The following letter was sent by Ron Dickson, Chair of the Interim Governing Board of TUBC, to Bill Bruneau, President of CAUT, in response to the CAUT Executive Committee Resolution of June 19 concerning TUBC. It is not known how Dickson obtained a copy, but the best guess is that it was forwarded to him by the office of Paul Ramsey, Minister of Education, Skills and Training. Ramsey was given a copy of the resolution by Lee Keener, then President of CUFA/BC, on June 26, 1997.
July 2nd, 1997
Dr. William A. Bruneau
President
Canadian Association of University Teachers
2675 Queensview Drive
Ottawa, ON K2R 8K2
Fax: 604-224-9242
Dear Dr. Bruneau,
I write as the Chair of the Interim Governing Board of the Technical University of British Columbia in response to a resolution which has come to our attention, which has apparently been considered by your executive and published, dealing with your views of this nascent university.
Let me begin by expressing my disappointment that we have not had an opportunity for dialogue prior to the CAUT adopting a public attitude hostile to this institution. It is always easier to find common ground before either party has arrived at an entrenched position. Nonetheless, we are sincerely concerned that such an important professional association as yours with a long tradition of defending the unique and special role of universities in our society is so troubled by our attempts to date to develop a truly unique and innovative institution. We would very much appreciate an opportunity to meet with you and discuss the concerns you have raised. We too, value academic freedom and the fair treatment of employees. We are also confident that the British Columbia Government shares those ideals.
There is nothing we are aware of in the legislation creating this new institution which diminishes in any way the rights of our employees under the B.C Labour Relations Code, The Employment Standards Act the Human Rights Code or the Canadian Charter of Rights. Some of the choices of the present and future employees of the University with respect to collective bargaining must by law and principle be left for those employees to decide for themselves without any interference from this Board or the Provincial Government. Should our employees choose in future to opt for collective bargaining, it is our understanding that they would then have access to at least as broad a range of legally enforceable employee rights as those typically enjoyed by the academic staff of most Canadian universities. The choices those employees make in future are at present an open question. This Board certainly has no intention of imposing any barriers to those future choices or thwarting any legitimate employee rights concerns. The Board intends to proceed with approaches to hiring and employment contract negotiations which place a high priority on employee rights and fair treatment.
The issues you have raised with respect to academic freedom are of course critical to the unique role of universities in our democratic society. We well understand that traditional university senates have historically played an important role in safeguarding academic freedom. We are not as yet convinced that academic freedom can only be assured through the device of a traditional senate by whatever name. Had we, or the larger Planning Council which preceded us (which included several distinguished members of the British Columbia academic community), been of that view, we would have recommended most vociferously the inclusion of a traditional senate in the legislation which constituted this institution. As you must know, there are some six other public degree granting institutions in B.C. functioning under legislation which does not require senates.
We understand as well that at many Canadian Universities there have been cutbacks and closures with devastating effects on academic staff notwithstanding the existence of traditional academic senates. We are excited that in this period of extreme financial restraint across Canada, the B.C. government is pushing ahead with initiatives to pour greater resources into post secondary institutions. We believe that our new university as well as the other initiatives in B.C. will enhance the opportunities for the academic teaching community as well as for the students of British Columbia. We see the development of this new institution as an integral part of that exciting initiative and we hope to ultimately win your active support and cooperation.
We believe it may be very productive for us to share our perspective with you and spend some time together addressing academic freedom, employee rights and other concerns you may have. We believe that there may be more than one valid approach to achieving these crucial ends and we would value your organization's constructive views as to how we might identify and remedy any perceived shortcomings in our initial approach to achieving these ends. Of course, the legislation which legally constituted the Technical University is within the exclusive legislative authority of the British Columbia Provincial Government, but we are confident that the government would welcome any suggestions or advice which might flow from consultations between your organization and our Board.
We wish to stress as well that TechBC is in its very early stages of development and we fully expect that it will evolve and change in response to the changing needs of both the internal and external constituencies we hope to serve. The broadest input possible at the institution's earliest stages of development, while these constituencies remain less well defined, is especially valued by this Board. The founding documents of the university were designed to emphasize and guarantee accountability and participative decision-making.
Because we are of course concerned about opposition from your internationally respected organization, we would like to know what stage your deliberations have reached. Has the resolution which has just come to our attention been passed by the CAUT membership and become official policy of your organization? Have you already implemented measures to attempt to thwart our hiring of academic staff? Or does the resolution represent proposed policy which is still under discussion and review? While we hope the latter suggestion is the more accurate description of the current stance of your organization, it is important that we know precisely where we stand. Our hope is that our two organizations may yet develop a cordial and cooperative working relationship.
Please advise us if you wish to meet with us and share concerns and perspectives. We will do our best to accommodate your availability for such discussions.
Yours sincerely,
Ron Dickson
Chair
| CC: | Minister Paul Ramsey, Education, Skills, and Training |
| Deputy Minister Don Avison, Education, Skills, and Training | |
| CAUT Executive | |
| CUFA-BC |