Winnipeg/Treaty 1 territory – The Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA) expresses its solidarity with our university colleagues and the people of Nova Scotia fighting against proposed Bill 12 ironically entitled “An Act Respecting Advanced Education and Research.”
Similar to Bill 33, “The Advanced Education Administration Amendment Act” in Manitoba passed in 2021, Bill 12 would give Nova Scotia’s Minister of Advanced Education the authority to withhold funds from universities that the minister deems to not be aligned with the “social and economic priorities of the government.” MOFA has fought against the implementation of Bill 33 in Manitoba for the same reasons Bill 12 in Nova Scotia needs to be rejected. Not only does it fly in the face of university autonomy, it undermines universities’ ability to perform their basic functions and uphold their educational missions. It would force them to curry favour with the changing and political nature of whichever political party is in power. These are short-term priorities that do not fit with the necessarily long-term goals of knowledge production that universities must prioritize.
Nova Scotia’s proposed Bill 12 also requires the University Boards of Governors to have a majority of members decided by the government. These changes are harmful to Nova Scotia’s universities and undermine their ability to contribute to the economy and society of Nova Scotia.
The Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations (MOFA) is comprised of members of faculty associations from Brandon University, Université de Saint-Boniface, University of Manitoba, and the University of Winnipeg representing over 1,600 individual academic staff. We are based on both Treaty 1 and Treaty 2 territories, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.