Delegates to FPSE’s Annual General Meeting and Convention, held May 16-19, 2016, demonstrated their ongoing support for the Executive by acclaiming all four elected officers to their positions. Returning to their roles for another one-year term are President George Davison, Secretary-Treasurer Terri Van Steinburg, First Vice-President Frank Cosco, and Second Vice-President Leslie Molnar. Presidents’ Council also acclaimed the two Members-at-Large on the Executive, Tim Walters (Local 9) and Lynn Carter (Local 14), at the post-Convention meeting.

“I’m honoured to have the support and confidence of the members of our Federation to continue our ongoing efforts in advocacy and representation on behalf of our 10,000 members across B.C.,” said Davison. “We have a lot of work ahead of us as we mobilize our members to make the funding crisis in post-secondary education a defining issue in next year’s provincial election.”

“It’s a privilege to have earned the trust of delegates and members to continue in the important role of stewarding our finances,” said Van Steinburg. “I am committed to ensuring the Federation has the necessary resources to support our Locals and members across the province, as well as being able to invest in a robust and effective political action campaign.”

The Executive was pleased to launch two videos at this year’s convention: a short story about who we are as post-secondary educators and why our work matters, and a new campaign video for Open the Doors.   

Among the many resolutions passed by delegates was official recognition of FPSE’s proud history back to 1970, when the College Faculties’ Federation was first formed. Delegates approved a motion to reflect this origin date for Annual General Meetings going forward, so that the 2017 AGM will be marked as our 47th.

Delegates also approved the expenditure of funds to support the continuation of our Open the Doors campaign, leading up to the 2017 provincial election, as well as a campaign on decolonization and reconciliation, recognizing indigenous rights and calling for Canada to be held accountable for its ongoing human rights violations against indigenous peoples.

A complete list of resolutions passed by delegates will be made available later this month.

The Convention featured Elaine Bernard of the Harvard Law School’s Labor Worklife program as keynote, greetings from a number of labour and other community allies, and a special panel discussion on First Nations Advocacy and Activism, with presentations from Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Dr. Sharon McIvor, and Deborah Jeffrey.

The 47th Annual General Meeting and Convention will be held May 15 - 18, 2017 in Victoria, hosted by North Island College Faculty Association, FPSE Local 16.