The memo asked faculty to provide irrevocable written notice of … "Provided Laurentian and its stakeholders are able to meet those conditions, we anticipate that by mid-April, current and future students will start to see emerging clarity around important issues such as how Laurentian’s academic offerings will be restructured for the fall of 2021.". A transfer ratio of 100 per cent would mean the pension plan is fully funded. Pursuant to the Initial Order, Laurentian is permitted to continue its business in the ordinary course, which includes research activities. Laurentian will do everything possible to help students find alternate programs and courses of study within Laurentian. The province needs to act immediately to stop the inappropriate and radical misuse of the (insolvency) process at Laurentian. Your supervisor is asked to follow the guidance in the Fiscal Restraint and Cost Reduction Measures memo issued by the Office of the Vice-President Administration: Extension of or hiring new non-faculty temporary contracts up to April 30 and/or new part-time, casual staff, students hiring will be permitted, when demonstrated as being critical to the operations, and pre-approved by Finance, Human Resources, the respective Executive Team Member and the President. If you had a student on payroll on Feb. 1, 2021 they will continue to be paid for work performed under their current contract during the restructuring. Laurentian said in the court filings that it had tried to reduce costs with job cuts and a hiring freeze. As part of Laurentian’s overall plan, it intends to re-assess its relationship with the Federated Universities. Individuals may submit an inquiry on the University’s website at www.laurentianu.info or byemail universityadvancement@laurentian.ca. If you are in this group and have questions, please contact pension@laurentian.ca. Laurentian has dedicated, professional faculty and staff who also place the interests of students at the forefront. Laurentian University will ensure that all 150 students who were enrolled in the Indigenous Studies program through the University of Sudbury will have access to courses rooted in Indigenous perspectives already offered through Laurentian’s Faculty of Arts, in disciplines ranging from History, English, Psychology, and Sociology. "LU takes the position that this will help to mitigate any potential deterioration of the DBPP’s financial position and will treat all plan members equitably, as it avoids having certain individuals remove assets from the DBPP at a rate greater than the transfer ratio," the transcript of the decision said. Pension Plan Advisor at Laurentian University Sudbury, Ontario, Canada 461 connections. Laurentian University/Université Laurentienne. It is a difficult reality that for Laurentian to survive and continue to serve its students, a restructuring of the entire university, including its academic programs and federated university relationships, was necessary. We are confident in our efforts to create a restructured Laurentian that existing and future students will be proud to be part of. As a result, a series of program closures will occur in order to provide the University with the best opportunity to restructure its operations, enabling a financially sustainable future. Some program changes involving very low enrolment courses or programs are expected to be made for the Fall 2021 term in an effort to trim costs, but since those are extremely low enrolment courses, it will impact only a very small percentage of students. Under pension law, once your monthly pension benefit has begun, you are not able to elect a commuted value transfer. This proceeding is a platform to allow Laurentian to restructure both operationally and financially. As an alumni community, we want the same for current and future students and welcome your support for our community as we go forward. Salaries and benefits represent the university’s most significant expense at about 67 per cent of total expenses. the Nipissing University Faculty Association said in a news release March 23. You will still be able to attend classes (virtually due to COVID for the relevant time period) for the remainder of the academic year and access all services that remain open during the pandemic. These arrangements were confirmed and approved by Court Order. *The transfer ratio is based on a hypothetical wind-up. All Registered Pension Plan members in this small group of members who recently received statements and election forms that provided them with the option to elect a single, lump-sum payment have been notified separately about changes to their options and be given the opportunity to elect a new option. Contracts beyond April 30, 2021 cannot be executed at this time. That means Laurentian will continue to pay for goods and services received on and after the CCAA Filing Date (February 1). A major crisis. Dr. Dean Millar, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture, at dmillar@laurentian.ca Unless and until it becomes clear that that will not be possible due to any position taken by a key stakeholder group, we will focus on the only path forward that we believe makes sense at this time. CTV News Northern Ontario Digital Content Producer, A court ruling this month as part of Laurentian University's ongoing insolvency process will allow the school to reduce pension plan payouts to more than two dozen former staff. Mission; History. Laurentian) is unable to make the ongoing payments necessary to adequately fund the plan into the future. Despite much evidence to the contrary, some people continue to believe that governments and government entities simply cannot go bankrupt. They are impressive on their own, but taken together, they tell a powerful story about who we are and all we have to offer. Figure 1 shows that in seven of the past eight years, Laurentian reported a loss. This restructuring is taking place within a court process, and we need to let that process unfold. Laurentian is proud that the programs it continues to offer represent what Francophone leaders of tomorrow have indicated that they are seeking as they pursue their studies. Laurentian University is facing a cash crisis and has filed for creditor protection.The Ontario university states that the application under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) is intended to permit the university to continue running day-to-day operations during restructuring.. Prior to the CCAA proceeding being commenced, extensive efforts and dialogue occurred with the Province in an attempt to see if any alternative solutions to filing for CCAA protection were possible. Any extension of contracts or new hiring of students must follow the guidelines in the Fiscal Restraint and Cost Reduction Measures memo recently issued. It does not impact the ability of Laurentian to operate, contract for the supply of goods and services and pay for those goods and services that it obtains after February 1. The first payment will be made at 65.8% of the full commuted value, which is based on the transfer ratio* set out in the last filed valuation report for the Registered Pension Plan. This is an unprecedented occurrence amongst publicly funded Canadian universities and colleges, though in B.C., we have had recent experience with the insolvency of Quest University, a privately funded non-profit university. Support will be provided to graduate students who are impacted by program closures and students whose primary supervisor may be impacted by the restructuring. If there are graduate programs impacted by a restructuring, graduate students in the program will be contacted directly to discuss their path to degree completion. The University is currently contributing substantially more toward the cost of pension benefits than plan members. Program restructuring decisions are expected to be determined before April 15, 2021. 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