Issues in Depth

The UBC Faculty Association is the voice of faculty on a number of important issues. To see related posts on these issues including calls for faculty input, select the relevant tag or select the search icon at the top right of this page to use the search bar. Many topics are ongoing and faculty perspectives are always welcome. If you would like to comment on any item, please send an email to [email protected].

CUFA BC: Faculty mourn the deaths of 215 children from former Kamloops Indian Residential School

CUFA BC: Faculty mourn the deaths of 215 children from former Kamloops Indian Residential School (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) & səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories – Vancouver, BC, June 1, 2021) – The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) stands in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation and with all Indigenous faculty, students, and community members following the discovery of 215 children who were buried in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. CUFA BC stands with First Nations in seeking the truth about missing and murdered children at the hands of the state in what is a horrific act of genocide whose legacy continues today.

CRA Announces New Simplified Rules for Claiming Expenses

Memorandum from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)

New CRA Rules for Claiming Home Office Expenses due to COVID-19
for 2020 Tax Year

On December 15, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced details of the new simplified process for claiming expenses related to working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new flat rate deduction is being introduced for expenses up to $400, and a simplified detailed deduction for those wishing to claim more than $400. To assist in the assessment of which method is best, CRA has launched this calculator.

Welcome Back & Update from UBCFA

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you have begun settling into the term. There is no need to engage in platitudes about extraordinary times or exhortations that we are all in this together and doing a great job. We entered the new academic year anxious about our students, our families, our jobs; we are not certain how well we’ll do in our teaching and research or other professional activities under current conditions. The world seems an endless series of epidemiological, climatic, social justice, economic, and political disasters. We’re all doing what we can; we’re doing what we hope is well enough . . . 

Join the Dialogue: Call for Comments on Policy AP5

We hope you’ll take the opportunity to express your views on a proposal to amend the Deans/Principals Appointment Policy (AP5) and its associated Procedures. Send us your comments by September 30, 2020.

BC Faculty Commend Governments & Universities, Urge Supports

CUFA News Release

April 24, 2020 – The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC and its 5,500 faculty, academic librarians, and other academic professionals commend federal, provincial, and municipal governments on moving swiftly to secure protections for the most vulnerable members of our society affected by COVID-19. Supports like rental subsidies, protections from evictions, freezes on rental increases, federal financial supports, provincial supports and expanded access to employment insurance through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). All together, these will form the safety net that is so critical in the coming weeks and months to ease the burden of global pandemic.

View the full News Release (PDF format)

Direct Link: CUFA BC

UBCFA Constitution and Bylaws Referendum 2019

Referendum Results: 

The two motions presented to the membership related to the proposed changes to our Constitution and Bylaws passed with the required three-quarters vote. For the detailed results, please visit the link below. 

CAUT responds to UBC President Ono re: PWIAS

28 February 2019

The Canadian Association of University Teachers replied to UBC President Santa Ono’s letter of February 8, 2019 in response to concerns raised by CAUT surrounding recent developments at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS). The letter is available at this link

UBCFA Response – Policy 3

The UBCFA has responded to the University’s call for comments on the Proposed Amendments to Policy 3 (Discrimination and Harassment). Our correspondence to Hubert Lai, Q.C., University Counsel is available at this link. Thank you to those members who provided their comments as we formulated our response.