Laid-off staff at Laurentian receive their payouts

Terminated Laurentian University staff finally receive insolvency payouts after 5 years, with creditors getting just 25% of claims.

The faculty union at Laurentian University said this week that all employees who lost their jobs during the school’s 2021 insolvency crisis have received their payouts.

The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) called in the last step in the painful chapter, with creditors receiving just 25 per cent of their claims.

It’s been five years since 195 staff and faculty members were terminated after LU filed for insolvency under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

LUFA president Fabrice Colin said the CCAA process never should have happened and it’s why there was a legislative change in 2024 to exclude universities from CCAA proceedings in the future.

“The causes of the crisis, as they were established by the Auditor General of Ontario, were the lack of accountability and a lack of transparency,” Colin said.

“These, you know, could have been addressed through other processes and should have been addressed through other processes.”

CTV News contacted Laurentian University for comment and received an email from the communications department that said the university doesn’t “have anything to contribute to this story at this time.”