Below you will see a media release sent out by MAFA early this week. Stories based on it have run in the Moncton Times and Transcript (May 21), the Sackville Tribune-Post (May 22) and possibly other outlets.
Since the release was sent, MAFA has been told officially that the Employer has appointed Brian Johnston, QC, a partner at Sterling McKelvey in Halifax, as its Chief Negotiator. Our two collective agreements expire on June 30th and collective bargaining will begin soon. This will be a very costly expenditure of the government grant and tuition dollars entrusted to the Board of Regents. Mr. Johnston is a Mount Allison alumnus and past chair of the Board of Regents.
As you may know, New Brunswick’s universities are now subject to the Access to Information Act. The Federation of New Brunswick Faculty Associations (FNBFA) has recently put in a request for the dollar totals spent on lawyers by the province’s universities, including Mount Allison. MAFA will do its best to find out how much money is being spent in this fiscal year (2013–14) on lawyers here at Mount Allison.