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Fight to Defend Educational Institutions University of Alberta Staff Launch Mass Campaign to Protect Post-Secondary EducationThe nearly 4,000 workers making up the Association of Academic Staff at the University of Alberta (AASUA) are taking matters into their own hands to protect the future of the university and Alberta, after Jason Kenney and the UCP government's devastating 2021 budget.
"In the 2021 UCP provincial budget, the University of Alberta's provincial grant has been cut again by a further 11 per cent, which is $60.1 million, or almost half of the total cut to Alberta's post-secondary sector. This means that while 25 per cent of the province's students attend the U of A, our school will bear 50 per cent of the reduction in funding." Given these extraordinarily challenging times at the U of A, the AASUA, which is made up of the university's educators, researchers, librarians and administrative professionals, is launching the largest campaign in its history. Called, "Protect Our Future: For Our University. For Alberta," the campaign will mobilize thousands of AASUA members, the broader U of A community of workers and students, as well as Albertans across the province. A petition in support of the campaign can be signed at ProtectOurFuture.ca "These are not normal times at the U of A and by attacking our university, the Kenney government is taking a jackhammer to the very foundation of Alberta's history and its future," said Acuña. "We are launching our campaign knowing we are up against huge challenges. But now more than ever, we need to come together to protect our future for our university and for Alberta." (Files from AASUA. Photo: K. Taghabon)
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"We
are concerned about our province's future and that's why we are
stepping forward to protect it with a campaign to mobilize our 4,000
members alongside the entire U of A community and beyond," said AASUA
President, Ricardo Acuña. "Our university drives innovation and
makes our province strong. Now is when we should be
investing in our future and protecting Alberta, not cutting it like the
Kenney government has recklessly done."