The Langara Faculty Association (LFA) expresses our sincere sympathies to the families and communities impacted by the horrifying confirmation of a mass grave of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Territory. We wish to share our deepest condolences with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, and at this shocking and sad time, we mourn with you. It is important that we acknowledge the brutality and ongoing impact of past actions and never allow them to occur again. We call on all Langarans to reach out and provide support to our colleagues, the campus community, and the community at large to help the healing and recovery.

We know that this traumatic news has adversely impacted many of our members, and we are here to support you in any way we can. In particular, we want to reach out to our Indigenous faculty members, and offer our assistance in getting the supports you may need. Please contact an LFA steward or any member of the Board and we would be glad to help.

Additionally, the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide 24/7 support for residential school survivors and those affected: 1-866 925-4419.

The BC-based KUU-US Crisis Line Society provides a 24/7, toll-free crisis line that is First Nations and Indigenous-specific: 1-800-588-8717 or online at kuu-uscrisisline.com.

To all our relations, in solidarity and support,

Pauline Greaves Aylward, LFA President, on behalf of the LFA Board

March 15 update from Deborah Blacklock, Chief Returning Officer:

Please join me in congratulating Pauline Greave Aylward, who has been acclaimed the new LFA President.

April 15 update from Deborah Blacklock, CRO:

Please join me in congratulating Raged Anwar, who has been elected the new LFA Vice-President.

April 28 update from Deborah Blacklock, CRO:

The following people have been elected to the LFA Board:

Alison Curtis
Janet Douglas
Catherine Huth
Tanya Lewis
Colin Mills
Shelley-Anne Vidal
Joyce Wong

Thank you for participating in the election process.

Virtual AGM Friday May 14, 1:30 pm

The Annual General Meeting package has been distributed electronically to members, along with an invitation to the Zoom meeting. Please contact info@langarafaculty.ca if you did not receive the invitation.

It would be great to see you at the AGM, so please plan to attend (and encourage others to do so). One nice part of the meeting will be the opportunity to welcome the new LFA executive!

All faculty are invited to attend a virtual General Meeting of Members on Friday, March 5th at 1:30pm. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss work the LFA Board has been doing and to vote on a motion to draw funds in support of an external consultation regarding Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) within the LFA.

The motion and background details have been distributed electronically to members, along with an invitation to the Zoom meeting. Please contact info@langarafaculty.ca if you did not receive the invitation.

Please note that proxy votes are allowed for in the LFA's Constitution. In order to be able to vote by proxy, it is required that the reason for missing the meeting is related to your work at Langara or because of vacation. Faculty in attendance at a meeting cannot hold more than one proxy vote. To vote by proxy, please send an email to scott.mclean@langarafaculty.ca or smclean@langara.ca explaining that you are not able to attend because of a conflict your work at Langara or because you are on vacation and including the name of the Faculty member that you are giving your proxy vote over to. You will get a reply; please note that the proxy needs to be approved prior to the meeting.

This is an important issue for the membership to discuss, and we hope to see you there!

In solidarity,

The LFA Board (Tanya Lewis, Darrell Kean, Colin Mills, Janet Douglas, Catherine Huth, Alison Curtis, Paul Prosperi, Annie Jensen, and Scott McLean)

The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) Standing Committees meet at least twice a year in Vancouver, normally in the fall and spring. Read more to see the spring 2021 Decolonization, Indigenization and Reconciliation Committee (DRISC) Report from our LFA rep Justin Wilson.