McGill threatens to cancel law school semester if faculty union strike continues

UPDATE: McGill law professors' strike suspended, students can go back to class

McGill University's striking law professors are concerned for students' futures after the school threatened to cancel law school classes for the rest of the semester if no agreement is reached by Monday.

"We're all concerned about the students. It's very stressful," said Kirsten Anker, vice-president of the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL).

"It's unfathomable, the resistance they are presenting to a very basic right of workers to organize in their workplace. It's a constitutional right."

She said cancelling the semester could set undergraduate and graduate students back by up to a year and put foreign students' study visas in jeopardy.

McGill's administration sent an email to law school students Monday morning, saying the union must agree to end its strike, or the university will cancel courses taught by union members as of tomorrow.

The university says it will drop its legal challenge of the faculty's right to unionize, one of AMPL's key demands, if the union agrees to negotiate working conditions collectively with other employee associations at the school.

The university argues that it's not plausible for classes to begin two months into the semester and still finish on time. However, Anker contends her union has offered a variety of options, such as shortening the winter break or extending the spring semester.

She added that the university has had weeks to find a solution, and while the union still needs to meet to discuss its options, her sense is that this "non-offer is not acceptable."

Anker said her union is backed by others and has the financial resources to pay the 43 striking staff members a stipend should the semester be cancelled, but the hope is that a solution will be found.

"Things are still moving, and I am still very hopeful that we can sort this out before the students are impacted by a semester being cancelled," she said.

McGill official says clock is ticking

In a message sent to students and forwarded to CBC News by a student, Christopher Manfredi, provost and executive vice-president academic, says he never wanted to reach this point.

On Sept. 27, an arbitrator ruled that mediation sessions with AMPL would occur on Oct. 8, 9 and 14, rather than declaring an impasse, Manfredi wrote.

McGill aimed to resolve the strike by Oct. 1 to adjust fall courses, making an offer to AMPL that included assurances regarding certification and a "federated" system involving new associations. If AMPL doesn't accept the offer, McGill will implement contingency plans to address course cancellations, he says.

"But as the university's chief academic officer, I cannot hold out as plausible that courses taught by AMPL members could begin in the eighth, ninth, or 10th week of term and finish on time while respecting program requirements and our high academic standards," the message states.

The McGill Law Students' Association says in a statement that the university's offer is "nothing more than smoke and mirrors," and calls for both McGill and the union to be more flexible.

"It has now become clear that McGill recklessly jeopardizes our semesters and the quality of our education in pursuit of its own interests," the statement says.

Quebec's labour tribunal certified the law professors' union in November 2022, but the union has yet to secure its first collective agreement.

Student says he's disappointed, frustrated

McGill's law faculty is the first group of professors to unionize at the university, though most non-faculty staff are unionized. Since the law faculty union was formed, professors in the departments of education and arts have also filed for union certification.

Anker said the union is open to having some parts of its collective agreement negotiated jointly with other faculty unions, but said the university needs to commit to dropping the judicial review immediately before law professors will agree to return to work.

Ottawa resident Mitch Thompson was ready to start his first year of law school at McGill University this year, but now he finds the situation disappointing more than anything.

He said cancelling the semester is also a "massive waste of money" for students like him who moved to Montreal to study.

"Everybody wants to get going on it," said Thompson. "I don't think anyone expected us to not have class as of Oct. 1."

Thompson said this news has given him doubts about the university and how it treats both its students and staff.