Timmins MP hopes bill will prevent another LU crisis
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus says he wants to make sure a disaster such as the Laurentian University insolvency never happens again.
He’s introduced a private members bill in the House of Commons, since LU declared insolvency under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, a federal statute.
"Our concern is once you establish a precedent like this, it could be used in another situation,” Angus told CTV News.
His bill would ensure public institutions exhaust alternatives before declaring insolvency under the CCAA.
"Whether it’s hospitals, whether it’s universities, health care centres, that this can not be a tactic used by right-wing governments at the provincial government to undermine public investment in key institutions like what happened at Laurentian University,” he said.
Angus said administration at LU deliberately gutted programs and staff, them like ‘discarded items at a garage sale.’
Peter McInnis, of the Canadian Association of University Teachers Association, said it will take years to repair the damage.
“Just recently documents made clear that senior university administrators deliberately chose the CCAA to avoid paying out severance and pensions and to be able to conduct mass layoffs,” McInnis said.
“This was an engineered outcome to privilege the few over the many.”
Fabrice Colin, president of the Laurentian University Faculty Association, said what happened at LU caused “irreparable damage.”
“I’ve seen the lives of friends and colleagues shattered,” he said.
The second reading of the bill will happen at the end of January.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull dies at 84
Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull has died at the age of 84. He played for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Hartford Whalers as well as the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets over a 23-year pro career.

Girl, 6, dead after accident at ski resort north of Montreal on Sunday
A six-year-old girl died in hospital Sunday night after being involved in an incident at the Val-Saint-Côme ski resort in Lanaudiere. Quebec police are investigating, though details into the event are not yet known. Officers indicated that it involved a T-bar lift, but they were not able to say more.
New alcohol recommendations could speed up changing drinking habits: businesses
Advocates and business owners in the beverage industry say new guidance for drinking alcohol could speed up changing consumer drinking habits as younger generations drink less and non-alcoholic beverages become more popular.
WHO: COVID-19 still an emergency but nearing 'inflection' point
The coronavirus remains a global health emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Monday, after a key advisory panel found the pandemic may be nearing an 'inflection point' where higher levels of immunity can lower virus-related deaths.
Quebec minister calls on new anti-Islamophobia representative to step down over Bill 21 comments
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Elghawaby to apologize and step down.
Are you a Ukrainian who recently moved to Canada? We want to hear from you
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine displacing millions of people, many refugees have begun to lay their roots in Canada. If you or someone you know has fled the war-torn country and settled in Canada, we want to hear from you.
NDP to call for emergency debate in House of Commons over private health care
Federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will call on the House of Commons to hold an emergency debate on the privatization of health care.
COVID-19 global emergency isn't over: 5 things to know about the WHO decision
The World Health Organization decided Monday not to declare an end to the COVID-19 global public health emergency.
All countries 'dangerously unprepared' for future pandemics: report
The world is 'dangerously unprepared' for future pandemics, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) say in a report published on Monday, calling on countries to update their preparedness plans by year-end.