Labour and education in the news
Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.
November 10, 2026
Thousands of Quebec students expected to strike against austerity, precarity this week
CBC
Post-secondary students at several institutions across Quebec kicked off a week-long strike on Monday morning.
Ford calls students protesting OSAP changes 'naive,' says they should be 'thanking the government'
CBC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called students who protested Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) changes and tuition hikes "naive" on Monday — likening them to "sheep" who blindly follow what "looney tunes" post on social media.
UBC paid accuser to join Steven Galloway inquiry, court hears
Globe and Mail
The former student who accused bestselling author Steven Galloway of sexually assaulting and harassing her told a confidant that she was paid by UBC to participate in an independent inquiry, the confidant testified Monday.
“Ontario students are paying the price”: New CUPE-OSBCU report uses government data to expose worsening understaffing in schools; Ontario education workers call for investment in student support.
CUPE
A new report from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) reveals a deepening understaffing crisis across Ontario’s schools, leaving students’ needs unmet and education workers facing unsustainable workloads. The report documents staffing pressures affecting Educational Assistants, Designated Early Childhood Educators, Child and Youth Workers, school office staff, custodians, maintenance and trades workers, and other professional support staff whose work is essential to students’ learning, well-being and safety.
AI use is now universal in higher education. Why are universities failing to adapt?
The Conversation
Artificial intelligence (AI) use among university students is now near-universal in many countries. Yet, as of a year ago, fewer than one in five universities in a 90-country UNESCO survey had a formal AI policy.
Inside the faculty group that challenged Trump when Columbia would not
Columbia Specatator
In fall 2021, about 25 Columbia faculty members gathered on Zoom, frustrated by what they saw as the University’s failure to consult the faculty on its decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. They floated an idea: reviving the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a national organization centered on shared governance and academic freedom.
Democrats plan to use new power to rein in Trump's education agenda, but their tools are limited
Yahoo
Democrats in Congress are preparing to flex their soon-to-be majorities in opposition to some of President Donald Trump's marquee education policies, starting with the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department. But with Trump threatening to use his veto power, they may be limited to opening investigations and using federal funding as leverage.
How academic freedom is changing around the world — by the numbers
Nature
Academic freedom is deteriorating globally, according to the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network, a human-rights organization based at New York University.
AI is making the virtual job interview even weirder
Globe and Mail
Recruiters are increasingly facing an unsettling pattern in virtual job interviews: They can see candidates’ eyes move across the screen as if they’re reading, and the responses they deliver are robotic and even sound scripted.
Ottawa doubles maximum time employer can hire low-wage temporary foreign workers
CBC
The federal government is extending the period of time a business can employ a low-wage temporary foreign worker.
WestJet Encore flight attendants file notice of dispute as airline rags the puck on contract negotiations
CUPE
Flight attendants at WestJet Encore represented by CUPE 8125 have filed a notice of dispute with the federal government, seeking the appointment of a conciliator to help resolve stalled contract negotiations.
Union warns labour code changes demanded by industry would gut strike rights
CTV News
Union officials are sounding the alarm about an effort by transport industry leaders to rein in workers’ ability to strike.
About half of workers in N.S. and N.L. earning less than the living wage: report
CityNews
About half of workers in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador earn less than what they need to cover basic expenses, a new report says.
Common Dreams
Every cycle like clockwork, young voters are written off as too disillusioned or too distracted to show up in a midterm. On Tuesday, that outdated notion was laid to rest. Nationally and across California, young people showed up. And they showed up in numbers that made the difference in power-shifting races for LA Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, California Democratic Rep.-elects Randy Villegas and Marni von Wilpert, and others.
'Crumbs': French PM's 1.6% minimum wage increase fails to placate unions
France 24
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday he was bringing forward a planned hike in the minimum wage to December from January, as he sought to defuse a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked some of France's worst civil unrest in years.
November 9, 2026
University of Ottawa part-time professors begin strike
CTV News
Part-time professors at the University of Ottawa are now on strike after their union and employer failed to negotiate the terms of a new collective agreement.
Decoding report card ‘edu-ese’: Why parents are frustrated and the province is getting involved
CBC
Alberta’s education minister tapped into a big irritant for at least some parents when he said he’s taking on school report cards this year.
York University cyberattack: Government IDs, financial information stolen
TorontoToday
York University has confirmed it experienced a cybersecurity incident that resulted in the theft of personal information, including some government-issued identification and financial account details.
Senate questions faculty hiring restrictions amid $104 million in provincial funding
Queen's Journal
Senators questioned the University’s faculty hiring restrictions and the future of academic programs as administrators outlined plans for $104 million in provincial funding.
Students stage province-wide walkout against cuts to tuition aid
Rabble
Post-secondary students across Ontario walked out of their classes on Thursday to oppose cuts to the student aid program intended to support students with tuition fees. As of August 1, the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) limits the amount of grants students receive to 25 per cent of their funding. This means 75 per cent of the financial aid for students now comes in the form of loans. Previously, up to 85 per cent of the funding students received could be grants.
Budget 2026 provides small investment in post-secondary sector
University Affairs
The second federal budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, announced Thursday, included little direct investment in the post-secondary sector. The budget, titled Masters of Our Destiny, outlines more than $150 billion in new spending and tax measures amid a projected $62.3 billion deficit for 2026–27. Among the highlights, the budget allocates $22 billion in affordability measures, including a one-time 50% increase in the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, $11.2 billion over four years to end homelessness within a decade; $18.5 billion for infrastructure in Indigenous communities and $5 billion in new spending for culture.
STATEMENT: An attack on campus organizing is an attack on us all
Alberta Federation of Labour
Colleges and universities are not just places where students learn. They are workplaces. Faculty, support staff, graduate students, and teaching assistants are workers, and their unions are part of Alberta’s labour movement. When the UCP gives itself more power over organizing and protest on campus, this is not somebody else’s fight. It is our fight.
Liberté académique Les profs d’université ne veulent pas d’une ministre dans leurs salles de cours
La Presse
La nouvelle élue vient à peine d’arriver en poste que le mandat qui lui a été confié suscite déjà des inquiétudes. Lors de son assermentation au Conseil des ministres, le premier ministre Paul St-Pierre Plamondon lui a demandé de « veiller à ce que les universités soient des milieux de recherche sereins et des milieux dans le respect de la liberté académique […] où la méthode scientifique a préséance sur toutes autres considérations ou idéologies ».
Parents and teachers decry Google pledge to yank Search if schools block AI: ‘This threat is nothing but extortion’
The Guardian
Parents and teachers across the US are criticizing Google’s announcement that schools choosing to block AI tools could also lose access to Google Search.
Snow problem: one in five plow jobs vacant within Manitoba government
Winnipeg Free Press
The Manitoba government is struggling to provide services because of severe understaffing, including in the ranks of snowplow drivers, a decade after major cuts to the civil service.
Quebec Court of Appeal: Anti-scab provisions can apply to teleworking
CityNews
The Quebec Court of Appeal has just ruled that anti-strike-breaking provisions can indeed apply to teleworking in certain circumstances.
These moms fought to change Canada's 'discriminatory' EI Act — and officially won
CBC
Relief, pride and tears. That's how Laurie Chalifour-Racine reacted when she learned a years-long legal battle over the Employment Insurance Act was finally over.
3 in 4 Workers Are ‘Keeping Receipts’ at Work—We’re Not Talking About Financial Records
CPA Practice Advisor
A new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers showed that 74% say they have intentionally saved workplace documentation in case they needed proof later. For 43% of workers, that documentation has been used to defend themselves. That comes from the latest Workplace Receipts Report from ResumeBuilder.com.
Declassified RCMP files reveal secret spying on Canadian union members during Cold War
Western Standard
The RCMP secretly photographed private union correspondence and monitored Canadian labour leaders during the Cold War as part of a campaign to uncover suspected Communist influence, newly declassified federal records reveal.
More than 400,000 German workers take action for higher pay
France 24
The IG Metall union organised the actions after several rounds of negotiations with employers on behalf of its members ended with no result.
Fixing UK’s youth jobs crisis demands much more investment, TUC boss warns
The Guardian
Fixing Britain’s youth jobs crisis will require ministers to drastically increase investment in employment support while avoiding arbitrary cuts to benefits, the head of the trade union movement has said.
‘A global political awakening’: how gen Z protests are sweeping the world
The Guardian
In Brazil, they rallied online by the millions, sharing videos and spreading memes. In Serbia, they cycled across Europe and ran ultramarathons to make their voices heard.
