The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says close to 10,000 college faculty and staff have either been let go or are projected to lose their jobs amid hundreds of program cancellations and suspensions since last year.
The union representing some 55,000 college faculty and support staff says that amounts to "one of the largest mass layoffs in Ontario's history" as colleges grapple with a funding crisis.
An arbitrated faculty contract between the union and the College Employer Council released last week says the federal government's cap on international students led to a dramatic decline in enrolment and tuition revenue, and the cancellation or suspension of more than 600 college programs.