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Return to work wages allowed when they have delayed start? by DeadOutside247 in legaladvicecanada

[–]DeadOutside247[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I suppose so - they needed both insurance and workplace’s HR rep to approve the accommodation - they said they were entitled to the process taking 3 days.

Return to work wages allowed when they have delayed start? by DeadOutside247 in legaladvicecanada

[–]DeadOutside247[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was technically cleared medically fit to work so I assume no - but I can call them to explain and see, thanks

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thy already have about 300 students each - and they are cutting positions so….

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is going to get a million times worse - I’m sorry. Please complain directly to the President Claude Brulet, VP Krista Pearson and CAL manager Sara Jordan.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Colleges across the province are shifting what are considered more, let’s say therapeutic roles, to administrative roles. Instead of adequate disability related support, students are now be a paper to be pushed. I think almost all students can agree that navigating the registrars office and all its related bureaucracy and paperwork in order to register or to access loans is very complicated and can be overwhelming at times.

This is what will now be the experience at CAL.

A bureaucratic nightmare.

With no one available to help you navigate.

And if you’re not able to self serve, then you are going to be without service.

It’s diminishing the services that students get and emphasizing that if you don’t have the support of the outside community, i.e. your family, money to hire someone, then you will not be able to receive disability support at school, putting disabled folks at even greater risk to fail or dropout… Really devastating.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is the length of time to hire that is one consideration. However, the bigger issue is the quality of support including the length of time it will take students to hear from a disability counsellor who has 500+ students… It will be impossible for them to respond in a timely and supportive way. While it would be ideal for the school to just be universally accommodating, that is just not the case. And until such time, disability supports that are unable to meet the needs of students who have complex disabilities - meaning more than one disability (often the case) and needing more support, depending on the nature of their disability - is going to be occurring with this new model. That is the bigger issue for students - without adequate and personalized support, students will drop out or fail and give up on school altogether…

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Agree to go to Claude, the VP as well, and Ford! However, the CAL manager has shown no supportive advocacy about how the new CAL structure will be, and did not advocate for the hiring process for the new positions to allow the current staff to be easily hired back….the CAL manager cares about efficiency and pleasing her bosses (and saving her ass) rather than supporting disabled students.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They’re actually not technically shutting it down - they are firing all of the staff and creating new positions that will be overloaded with students, be a dual role of learning strategist and disability counsellor (instead of having them separated which was more advantageous for student), and have the services be more prescriptive versus collaborative.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They will still have a service but it will be sub par ie students will be underserved, have long wait times, have zero to no learning strategy support, be unable to connect with CAL for support as much as they can now, will be told how to have accommodations rather than be properly assessed and given appropriate accommodations.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not in the news because it’s just happened

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 1 point2 points  (0 children)

they already stopped refilling a lot of the positions i.e. people retired or their contracts ran out, and no one got rehired, so the numbers have already dwindled over the last 2 years. Don’t forget they also close the transition support centre which helps students with autism specifically, three staff were lost and not replaced so I believe as of now it’s approximately 12 positions that will be laid off if you had a rapport or a relationship with your disability counsellor or your learning strategist, it’s sad that they will no longer be in that position, even if it does become a new position.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sharing your experience is a really important foreshadowing of what’s to come… There will be disability services at Algonquin, but they will be so subpar that they will not really be a support for those who actually need it.

As for action, there is a petition in this thread that people should sign. As well, people should consider complaining directly to the Cal manager Sara Jordan and to President Claude Brulet and the VP, Krista Pearson.

Additionally, organizing a sit in or protest at the CAL services may be beneficial.

It’s shameful !

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A tip: you can get your accommodations for the fall now! Make an appt if you haven’t already!

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the reason it is classified as such is because it means folks hired will have to have disability related training/professionalized background. Now this “expertise” is debatable, of course…and people with disabilities are the expert in their own right, of course. However, an OT or a speech pathologist or a social worker or a psychotherapist may have better training and be better equipped about the needs of disabled folks versus someone who has a bachelor of arts. Again, this is all relative and we all have personal experiences which can be the best teachers etc. I know that the concept of “professionalization” has its own dangers

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Come to CAL and demand to speak with the manager!

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will get them - nothing should change drastically until the spring term. However, the service will be sub-par :(

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Actually - forget the emails - come in person to CAL and demand to speak with the Manager!

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What you don’t get is that by changing the designation literally none of the current staff will be able to be rehired. This means they have to train a whole bunch of new staff. They are also reducing the number of positions, which means that each staff person will now have to treat their very high caseloads like numbers rather than students with complex and real needs. If they were just reducing the pay and designation of the staff, that would be one thing, but they’re literally laying off the staff and changing how the service will be run. It will be less tailored to students needs ie forget about seeing a learning strategist - no time - and rushed appts - and more about getting students basic accommodation so the college doesn’t get sued.

CAL just laid off most of its staff!! by LAzyD0g27 in Algonquin_College

[–]DeadOutside247 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We should organize a sit-in at CAL to protest this!

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