legally strike during the length of their contract, we encourage them to join the public digital teach-ins and other events being organized by #AllOutSep30 against racist, institutional, and systemic forms of violence against Indigenous children and communities and to learn more about the demands of #AllOutSep30.

We therefore strongly encourage our members to pause on September 30, and to listen, reflect, and join in a broader public dialogue and educational events related to institutional violence from historical and contemporary perspectives. We ourselves further acknowledge the need to have sustained conversations with our colleagues, families, students, and other community members about how our faculty associations can support and effect systemic change.

For more information about the All Out September 30 Scholar Strike, and links to education resources and teach-ins, please visit: https://s30strike.eventbritestudio.com/?fbclid=IwAR0s3lLo7jQaHnpX_bttRVXda_oJEcOyqnc8PqTMVZXvf8dffsgff-DtSPQ

1492 Land Back Posted in Main Postings on September 24, 2020

Letter of Support – 1492 Land Back

In acknowledgement that Wilfrid Laurier University continues to operate on and thus profit from lands on the Haldimand Tract and as an expression of solidarity with and support for Indigenous land defenders at the 1492 Land Back Lane reclamation site on Six Nations territory outside of Caledonia, Ontario, the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) would like to make its members aware of the opportunity to sign a letter of support for this cause. This letter from members from members of the academic community and others to the Federal Indigenous Services Minister, the Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, succinctly outlines the history of the struggle and encourages long-lasting resolution that undoes “layers of injustice and distrust” with solutions “that look[] down the road beyond the immediate interests of land developers and momentary governments to a seven-generation-long vision of the Dish-With-One-Spoon region…”

Please note that the letter is available for signature only up until 12pm on Friday 25 September. The letter is linked here: https://forms.gle/T3u3D2ia5zC8U4Vr6.

Additionally, donations to the Land Back Lane Legal Fund can be made at: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/legal-fund-1492-land-back-lane

Information on WLUFA Indigenization Initiatives for Members Posted in Main Postings on September 11, 2020

Dear colleagues,

WLUFA is committed to Indigenization and reconciliation and it holds the hiring of a minimum of six Indigenous faculty over the next three years as a primary objective. We secured important gains towards this end during the last round of bargaining and I am delighted to circulate the following summary made by Lianne Leddy, a member of the WLUFA team which was led by Azim Essaji and also included Jeffrey Aguinaldo, Bruce McKay, Sheila McKee-Protopapas, Joanne Oud and Glenda Wall. I want to assure all our members that the initiatives Lianne describes will remain our priority, especially in terms of faculty renewal, despite the turmoil caused by COVID-19.

David Monod

In its spring bargaining session, WLUFA was successful in negotiating several initiatives that advance its commitment to Indigenization and reconciliation. We are delighted that the University, through a letter of understanding, has committed to establishing a fund to hire up to six Indigenous faculty members over the next three years. Furthermore, the letter of understanding establishes a working group to support the development of the Indigenization Strategic Plan as it aligns with the role of faculty, which includes identifying revisions to the collective agreement that are necessary for Indigenization.

To that end, in this round of bargaining, we successfully negotiated changes to the collective agreement that recognize Indigenous pedagogies and research in tenure and promotion processes, as well as in faculty annual reports.

As a member of the negotiating team and an Indigenous faculty member, it was heartening to see WLUFA’s ongoing commitment through these important changes.

Lianne Leddy

Important Message from WLUFA Posted in Main Postings on June 25, 2020

Dear colleagues,

On June 19th, we learned more details of the University’s campus-wide strategy to address anti-Blackness and systemic racism at Laurier (An Action Plan). WLUFA recognizes that it also has much work to do in addressing its own role in perpetuating racism and harm to Black, Indigenous, and racialized colleagues and better supporting them in resisting racial inequity and injustice. We want you to know that the Executive will be working with WLUFA’s Diversity and Equity Committee to engage this labour within the WLUFA community as well.

WLUFA is also committed to doing better in holding the Laurier senior administration and itself more accountable in moving beyond statements of solidarity to concrete and meaningful action for Black, Indigenous, and racialized faculty. Towards this goal, WLUFA has asked President MacLatchy and the Executive Leadership Team for transparency and accountability in addressing how they are implicated in and perpetuate anti-Blackness and racism at Laurier. We have requested a response to the following questions[1]:

· How has anti-Blackness at Laurier specifically harmed Black faculty, students, and staff?

· How is white supremacy culture embedded within Laurier and how is it reflected in Laurier’s internal work culture, structure (including Special Constables program) and leadership?

· What systems of accountability are needed for Laurier’s white senior administrators, faculty, staff, and Board members to support the ongoing individual work of becoming anti-racist colleagues?

· What systems of accountability are needed for Laurier’s senior administrators to ensure the eradication of anti-Blackness, systemic racism, and white supremacy in campus culture and leadership?

· What is the Executive Leadership Team’s response to the concerns raised by the student-authors of the ‘Being Raced’ report and outlined in their Open Letter, titled “Stop Exploiting Anti-Black Racism Statements to Uphold Institutional Violence. It is Dismissive, Uncritical, and Racist”? When will the Laurier community hear this response? How will the senior administration hold itself accountable?

· How does the University plan to engage in anti-racism work in a holistic and long-term way that does not include assigning the vast majority of work to a single diversity officer while also expecting extra volunteer or service work for faculty and overworked staff with little to no additional compensation?

· How are Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities being welcomed and centered in the development of this strategy? How will this strategy incorporate and amplify the work of Black and Indigenous faculty, staff and students on our campuses?

· How will Laurier engage with critique from Black people whose experiences with the University are shaped by anti-Black racism, who have pointed out the hypocrisy of the June 2nd solidarity statement (titled “Laurier commits to direct action to achieve racial justice”)?

· How will the University name, honour, and account for the labour involved in internal and external anti-racism education, whether formally or informally? Is the University compensating Black, Indigenous, and racialized staff, faculty and students adequately?

· How will Laurier protect Black community members who will be become targets as this work is undertaken? What are the policies and practices in place to protect racialized staff, faculty, and students from aggression and micro-aggression?

· Will this strategy involve hiring Black, Indigenous and other racialized individuals in faculty, staff, and leadership positions?

· Will this strategy involve changes to our HR policies and procedures through an explicitly anti-racist lens? Will this review be undertaken by a person with the necessary internal expertise, which comes from the lived experience of racism and resistance?

· How will this strategy address the need for regular equity and anti-oppression trainings for senior leaders, faculty, staff, and Board members?

· What resources have been committed to develop this strategy? What further resources are committed to implement the recommendations?

· What opportunities exist for faculty, librarians, staff, and students committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion to engage with the process and participate in the development of priority action items? When will these stakeholder groups learn about these opportunities?

We will be in touch with the senior administration’s response to these questions and will organize a public forum later in the summer/early fall for further discussion and feedback.

[1] These questions are adapted from critical anti-oppressive work done by Articule, Quebec, and anti-oppression educator Rania El Mugammar’s suggestions for how Canadian institutions can move beyond solidarity statements to action (https://www.raniawrites.com; https://www.articule.org/en/open-letter-to-artist-centres-moving-beyond-solidarity-statements).

WLUFA Executive and the D&E Committee

[1] These questions are adapted from critical anti-oppressive work done by Articule, Quebec, and anti-oppression educator Rania El Mugammar’s suggestions for how Canadian institutions can move beyond solidarity statements to action (https://www.raniawrites.com; https://www.articule.org/en/open-letter-to-artist-centres-moving-beyond-solidarity-statements).

Other Resources and FAQs

Kii by CloudMD

  • Visit Kiihealth.ca and enter Laurier’s access code, WLUEFAP. 
  • Create your profile and password.  
  • Check your inbox for an email that contains your account confirmation link.  
  • Click the link to complete your Kii account creation.

You can also connect with Kii by CloudMD by calling 1.866.814.0018 to speak with a nurse care coordinator. 

Full-time faculty are responsible for providing a copy of your written and/or electronic course outline to the Chair or Dean (as appropriate) one week prior to the start of each term. The information that needs be included in your outline is stated in Article 18.2.4.1(b), (i) (ii) and (iii).

Contract faculty are responsible for providing a copy of your course outline, in an accessible electronic format, to the Chair or equivalent one week prior to the start of classes each term. The information that needs be included in your outline is stated in Article 16.1.2(f), (i) (ii) and (iii).

Below are links to documents that may be helpful for those that are preparing for tenure.  WLUFA holds a tenure workshop each spring.  Please contact [email protected] for further information.

Tenure Workshop Summary

WLUFA Tenure Preparation Workshop 2023

WLUFA tenure workshop CV Sample 2012

Go to the Contract Teaching Faculty page on Laurier Connect. You must ensure you are logged in to Connect to reach that link.

As a full or part time faculty member or professional librarian at Wilfrid Laurier University you are automatically a Member of one of the bargaining units (in accordance with the Ontario Labour Relations Act).  However, in order to participate in the life of the Association, attend and vote at General Meetings, and serve on the Executive Committee, you must signify your desire to join the Association by signing an application form.  As a new academic staff, a membership form and package will be sent to you via interdepartmental mail or you may wish to join the association by printing the online membership form and sending it to the WLUFA office.

Membership Form

Here is an excellent resource brochure to assist you with ensuring that your physician has all of the information possible for accurate diagnoses, and timely testing and treatment, if needed.  This brochure was produced by the Sarnia-Lambton regional office of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), joint gov’t/labour sponsored clinics that specialize in occupational health and disease.

The Wilfrid Laurier University Retirees’ Association has their own webpage at WLU Retirees Association. You can also contact the Association by email at [email protected].

Biographies of retirees can be found here: https://www.wlufa.ca/full-time-faculty/

Should you have a health and safety concern (that is not an emergency), please contact your committee representative.

Waterloo Campus

Brantford Campus

The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) is committed to fostering equity for members of marginalized groups by providing leadership that opposes systemic discrimination, removes barriers, and encourages inclusivity.

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