FYI to PhDs and Potential PhDs in Canada

Here's a note I received from my local TA union (if it's happening at Queen's, it's bound to have a ripple effect across the country):

The Graduate Studies Executive Council (GSEC) at Queen's University has recently passed a motion forcing mandatory withdrawals after the 2nd year of an MSc program and the 4th year of a PhD program. This move contradicts Statistics Canada figures which indicate that the average PhD completion time is five years, nine months (here). You can read the motion here. Another motion regarding time extensions was tabled due to the time constraints of the meeting itself. You can read this motion here. You can also read more information about this issue, media coverage and students protest in the following website (here). PSAC Local 610 jointly with SOGS sent a support letter to our fellow graduate students at Queens University. You can read the letter on our Facebook page here. If you would like to know further information about this matter or obtain a hard copy of the letter of support, please visit our office.