College retreats from political policy
Durham employees’ union says edict violates academic freedom and democratic rights
Durham College says it will be taking “immediate action” to revise and amend its policy on political activity for employees.
Last week, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) slammed the college, saying it was violating academic freedom and democratic rights after an email was allegedly sent to employees by Durham College president Don Lovisa that referenced a policy that says employees may not “engage in political activity … inside and outside the workplace.”
The OPSEU College Faculty Division sent a letter to Lovisa on May 18, demanding a retraction of the policy. “Their policy is a serious violation of academic freedom and our democratic rights,” said RM Kennedy, OPSEU’s college faculty division chair. “College faculty work hard to encourage our students’ civic engagement. You would think a college president would be more careful to respect and protect academic life on campus.”
Durham College said in a statement on Wednesday that a Community Elections and Political Activity policy was developed several years ago to guide employees on “balancing professional and personal activities when it comes to politics.”
The policy was shared with employees as a reminder, in the lead-up to the June 7 provincial election.
“Since then, it has been raised that some of the policy language is creating confusion rather than clarity, specifically regarding when, where and how DC employees participate in political activities,” the statement notes. “We regret any concern this has caused and are taking immediate action to have the policy reviewed and amended.”
OPSEU isn’t the only organization that expressed concern.
In a May 22 letter to Lovisa, David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), calls the policy a “serious violation of academic freedom and basic democratic rights” and says “universities and colleges are places where debates on matters of public concern must be encouraged, not stifled.” Both OPSEU and CAUT note that colleges are not public bodies or Crown agencies, and that their employees are not public servants as defined by the Public Service of Ontario Act — which means their political activity should not be restricted.
“DC is committed to honouring academic freedom and unequivocally supports the rights of students and employees to participate in the democratic process — more than that, it is encouraged,” the statement from the college notes.
“Each election period and throughout the year, the college makes a point of providing opportunities for members of the campus community to engage with political leaders by hosting activities such as all-candidates debates, candidate campus tours and town halls, among others.”
The controversy at Durham College comes days after recent pressure from OPSEU which saw Northumberland County back down from a similar policy, which attempted to ban its municipal employees from taking part in the upcoming elections during their own offhours.
OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said he will continue to respond if he hears of other employers who are trying to suppress democratic participation.
“Voter turnout is at an all-time low in this province,” he noted. “The last thing we need is ill-informed managers making a bad situation even worse.”
Jillian Follert is the education reporter for the Metroland Media Group’s Durham Region Division.