Sudbury, Monday May 3, 2021 — On Sunday May 2, 2021 at 10:00 pm, following two separate days of court hearings on April 29 and 30, Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz and Madame Justice Cory Gilmore delivered their separate brief decisions with regards to Laurentian University “Laurentian” and the termination of the Federation Agreements “Agreements.”
These decisions uphold the termination notices issued by Laurentian on April 1, 2021 under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The effect of the Court decisions is that the Federation Agreement that previously existed between Laurentian and each of the federated universities is terminated. More detailed reasons in support of their decisions will be issued at a later date.
“Laurentian respects the historic legacy of each of the federated universities and will continue to do so in future, but it was necessary to terminate the contractual relationship and the funding arrangements for the sake of Laurentian’s survival. We are grateful to all stakeholders for their passion expressed in various ways through the CCAA process to date and we are committed to working together to complete the restructuring process,” said Dr. Robert Haché, President Laurentian University. “We are ready to welcome our new first year students and returning students in September, with a clearer path forward.”
All Spring courses offered and taught at Laurentian will continue in the ordinary course. Spring courses that were previously taught at Huntington University and University of Sudbury were previously cancelled, other than Gerontology and six Indigenous Studies courses for which special arrangements were made with Laurentian and which will continue. All other Spring courses previously taught by any of the Federated Universities, including Thorneloe University, will no longer be counted for credit towards a Laurentian degree. These courses include: Ancient Studies (ANCS), Religious Studies (RSLT) and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSX).
For Huntington University, the Transition Agreement previously negotiated with Laurentian on a consensual basis will now be implemented and pursuant to this agreement, Laurentian will be teaching the Gerontology courses in the Spring term, in the Fall term and thereafter. Huntington will continue to operate its residence and administration building on campus, through arrangements made with Laurentian.
Students in affected programs are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Joël Dickinson, Faculty of Arts, at arts@laurentian.ca to discuss the next steps in their academic path forward.
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