February 2026 Newsletter
February 20, 2026
What's Going On?
Three Ontario colleges among Forbes Canada’s Best Employers List 2026
George Brown College (26th), Centennial College (182nd), and Algonquin College (255th) were among the 300 Canadian employers recognized in late January in the Forbes Canada’s Best Employers List, the annual ranking issued by the international business publisher.
Forbes says: Participants (who remained anonymous so that they could answer freely) were asked if they would recommend their employer to others and to rate it based on a range of criteria, including compensation packages, work flexibility, training opportunities and leadership programs.
In its 11th year, this year’s list was produced in partnership with market research firm Statista. Researchers surveyed more than 37,000 Canada-based employees working for businesses with at least 500 workers in Canada. Employers pay no fee to participate or be selected.
Benefits Update
Updated employee benefits booklets available online
Employee benefits booklets have been updated for full-time support staff and for administrative staff at Ontario colleges. The information in these booklets is important to employees, describing all group insurance benefits available to them (both mandatory and optional) and explaining their entitlements and various administrative practices relating to the Group Insurance Benefit Program.
Employees can find the specific benefit coverage they have elected on their copy of the Group Insurance Benefits Positive Enrolment Form or contact their college’s Benefits Administrator. They may also access information on certain coverages through the my Sun Life app.
In addition to bargaining, CEC is the policyholder for group benefits in the sector, as well providing a variety of services for the college system.
The updated Benefits Booklets can be found on the CEC website.
Support Staff Benefits Booklet (English) (French)
Administrative Staff Benefits Booklet (English) (French)
Bargaining Update
Part-time Academic Staff
The OPSEU bargaining unit for part-time and sessional professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians was officially certified on April 16, 2025. The College Management bargaining team has been assembled and is preparing for bargaining, conducting surveys and regional consultations with college leaders across the province. No bargaining dates have been confirmed at this time. Further updates will be provided once dates have been set.
Meet the CEC Team
In a new feature to the newsletter, get to know the team members behind the labour relations, benefits, governance and HR services CEC offers all Ontario colleges.
Peter McKeracher – VP, Labour Relations
Peter has been the Vice President of Labour Relations since 2019, previously serving as the Director of Labour Relations and Director, Academic. As a labour lawyer who has held leadership roles in both college administration and in an OPSEU faculty union local, he is uniquely qualified for his role. Peter was the Director of Staff Relations at Algonquin College. Before that, he taught Law at Durham College, where he was the president of the OPSEU faculty local for 18 years. He holds a BA and MBA from University of Toronto, a LLB from York University and a LLM, Law from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Peter has played an integral role in CEC’s collective bargaining team for 15 years, as well as providing counsel and support to colleges in labour relations issues and grievance arbitration cases.
Peter has been the Vice President of Labour Relations since 2019, previously serving as the Director of Labour Relations and Director, Academic. As a labour lawyer who has held leadership roles in both college administration and in an OPSEU faculty union local, he is uniquely qualified for his role. Peter was the Director of Staff Relations at Algonquin College. Before that, he taught Law at Durham College, where he was the president of the OPSEU faculty local for 18 years. He holds a BA and MBA from University of Toronto, a LLB from York University and a LLM, Law from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Peter has played an integral role in CEC’s collective bargaining team for 15 years, as well as providing counsel and support to colleges in labour relations issues and grievance arbitration cases.
Case Study -
Arbitrator clarifies scope of document disclosure in layoff grievances
An early 2026 arbitration award will help colleges and union locals understand what information is required to be shared during the academic layoff process. As part of the academic layoff process being reviewed by Arbitrator Bernard Fishbein, the grievor, a curriculum specialist, was not bumped into a teaching role because the college considered their teaching experience to lack the currency necessary to meet the competence, skills, and experience required to teach.
Note: The decision below is not about the grievance – it is about what documents can be included in the submission to arbitrators by the grievor and the union.
What is the issue
During the document disclosure process, the union requested documents assessing the qualifications of other curriculum specialists and faculty members who were placed or permitted to bump into teaching positions. Those employees all had less seniority than the grievor but were not identified to the arbitrator as the two employees the union and grievor sought to displace.
Note: The decision below is not about the grievance – it is about what documents can be included in the submission to arbitrators by the grievor and the union.
What is the issue
During the document disclosure process, the union requested documents assessing the qualifications of other curriculum specialists and faculty members who were placed or permitted to bump into teaching positions. Those employees all had less seniority than the grievor but were not identified to the arbitrator as the two employees the union and grievor sought to displace.
The union argued the documents were relevant to determining whether the layoff process was done in a discriminatory, arbitrary, or bad faith manner, as the grievor was alleging age discrimination.
What the Collective Agreement says
The Academic Collective Agreement includes detailed provisions governing layoffs, seniority, and displacement. A senior employee may displace a junior employee only if they objectively possess the required “competence, skill and experience” at the time of displacement, subject to brief familiarization.
Article 27.08 requires that, if a grievance proceeds to arbitration, the union must restrict its claim to no more than two identified full-time positions. This requirement has been part of the collective agreement for many years.
What the arbitrator said
The arbitrator upheld the college’s objection and denied the union’s request.
Arbitrator Fishbein found that limiting a grievance to two identified positions is a substantive requirement (not a remedial constraint) and that expanding production of documents beyond those positions would undermine the Collective Agreement. He concluded that the inquiry (and production) should be confined to the incumbents who the union has identified.
What is the key takeaway of this decision
This ruling is limited to whether the union is entitled to the production of documents relating to employees other than the two positions identified for potential displacement.
The decision provides the clearest statement of case law to date that the scope of a layoff grievance under Article 27.08 is limited to the two positions named in the grievance, consistent with the procedural limits set out in the Collective Agreement. This award may be helpful in clarifying scope for future layoff grievances.
Read the complete Academic Bargaining Unit Rights Arbitration Award:
Ontario Public Service Employees' Union, Local 556 v George Brown College, 2026 CanLII 4591 (ON LA), <https://canlii.ca/t/khscj>, retrieved on 2026-02-10
