Fanshawe union throws shade on Innovation Village | The London Free Press

Fanshawe College’s faculty union is questioning a new $58-million collaboration and research space the school hopes to build, just days before a funding request is debated by city politicians.

Fanshawe College president Peter Devlin will be at city hall Monday as politicians debate a $3-million grant request from the school for its planned Innovation Village.

Also on the agenda is a letter from Darryl Bedford, president of OPSEU Local 110 — the union represents more than 800 Fanshawe faculty — that raises questions about the “piecemeal” nature of the funding request.

“We’ve seen this movie before. We’ve seen how flashy public-sector capital projects receive funding, but then there are not the operating funds from the province to keep things running,” Bedford wrote to politicians.

“Had we been asked to comment on this submission to the city, the Innovation Village is not the project we would have chosen as the priority . . . we struggle to see how Innovation Village will contribute much in the way of faculty employment.”

Asked to respond to the union’s criticism, Fanshawe sent a written statement: “The issues raised by the OPSEU president should be addressed at the provincial level as they fall under provincially mandated collective bargaining.

“Fanshawe will continue to work closely with all of our stakeholders as we move forward with Innovation Village and other capital projects.”


Artist rendering illustrating the $58 million Innovation Village project Fanshawe College hopes to build in three phases at its Oxford Street campus between 2020 and 2023.

Fanshawe is also tapping the federal government for $15 million and the province for $9.5 million to create Innovation Village by renovating three buildings at its Oxford Street campus.

Bedford stopped short of asking politicians to deny the funding, telling The Free Press that OPSEU is merely raising “food for thought.”

He’s also urging city hall to launch a “public sector jobs strategy” that includes the school.

“This isn’t a problem specific to Fanshawe; this is a problem all through the public sector,” he said. “There’s significant money put into a capital project, it looks great, the politicians are able to attend the ribbon cutting, but where are the jobs created out of that? How will it remain funded going forward? Who’s going to pay?”

Fanshawe is a member of a task force convened by Mayor Ed Holder to address the city’s poor employment rate. Of all the regions measured by Statistics Canada, London ranks dead-last in the proportion of its working-age population currently working. Holder was not available for comment on Friday.

It’s not that faculty are opposed to Innovation Village — intended to be a research and development hub for students, professors and businesses to create innovative programs and products to tackle industry problems — it’s just that they see better uses for the money, Bedford said.

“We’d like to see things that support students, that support faculty, that are going to grow and create jobs for our members, for the city of London, and we think there are a lot of deserving projects out there,” he said.

A dental clinic is one such option. Dental hygienist students at Fanshawe serve nearly 800 clients, but a proper facility is needed, Bedford said. Multiple faculty are employed through that dental service and more jobs would be created with the proper space, he argued.

Other Fanshawe programs are also in need of new or upgraded facilities, Bedford said.

Politicians are expected to debate Fanshawe’s grant request at Monday’s strategic priorities and policy committee.