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With potential election looming, Angus takes a swipe at Sudbury MPs over Laurentian

‘The Laurentian debacle reveals the hollowness of the claim that a Liberal candidate has access to the inside track,’ Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus says

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus isn’t buying what Sudbury’s two Liberal MPs are selling when it comes to Laurentian University.

In an Aug. 2 letter, Angus said one thing the Laurentian University insolvency situation has demonstrated is for too long Northern Ontario has voted under the fallacy that in order to be heard, the region needs a seat at the decision-making table.

“I have heard this ‘seat at the table’ pitch in every election I can remember,” Angus wrote. “The disastrous handling of the Laurentian University crisis has shown us that the so-called Liberal table simply doesn’t exist.”

He said the failure of Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré and Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre to engage the federal government before Laurentian entered CCAA protection lest it fail to meet its payroll in February demonstrates that having a backbencher at the table is about the same as having no one at the table.

“When the financial situation at Laurentian began to unravel, the university approached their two Liberal MPs. Given the seriousness of the situation they had every reason to believe this issue would be brought to this much promoted table,” Angus wrote. “It wasn’t. The Liberal MPs didn’t raise the red flags until it was too late.”

During a June 3 meeting of the federal Official Languages Committee, Laurentian president Dr. Robert Haché was questioned by Angus on discussions he had in December with Lefebvre and Serré about the school’s financial crisis.

Angus wanted to know who knew what and when they knew it. Haché testified that he told the MPs at the end of December about the magnitude of Laurentian’s problems. 

“We were very transparent in the magnitude of the challenges we had, and without making a specific ask, highlighting the magnitude of the challenge, the gap that we had at Laurentian in looking for any way in which the federal government might be able to help us to bridge that gap,” Haché said.

The day before that testimony, on June 2, Economic Development and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly testifed to the same committee that had she been apprised by the local MPs as to the depth of the LU’s challenges, she would have acted and “would have clearly called the province to find a solution.”

But she wasn’t told, Angus wrote, and the blame for her lack of knowledge rests with Lefebvre and Serré.

“When pushed on this failure, they claimed Laurentian President Haché didn’t tell them of the real extent of the financial crisis. This wasn’t true,” the Timmins-James Bay MP said.

The failure of Lefebve and Serré to act rests, in part, on the political structure of Canada’s federal government, Angus said.

“Minister Joly told me on record that she would have been willing to help Laurentian with funding prior to bankruptcy if she had been informed of the nature of the crisis,” he wrote in the letter. “So why wasn’t she told? She wasn’t told because the reality is that Liberal backbenchers don’t sit at any decision-making table. Their job is to smile and nod and to not rock the boat. That’s how Ottawa works.”

Angus issued the letter even as speculation is high that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will trigger a snap election this fall two years early. Riding associations have been nominating candidates in anticipation.

In Sudbury, Lefebvre has already indicated he is not seeking re-election, and local Liberals selected Viviane Lapointe as their candidate. Sudbury Conservatives selected Dr. Ian Symington as their candidate. For the NDP, Dr. Nadia Verrelli was acclaimed as the candidate. In Nickel Belt, incumbent Liberal MP Marc Serré is seeking re-election. The Conservatives in that riding have nominated Charles Humphrey, while the NDP have tapped Andréane Chénier.

Meanwhile, Laurentian University continues to work through the insolvency process. The school announced Feb. 1 it is insolvent, and had filed for creditor protection under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (CCAA), a move that’s unprecedented in the post-secondary sector.

The university, which had $321.8 million in liabilities as of April 30, 2020, said it would have run out of cash to meet its payroll obligations by the end of February if it hadn’t secured a $25 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan through the insolvency process.

Under the auspices of the CCAA, Laurentian is undergoing court-supervised restructuring. That includes massive cuts to its programs and employees, which were made public April 12, as well as the termination of the federation agreement.

After securing another $10 million DIP loan and another four months’ of creditor protection, Laurentian is now in phase 2 of its restructuring, which will last until Aug. 31.

Phase 2 includes a review of its assets and real estate holdings to see if they can be monetized, as well as coming up with a plan to deal with its creditors. 

Those creditors include Laurentian’s terminated employees, who have to join the creditors’ pool in an attempt to receive their severance.

Read the full text of Angus’ letter below.

Dear Editor,

One of the lessons northerners learned from the catastrophic cuts at Laurentian University is the emptiness of the promise that you need to vote Liberal in order to have a voice at the decision-making table. I have heard this “seat at the table” pitch in every election I can remember. The disastrous handling of the Laurentian University crisis has shown us that the so-called Liberal table simply doesn’t exist.

When the financial situation at Laurentian began to unravel the university approached their two Liberal MPs. Given the seriousness of the situation they had every reason to believe this issue would be brought to this much promoted table.

It wasn’t.

The Liberal MPs didn’t raise the red flags until it was too late. When pushed on this failure, they claimed Laurentian President Hache didn’t tell them of the real extent of the financial crisis. This wasn’t true.

I forced a special parliamentary emergency debate into the crisis because what happens at Laurentian impacts the whole north. My New Democrat colleagues followed up with two sets of parliamentary hearings to keep the pressure on. We got the facts and this relentless pressure brought the federal government into the conversation with commitments.

However, even as we were doing our part, Liberal MP Paul Lefebvre was telling Sudburians to get over it. Don’t expect a “big cheque” from Ottawa he said. That also wasn’t true.

Minister Joly told me on record that she would have been willing to help Laurentian with funding prior to bankruptcy if she had been informed of the nature of the crisis.

So why wasn’t she told? She wasn’t told because the reality is that Liberal backbenchers don’t sit at any decision making table. Their job is to smile and nod and to not rock the boat. That’s how Ottawa works.

The Laurentian debacle reveals the hollowness of the claim that a Liberal candidate has access to the inside track. What we need in Northern Ontario are MPs who are willing to fight for their communities and their region. The failure of the Liberal MPs to stand up for their community has cost Sudbury and the north.

Charlie Angus
MP Timmins-James Bay