Post-Secondary

Western Canada’s economic growth and competitiveness relies heavily on the ability of Post-secondary institutions to continue to offer high-quality education, research, and training. In an environment of escalating change, our Education and Labour Law Groups strive to protect and strengthen Post-secondary institutions (PSIs) that are vital to our continued progress locally, nationally, and internationally. With many legal challenges on the horizon, we are proud to help PSI’s handle the full spectrum of legal issues while preparing for a successful future.

Our valued clients include:

• Public Institutions from each of the six sector system under the Post-secondary Learning Act, including:
  • Comprehensive Academic and Research Institutions
  • Baccalaureate and Applied Studies Institutions
  • Polytechnics and institutes
  • Comprehensive Community Institutions
  • Independent Academic Institutions
  • Specialized arts and culture institutions

• Private Institutions, including
  • Vocational institutes
  • Language schools
  • Theological institutions
  • Private Colleges
  • Private Universities

The evolving landscape of Post-secondary education.

PSIs continue to face key challenges, including providing wide-ranging education with skills development, sourcing funding and talent, assuring quality and safety, reducing barriers with increased access and mobility, producing high-quality research, and responding to labour market demands.

For decades, the experienced education and labour lawyers at McLennan Ross have helped provide the practical and strategic legal advice that has helped PSI’s produce impressive results while facing constantly evolving challenges.

Our team of education and labour lawyers provide strategic legal advice across the full range of issues faced by PSI’s, with a particular focus on employment and labour law, and legal issues involving students. We have assisted our clients with the full spectrum of key legal issues, such as institutional governance and management, rights and freedoms of both faculty and students, and partnerships with industry.

We provide day-to-day trusted legal advice on matters involving faculty, support, and exempt staff issues, and are familiar with all of the applicable legislation and leading decisions impacting the unique nature of PSIs as employers and their dealings with various stakeholders, including the Government of Alberta. We help Boards of Governors in their stakeholder dealings with government and their legal obligations under various pieces of legislation.

Our experience includes:

• Counsel at Labour Board Hearings
• Counsel at Grievance Arbitrations
• Stakeholder interactions with government
• Input on revisions to enabling legislation
• Counsel to PSI’s on both student and employee Human Right Complaints
• Advice and counsel on all types of Student complaints, Student academic and non-academic misconduct issues; including serious sexual assault allegations  
• Appeals, quasi-criminal matters and constitutional challenges
• Advice and direction on the application of the Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions Compensation Act (RABCCA)
• Exemption applications under RABBCA
• Voluntary and formally compulsory interest arbitrations under both the Public Service Employee Relations Act and the Labour Relations Code
• Collective bargaining for renewal agreements for both support and faculty associations
• Policy development
• Day-to-day labour law advice regarding unionized staff and employment law advice regarding exempt staff members
• Advice to Boards of Governors regarding PSLA matters and executive employment matters
• Privacy law issues
• Defence and or Investigation of Whistleblower complaints
• Investigation of harassment and bullying allegations

No matter how complex the issue facing a PSI, our highly skilled and experienced lawyers will find practical and strategic solutions, which is why our legal group is seen as trusted legal advisors to so many PSI’s.

Contact us today. We’re always ready to help.