For Immediate Release
Monday, December 1, 1997
Representatives of more than 70 Canadian university faculty organizations gathered in Ottawa on November 22 to give formal approval to a plan to boycott the controversial Technical University of British Columbia (TechBC). International faculty organizations are anxious to see the British Columbia legislation amended to protect academic freedom and academic governance. Now that Canadian faculty associations have agreed to a long-term strategy on TechBC, the way is open for international academics to begin their campaigns.
Robert Clift, Executive Director of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA/BC), speaking to delegates at the semi-annual meeting of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) said, "This boycott is essential. For two years, the government of British Columbia and the governors of TechBC have proven themselves unwilling to engage in substantive discussion on how to run this institution."
"There are ways for TechBC to achieve its specialized mandate while respecting the academic freedom of professors and respecting the roles of professors and students in academic decision-making," Clift said. "We offered to help them achieve this, but our offers went unanswered. It was only when we indicated the possibility of a boycott that they began to take notice. The pressure must be kept on if we are to get the necessary legislative amendments."
CUFA/BC and CAUT have carried out a boycott campaign against TechBC since July 28, when the Technical University of British Columbia Act became law. The approval of the boycott campaign by the CAUT Council confirms the activities to date and gives approval to enter the next stage of the campaign. Bill Bruneau, President of CAUT, told meeting delegates that the campaign will continue to proceed in stages, increasing in intensity as time passes.
"The negative opinion of the international academic community puts a great strain on an educational institution. We want to give the B.C. government every opportunity to deal with our objections before the weight of opinion cripples TechBC," Bruneau said. "We plan to meet soon with the administration of TechBC, and our hope is they will go with us to government to propose legislative amendments."
CAUT represents 25,000 university professors, professional librarians and other academic staff at universities across Canada. CUFA/BC represents 3,500 university professors, professional librarians, and other academic staff at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and University of Northern British Columbia.
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Background documents are available on the Internet at http://cufabc.harbour.sfu.ca/tubc/index.html
For further information, please contact:
Bill Bruneau, President, Canadian Association of University Teachers,
(604) 224-3889 (Home), or (604) 822-5353 (Office)
Robert Clift, Executive Director, Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C.
(604) 291-5201 (Office), or (604) 817-1649 (Cell Phone)