An Open Letter to President Fearon regarding the EAP Program closure from Locals 556 and 557
May 9, 2025
Dear President Fearon,
Locals 556 and 557 are writing to you to express our sadness and outrage at the College’s decision to permanently close the School of ESL’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program.
As you know, this program has been a signature program of the College for decades. It was started in 1969, soon after George Brown (formerly known as the Provincial Institute of Trade) opened in 1967, to meet the needs of an often marginalized and vulnerable population. Ever since, this program has served the needs of the GBC community and the increasing immigrant population in Toronto, providing thousands of people with the resources to thrive in a new country. As an academic preparation program, it also ensures that students embarking on studies in other programs at our College have the tools they need to succeed. Once this program is closed, that will all disappear—and there is no plan to replace it.
The EAP program not only provides an essential service to the community but has also become an integral part of the fabric of our College. We believe that management failed to demonstrate that they considered other alternatives or budgetary measures to ensure that the program was sustainable at the College. This closure is happening because of poor management decisions over the past several years, an overreliance on international student tuition, an unwillingness to use existing reserves, and a failure to plan for a sector-wide shift that we knew was coming.
We should also recognize that the closure of this program runs counter to the College’s Values Refresh Project, which professes a commitment to learners and learning, equity and belonging, and collaboration and community. The College’s decision here is a betrayal of these stated values. If these values mean anything, they must be put into action, and in this regard the College has fallen far short.
But it is not too late. EAP remains a vibrant program that, with the innovative thinking the College claims as a core value, can still be reimagined or restructured. Existing reserves could be drawn upon to maintain the program through this process. If necessary, the program could even be suspended on a temporary basis while all options are explored. Instead, management is choosing to abandon the program—with what will have a devastating impact on students, faculty, support staff, and the community. George Brown College is the City College—it claims that the ‘city is our classroom’—but based on recent program suspensions and now this closure, the College appears to be turning its backs on those it previously sought to empower.
Locals 556 and 557 urge you to reconsider the closure of the EAP program and the impact the loss of this program will have on faculty and support staff, and our immigrant and international student populations and the broader College community. Consider ways to reimagine and deliver this essential program in a sustainable manner so that the College can act on its stated values and fulfill its duty to serve our community.
Sincerely,
The Local Executive Committees of OPSEU/SEFPO Locals 556 and 557
