Union blasts SAIT funding announcement right after staff cut

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on April 12, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

An announcement of funding for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology has sparked criticism from the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees and former SAIT employees.

The announcement detailed a provincial investment of $30 million for the redevelopment of the Taylor Family Campus Centre, which would house both academic and student wellness amenities. This includes potentially allowing first-year students to observe medical procedures in a clinical setting or develop skills with real patients.

This observational experience would benefit more than 900 students each year, the province says, leading to increases in graduate numbers for health programs.

“Through this contribution, the Government of Alberta is supporting the essential infrastructure needed to deliver integrated health-care education through innovative, hands-on learning experiences at the Taylor Family Campus Centre,” David Ross, SAIT president and CEO, said in a statement provided by the province.

“Among the many services that will be available for the SAIT community, plans for the Taylor Family Campus Centre include an onsite health clinic that will offer pharmacy services and comprehensive health, dental and vision care,” said Ross. “This cutting-edge space will serve as a critical training ground for health and public safety students.”

SAIT’s student population has doubled since the Taylor Family Campus Centre was first constructed in 1981, and the province says the investment will allow SAIT to meet the needs of a larger, growing community while fostering educational growth and professional development in Calgary and across Alberta.

However, AUPE says this new funding is a slap in the face for the workers who had just lost their jobs at the same institution earlier this week.

“SAIT cut 28.5 full-time positions on Tuesday and the workers were treated like criminals,” says Bonnie Gostola, vice-president of AUPE. “They were not allowed to return to their workstations to get their personal belongings. They weren’t allowed to say goodbye to their friends and colleagues. They were escorted from the premises.”

While Gostola said that investing in the facilities is great, they won’t work without the people to staff them. Employees at Lethbridge Polytechnic, which cut 53 jobs this week, and Red Deer Polytechnic, which cut more than 100 jobs in February, also reported similar treatment, said AUPE.

Post-secondary institutions across the province are expected to announce similar job cuts, which are a result of Government of Alberta funding cuts as well as federal restrictions on international student enrolment, said AUPE.

“These are all loyal workers who have done nothing wrong,” said Gostola. “Staff were treated like they had been terminated for some misbehaviour. Yet instead of being treated with dignity, their careers were ended.”

The AUPE called for “a bold vision to build a better education system, one that creates workforce for tomorrow while treating today’s workers with respect.”

“Tariffs and trade wars threaten Canadian jobs. We need real investment in education to prepare Albertans for an economy very different from the one we have today that is so closely tied to the U.S.,” said Gostola. “We should be hiring more workers, not getting rid of the ones we have.”

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