Community activism organization OPIRG Brock has experienced a significant budget cut but continues to work and fundraise in the community.
Operating in the Niagara region for over 35 years, OPIRG (Ontario Public Interest Research Group) Brock is a non-profit organization that works to “situate students to activism and connect them by bridging the gap to what’s happening outside the University,” said Margret Taylor, the Community & Media Relations liaison at OPIRG Brock.
Topics the organization advocates for include “abortion access, anti-racism work, Indigenous solidarity, resources for Queer and trans folks, workers’ rights, migrant justice, labour organizing [and] harm reduction,” said Taylor.
The organization supports three local action groups: Niagara Reproductive Justice, Willow Arts Community and Justice for Workers Niagara.
Taylor did not study at Brock but got involved with OPIRG after graduating and moving back to St. Catharines in 2020. Niagara Reproductive Justice was her entry into the organization, but she quickly engaged with other OPIRG projects eventually joining the organization’s board of directors in October 2021, a role she still holds today.
OPIRG Brock runs several community programs, including the Niagara Free Store – which distributes free clothing, houseware and other items to people in need at no cost – and the Anti-Racism Sponsorship Fund, which funds people and groups doing anti-racism work in the region or at Brock.
Recently, OPIRG Brock implemented and facilitated a harm reduction and naloxone training program for all first-year health science students at Brock, getting a whole year of students trained in naloxone use, what harm reduction means, how important it is to their work and what larger harm reduction work goes on in the community.
On campus, OPIRG Brock works to “introduce students to these concepts of community and community building and mutual aid and activism that they might not otherwise be introduced to – or prioritize – at school,” said Taylor.
OPIRG Brock was a club on campus until six years ago, entirely funded by a student levy: “In 2018, there was a campaign to remove that levy and it was successful, so essentially 100 per cent of our budget was removed at that point, a budget that we’d been receiving for 30 years prior, since our founding in 1988,” said Taylor.
This original defunding led to OPIRG Brock’s partnership with CUPE 4207, the unionized organization of academic contract workers at Brock, in March 2020.
According to a statement from OPIRG Brock, the 4207-OPIRG Assessment “entailed that each union member would contribute 0.25% of their wages to OPIRG Brock over the duration of their contract.” This funding did not substitute 100 per cent of OPIRG’s original funding, but it was a significant portion.
“With that funding that we received, we’ve been able to establish a new era of projects and partnerships and expanding off campus and into Niagara,” said Taylor.
Now, following a report from an Ad Hoc Committee of both CUPE and OPIRG members, which “did not identify any issues with the working relationship between CUPE 4207 members and OPIRG Brock,” according to the statement, that Assessment and its subsequent funding has been removed by a vote of 26 to 23.
“We’re still not entirely sure why it happened,” said Taylor.
“We were made aware of the outcome without much of an explanation, but we know that the vote wasn’t unanimous and so there was and continues to be a lot of support for OPIRG in terms of continuing a working relationship with CUPE 4207.”
The cut will remove 27 per cent of the current annual budget, and 59 per cent of all subsequent annual budgets.
“Having secure, long-term funding is important to the kind of work that we do that impacts people’s lives,” said Taylor.
In a statement from CUPE 4207 regarding the cut, “the Executive Committee will continue to work with OPIRG-Brock. The working relationship is not ending, just changing, and we will be meeting with OPIRG-Brock in the coming weeks. The Local is still very committed to supporting social activism and advocacy initiatives in our community, and will do so on a project-by-project basis or as the need arises.”
When inquired by The Brock Press about the removal of the Assessment, CUPE 4207 President Phil Wachel had no comment.
Now, OPIRG Brock is adjusting to make up for the deficit: “All of this coordinating takes time and capacity, so with less funds we have to be a little bit more strategic about where our energy goes.”
This will likely mean less money for the Anti-Racism Sponsorship Fund, fewer Free Stores and less money for programming in general.
Luckily, as a smaller PIRG that’s been defunded in the past, “we’ve always had a diverse and varied funding strategy that reflects our priorities,” said Taylor, a strategy that has included applying for grants, self-publishing and hosting fundraiser markets.
“We’re continuing to actively submit grant applications, but we also rely on folks who care about activism in Niagara to put that into action, whether that’s becoming an OPIRG member or a cash donation, volunteering or even sharing our work on social media, there are lots of ways that we want to mobilize the community to support us.”
OPIRG Brock has experienced a heavy loss with the removal of the CUPE 4207-OPIRG Brock Assessment, but it will continue to hold community events. OPIRG’s website remains a useful resource with links to community groups, self-education tools and more.
“These are the connections that hold our community together, and we want to make those connections available for people to utilize; show people that we need each other to take care of ourselves and that there are groups like OPIRG in Niagara doing that,” said Taylor.
“We’re not closing; we’ll continue to keep supporting student and community activism.”
Exactly how the organization will stay afloat is yet to be seen, but it will fight to do so. That much is certain.
OPIRG Brock will be joining Justice for Workers in Niagara at a union tabling fair held on April 9 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m in the Market Hall at Brock. Here, students can talk to union reps and learn about local unionized jobs and the benefits of being in a union.
Students can stay up to date with OPIRG Brock on their website and social media – @opirgbrock on both Instagram and Facebook.
