University Faculty Association calls for Romano's resignation after Laurentian cuts

Although Tianna Mageran is still very much attending classes at Laurentian University, the midwifery program she’s currently enrolled in is all but done. 

That program is just one of the casualties of the university’s insolvency proceedings, as faculty, staff and students learned earlier this week that a total of 69 programs have been axed as a result of Laurentian undergoing court-supervised restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) due to insolvency. 

Mageran, who was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, tells SooToday her professor informed midwifery students in class Monday morning that she had a meeting with university administration, but was unaware of what that meeting was about.  

“An hour later I received an email from my professor letting us know that they had terminated the program. A couple of hours after that, I received a general email from Laurentian with a list of the programs which had been terminated. Initially, I was in complete shock and disbelief,” said Mageran. “Throughout all of the previous announcements from the university regarding insolvency, I was under the impression that since the midwifery was funded through the Ontario government, not Laurentian directly, has a high application rate and is the only French midwifery program available in Ontario, that we would be safe from cuts. It took me the rest of the day and evening to really digest the news.”

According to a previous story from Sudbury.com, a total of 110 faculty members, 41 support staff and 36 administrators have lost their jobs as part of the ongoing restructuring process. 

Faculty group calls on Romano to resign  

In a statement released Tuesday, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) called for the resignation of Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano. 

“If Ross Romano had done his job, none of these cuts would have occurred,” said OCUFA President Rahul Sapra. “Romano and the Ford government knew about the depths of Laurentian’s financial difficulties for months, if not years. They had numerous opportunities to take action to avert this crisis. Instead, they chose to do nothing and betrayed the trust of Ontarians.” 

Romano’s office says there have been consistent operating grants provided for Laurentian, worth close to $80 million annually over the last five years, and that the ministry provides “far more funding” to the university than other institutions. 

A spokesperson for Romano says ministry-provided grants accounted for more than 40 per cent of Laurentian’s total revenue in 2019-20, compared to a 23 per cent average for the universities’ sector overall.

“It is deeply concerning and regrettable that Laurentian University has had to take such drastic measures to get their fiscal house in order. We are monitoring the situation closely,” reads a statement from Romano’s office provided to SooToday Tuesday. “Our priority is the continuity of learning for Laurentian’s students.”

Sadness, uncertainty plague past and present Laurentian students from the Sault 

The drastic measures taken by Laurentian University have impacted both current and former Laurentian students from the Sault. 

John Yun, who has been employed as a full-time pianist conductor for music theatre productions since 2012, transferred from Algoma University to Laurentian University for the 2007-2008 academic year in order to finish his fourth year as a music student. He’s not entirely sure of everything that transpired leading up to the termination of the music program, but tells SooToday that he was given a heads-up on Laurentian’s financial woes from a former teacher and mentor there, mentioning to him that the school was in financial trouble. 

“You could say I was a little bit disappointed to hear that a program that played such a large part in shaping my path, and played such a huge role in where I would eventually go, could be cut like that,” Yun said. 

Yun remains in touch with quite a few former music students, even though he’s more than a dozen years removed from Laurentian.

“Of course I have some sadness about how everything has gone down, but who I really do feel for is faculty members and current students who, all of a sudden, are going to have to deal with this in a very abrupt manner, and especially after the year we just had - it just feels like we’re pouring salt on an already very trying year,” he said. 

Mageran says that given the lack of information being provided by Laurentian administration, she and countless other students and faculty are left not knowing what the future holds for them. 

“The biggest change in the experience will be having to continue the program in English. Before the cuts, I was enrolled in the francophone stream of the midwifery program, my classes were taught in French and assignments were done in French,” she said. “Since there are no other French midwifery programs in the province, myself and the other francophone students will have to attempt to adapt to classes in English and will not be able to receive a certificate of bilingualism upon graduation.”

Sudbury MPP Jamie West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas both called on the Ford government to remove Romano as minister during a news conference held by Ontario NDP Wednesday.  

“Minister Romano did nothing to protect francophone, Indigenous students at Université de Sudbury. He did nothing to protect nursing, psychology and social work students from Huntington University. He did nothing to protect arts, theatre and women's studies students at Thorneloe University. Minister Romano chose to do nothing to protect Laurentian University,” said West. “If he’s not willing to do anything, then he should not be the minister. So, we join you today to call on Premier Ford to remove Minister Romano from his portfolio, and to appoint a minister who cares, and who will save Laurentian.”

Laurentian University has until April 30 to come up with a restructuring plan.