The Canada Student Grant is currently $4200 but could be cut to $3000 for the next academic year. College and university students in Canada already struggle with the cost of tuition and day-to-day necessities. This cut would be devastating. Student support should be increasing, not decreasing.

Check out these two sabbatical presentations from two of our members tomorrow! ——— If you're an OCADFA member with events upcoming, please let us know at: [email protected]

OCADFA stands in solidarity with progressive Jewish groups & artists rejecting donor interference & the weaponization of antisemitism to silence political and artistic expression at the AGO. 🔗 Sign the petition: www.tinyurl.com/NIONpetition

If we teach our students to treat AI as a neutral tool, we are training them to become compliant operators inside privatized cognitive systems. Read the full article: www.tinyurl.com/AI-MinSook

OCADFA remains active on the grievance front, filing five grievances in December. Read about them here: www.tinyurl.com/Griev-2-2026

Kima Lenaghan shares art and discusses her journey from a student to an instructor at OCAD. Read it here: 
www.tinyurl.com/KimaLen

"The most charitable thing I can say about AI at OCAD U is that all of us – students, staff, and faculty – should have the right to not use it. But this is not a straightforward proposition." Read the full piece here: www.tinyurl.com/AI-RBullen #EdTech #aiart

For more information about how you can send your support to the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) visit our website: ocadfa.ca/blog/2026/01... @ocufa.bsky.social

Meet the artist of the illustrated summary of the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the University and our union. OCADFA is deeply indebted to the hard work of OCAD University student and illustrator Ines Tang who spearheaded this project! Read the full article here www.tinyurl.com/InesTang

Read the detailed response on our newsletter or Linkedin: 
www.tinyurl.com/DG-jan2026 Do you have a question for OCADFA? Send them to: www.tinyurl.com/DearGraeme

OCADFA recognizes the funding crisis and the need to change. But sustainability must be built on clarity, principles, and protection of the public university — not on fear, vagueness, or permanent contraction. Read the full article here: www.tinyurl.com/OCADfunding

The latest OCADFA Newsletter is available for download: www.tinyurl.com/Dispatch-12026

Due to the incoming snow storm and what is sure to be a hectic day for many of our members tomorrow we have decided to postpone the OCADFA Town Hall. Stay tuned for the re-scheduling announcement.

Check out our LinkedIn page if you haven't yet: www.linkedin.com/company/ocadfa There we can post long form articles and news. We hope you will join us there!

Visit us online at: www.ocadfa.ca

If you are an OCADFA member and have something you want to promote that connects to your work please do get in touch!

Send us a message and we can include it in our newsletter and potentially share it on social media. Email Alex at: [email protected]

Monday, 26 January 2026 1-2:30pm | Room 230, 100 McCaul Light refreshments and pizza will be available.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ADMINISTRATION: www.linkedin.com/pulse/ocadfa...

Faculty and academic staff are being asked to do more, with less. We all deserve better!

Did you know that less than half of OCAD’s faculty have access to health benefits? That’s unacceptable. For those who are eligible to join the group benefits plan, we saw some modest increases in the last round of bargaining, but we’re still well behind sector norms and well behind what is needed.

In our 2024 Membership Survey, 76% of respondents said high instructor-to-student ratios were affecting the quality of course delivery, and 73% reported that it has affected their ability to provide support for students.

OCADFA members who are in financial need can apply to this fund. They can receive up to $250 of financial assistance within 10 days of applying for it. Details: www.tinyurl.com/OCADFAfund

More than half the faculty are OCAD are precariously employed with no pathway to permanency. It doesn’t have to be this way. OCAD the college had more faculty stability than OCAD the university – this is unacceptable. www.ocadfa.ca #AcademicPrecarity

OCAD U lags behind other universities in terms of working conditions, benefits & pay. That why Fair and Reasonable Compensation is at the heart of our negotiating plans. www.ocadfa.ca @ocufa.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social

We'll be hosting a town hall at the end of the month where we'll talk about the right to strike. Monday, 26 January 2026 1-2:30pm | Room 230, 100 McCaul Currently, OCADFA does NOT have this right. What does that mean, and should we pursue it? We want your thoughts!

And we're back from the holidays! We hope everyone had a nice and relaxing time off and we wish the the absolute best for 2026! If you haven't seen/downloaded it already, below is a link to our "Know your MoA" zine! A short, illustrated MOA! www.tinyurl.com/zineOCADFA

Happy Holidays Everyone! —— And just a reminder that our office will be closed from Monday, 22 December to Friday, 2 January. We will be reopening on Monday, 5 January 2026.

OCADFA served notice to bargain in June 2025... www.linkedin.com/pulse/ocadfa...

An exclusive excerpt of OCADFA Negotiations Team representative Ross Bullen's new book! www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-su...

Ines Tang (Executive Director of Campaigns & Advocacy, OCAD Student Union) recounts their fight against #Bill33. www.linkedin.com/pulse/ocad-s...

An update from the 99th Council of the Canadian Association of University Teachers @caut.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/pulse/99th-c...

In this month's "Dear Graeme" we go over what #AcademicFreedom is, and if only tenured faculty are covered. Read in full: www.tinyurl.com/A-Freedom

By Faculty-at-Large Senator b.h. Yael (Art) Read in full: www.tinyurl.com/OCADUsenate "Rather than seeing the work of Senate as a productive space...we are reduced to narrow or limited business decisions..." @ocufa.bsky.social @caut.bsky.social

In our conversations with #SessionalInstructors the issue of financial #precarity & #jobsecurity are always among the top concerns. Read in full: www.tinyurl.com/SessionalProfile #makeitfair @caut.bsky.social @ocufa.bsky.social

OCAD U is the least funded university in Ontario and among the lowest-paid faculties in the sector. What will a new round of fiscal tightening bring? Read the full story here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/ocadus... #SMA4 #EducationCuts @caut.bsky.social

Dec 2025 Newsletter: www.tinyurl.com/Dispatch-122025 - OCADU's #SMA4 & Ontario's Funding Crisis - A Profile of #SessionalPrecarity - Senate Update: Shrinking Democratic Space - CAUT Council: Defending Education, Democracy, and Labour Rights - Student Union & #Bill33 - and more! @caut.bsky.social

Mutual Support When You Need It All OCADFA members have access to a small emergency fund created to assist with unexpected financial hardship. Members may apply for up to $250 in assistance. Applications are confidential and reviewed as quickly as possible. To apply: www.tinyurl.com/OCADFAfund

OCADFA Town Hall Mon, 26 Jan 2026 1-2:30pm, Rm 230, 100 McCaul Right now, OCADFA resolves bargaining disputes through interest arbitration instead of the right to strike. What does that mean for our power at the table—and what would change if we pursued strike rights?

OCADFA is always active on the grievance front. We successfully settled two grievances in mediation over the summer that were slated for arbitration, including a workload group grievance concerning Faculty of Art thesis courses: www.linkedin.com/pulse/grieva...

If OCADFA is a trade union, why can’t we strike? And secondly, doesn’t not being able to strike hurt our leverage at the bargaining table? www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-ca...

In recent weeks, several faculty and staff have raised a troubling question: has the office charged with upholding human-rights protections at OCAD U quietly been dismantled? www.linkedin.com/pulse/erosio...

New Bargaining Update Approved! www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Min Sook Lee, OCADFA President “We made sure that every single labour category at OCADFA saw improvements in their working conditions.” youtube.com/shorts/OiFQy...

Isra Amsdr, Graduate Student representing #TeachingAssistants On fighting for better rights for those with disabilities through a #DesireBasedFramework. youtube.com/shorts/7_yY8...

Eric Steenbergen, Representing Technical Staff “When I started Sessional rates were the lowest in the province, now our pay is in the centre of the pack, I’m proud of that.” youtube.com/shorts/mXkYF...

June Pak, Sessional Instructor, OCADFA Vice-President On how this MoA added transparency to the three level Sessional pay scale. youtube.com/shorts/Xu9oY...

Maria-Bélen Ordóñez, Representing the Teaching Stream “It was important to me that the Faculty of Art would be teaching 6 courses as their workload as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences had been teaching for some time.” youtube.com/shorts/D0tYi...

Roderick Grant, Representing Permanent Faculty Getting Chair GPD language into the MoA will have immediate and long term positive impact for faculty moving into and out of the role knowing that it’s a defined position in the MoA. youtube.com/shorts/l1eM-...

Wed, 19 Nov @1230-2pm Are you a sessional instructor at OCAD U and do you have questions about your contract, your workload, pay or general working conditions? www.ocadfa.ca

We just started a LinkedIn page! Follow us at: www.linkedin.com/company/ocad-university-faculty-association/