Dalhousie Student Union demanding tuition refunds amid three-week lockout

The Dalhousie Student Union is calling for tuition refunds as the three-week lockout continues.

The Dalhousie Student Union is demanding tuition refunds as a university lockout involving nearly 1,000 faculty members hits the three-week mark.

Dalhousie University locked out the Dalhousie Faculty Association on Aug. 20 after both parties failed to reach an agreement on a new collective deal. The previous agreement expired at the end of June.

Last week the student union council voted to confirm its support for Association members, calling on the board of governors to return to the bargaining table.

“Students, faculty, and staff are essential to the functioning of Dalhousie, and decisions that destabilize this community threaten the quality of education and well-being of students,” the student union said in a news release.

On Wednesday the student union held a rally at noon demanding tuition refunds in response to the lockout.

“We’re in a position where we’re paying for classes that aren’t happening and expected to pay the full amount and so we were rallying specifically to ask that there be compensation for tuition,” said Dalhousie Student Union president Maren Mealey.

The rally started at the corner of Robie Street and University Avenue and continued to the Henry Hicks Building.

The Dalhousie fall semester started on Sept. 2, but all classes taught by Association members have been suspended due to the lockout.

“We have no routine, so it’s weird being here and not having anything to do. We came here, showed up, we’re all ready for school,” said third-year student Merideth McCullum.

We’re all excited to go back and learn and take the classes that we chose to take this semester and then being here, there’s nothing to do right now. We’re just like hanging around, have no routine, no structure."

Negotiations

The board of governors and the Association started negotiations for a new collective agreement in May. The faculty union is seeking a wage increase of 14.25 per cent over three years while university president Kim Brooks previously said their final offer would be six per cent over three years.

The university, which reported a $20.6-million deficit in its 2025-2026 operating budget, previously said it had “significant financial challenges” in meeting the Association’s wage increase request.

The Association is also looking for expanded parental leave benefits, expanded access to child care and conversion of long-term limited-term appointments to career-stream appointments, among other things.

Both parties returned to the negotiation table on Monday and Tuesday at the request of a provincially-appointed conciliator. On Tuesday the university said there are no future scheduled conciliation dates.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Vanessa Wright.

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