The FQPPU calls on its members to support a censure procedure against the University of Toronto

The Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université (FQPPU) is calling on its 18-member associations and unions to support a censure procedure against the University of Toronto adopted by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) at its last Council.

This rare and exceptional measure was necessitated by the University of Toronto’s decision to cancel the hiring of Professor Valentina Azarova as the new director of the International Human Rights Law Program, despite a unanimous recommendation by the hiring committee. According to CAUT, the university decided to cancel the hiring after being subjected to political pressure, which is contrary to the principles of academic freedom.

The censure procedure is a sanction used by CAUT as a last resort, whereby academic staff must not accept appointments or invitations to speak at the institution in question until the required changes have been made. The FQPPU therefore calls on its members to stand in solidarity with this procedure and to sever academic ties with the University of Toronto until further notice.

The FQPPU is autonomous and independent of CAUT, but the two organizations are linked by a memorandum of cooperation, which was revised and renewed last year.