The revelation that Vale Inco was using leased classroom space to train replacement workers was a "surprise" to Laurentian University staff, including the staffers who rented the space to the company, according to Laurentian University's chief of staff, Chris Mercer.
The statement was made after Laurentian University Staff Union (LUSU) president Tracy Oost wrote an open letter to Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux about Vale Inco training replacement workers in one of the rented classrooms.
In the letter, Oost stated "the university is contributing to prolonging the strike" by leasing classroom space to Vale Inco.
"The university, if it couldn't see its way to support the strike, should have at the very least remained neutral."
"USW members send their sons and daughters to LU. That is a very large recruitment pool, that LU is now jeopardizing. Do you think that they will send their children to a university that trained scabs to replace them?"
When the university found out about the use of the classroom, it moved Vale Inco's space to a less-used area of the University in an attempt to "not aggravate the situation." The contract with Vale Inco and Laurentian University meant the university was required to continue to lease space to the company.
The contract expired today, May 7.
"Laurentian University provides access to many community groups in a rental capacity on an ongoing basis, including government, the United Steelworkers, and many church groups, among others," Robert Kerr, vice president of Laurentian University Academics wrote in a letter May 7. "The intended use of the facility was not fully disclosed to Laurentian University staff at the time of booking."
When asked if the University would have rented the classroom space to Vale Inco if the company had been forthcoming about its intended use, Mercer said "no." He would not say Laurentian wouldn't rent classroom or boardroom space to Vale Inco for other uses in the future, but said each situation would be individually assessed.
