Teachers at John Abbott College say ‘dark cloud’ hangs over start of academic year

Aatefeh Padidar · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 20, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 20

A new academic year is beginning at John Abbott College, but some teachers say they are starting it with a sense of unease.

Months of disputes with the administration remain unresolved, and faculty members say the tensions are now casting a shadow over the college as students return Thursday.

“There’s like a dark cloud this year,” said Maria Mastorakos, union president of the John Abbott College Faculty Association.

Mastorakos, who has taught physics at the West Island CEGEP since 2015, said the ongoing disputes prompted a demonstration Tuesday outside the college.

Faculty members were joined by employees and representatives from other CEGEPs in an effort to draw attention to what the union describes as a toxic work environment and deteriorating labour relations.

A dispute that has been building for months

The faculty association says the tensions involve several ongoing disputes, rather than one single issue.

Mastorakos points to grievances involving the allocation of teaching resources, the treatment of teachers serving on the college’s governing bodies and what the union says are reprisals against faculty members who have spoken critically of the administration.

She says the union filed a grievance in June 2025 about roughly 10 vacant teaching positions it believes the college should have filled. Mastorakos says the matter reached its first hearing in June 2026, after the union unsuccessfully sought to resolve it through mediation.

The union also says John Abbott has been without a permanent human resources director since January, leaving the director general and secretary general to handle those responsibilities on an interim basis.

Mastorakos says that has contributed to a situation where “everything is going to arbitration.”

“We see it as a failure when we get to arbitration because that means that we couldn’t come to an agreement,” she said.

The union also says some teachers who represent faculty on the college's governing bodies have been reprimanded or cautioned over comments they made while raising teachers' concerns. Mastorakos says one case involving a teacher who criticized an administrator is currently before arbitration.

John Abbott College, meanwhile, said it remains committed to a “positive, respectful and supportive environment” for students and employees.

In a statement following Tuesday’s gathering, the college said ongoing employee disagreements are being addressed through the processes established under collective agreements, including formal grievance mechanisms designed to ensure fairness and due process.

The college also said employee surveys consistently show satisfaction rates of more than 90 per cent among its workforce.

Teachers say students are feeling the effects

The union says the tensions are being felt across the school.

“Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions,” Mastorakos said.

She says teachers are increasingly stressed and exhausted, making it harder to bring adequate energy into their classrooms.

Teachers have tried to shield students from the dispute as much as possible, she said, but that becomes more difficult when the conflict continues for months.

The faculty association has also taken steps to put pressure on the administration.

In June, teachers voted not to participate in the college’s convocation ceremony in the usual way.

Mastorakos said teachers did still attend convocation and greeted students, but they refused to sit on the dais in their academic robes.

What happens next?

For now, the union says it wants the outstanding grievances resolved internally rather than continuing to arbitration.

It is also calling for the college to recognize teachers’ right to criticize the institution, for an agreement on the allocation of teaching resources and for a full-time human resources director to address labour relations issues.

The union is also asking the Quebec government to become more involved.

The Ministry of Higher Education told CBC it is aware of the concerns raised by the teachers’ union and is “closely monitoring the situation.” It encouraged both sides to maintain dialogue.

Mastorakos says a dialogue with the administration is what the teachers are looking for. She says the goal of the protest was not to damage the college’s reputation but to push the administration toward a resolution.

“We didn’t do this lightly,” she said. “This is how desperate we feel in terms of trying to get positive change at the college.”