A couple of weeks ago, the unthinkable occurred; Darren Peets left the University of British Columbia for post-doctoral work in Japan.
I profiled Peets back in January focusing on his attempts to elect his Fire Hydrant to the executive of student union.
The UBC student newspaper wrote a fitting send-off piece for a man who is a living legend in UBC politics.
I am told by a very reliable source attending the UBC Alma Mater Society meeting that the AMS has unanimously voted to withdrawal from downgrade their membership with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.
The AMS will become associate members of CASA instead of the full members they presently are.
With it, the AMS takes 44,000 members out of CASA.
Interestingly, this also means that over 50% of university students in British Columbia are without external provincial or federal lobbying representation.
Both grads and undergrads at UBC-Vancouver and Simon Fraser University have recently decided to leave lobbying organization and pursue lobbying with their own resources.
More on the story as details emerged. (as of 2am EDT, I’m going to sleep)
UPDATES: I misinterpreted the text message I received to be full withdrawal. Another source quickly corrected me. Thanks to all.
Canada’s largest students’ union, the Alma Mater Society – University of British Columbia, will be discussing its membership in the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations during a meeting tonight.
I don’t know which way the discussion will go tonight and my sources are unable to predict an outcome either. Looks like we will have to wait until late into the night for more details.
(This is the second UBC-related post, the third will be when I find out what occurs tonight)
In New Zealand, the largest national student lobbying organization doesn’t particularly like opening it’s meetings to the media.
There excuses sound oddly familiar to me too!
‘We need safe space’ and/or ‘not enough time to think about it’. Funny how students’ union need to think about transparency no matter where they are.
I like the writing style of The Salient (one of the reasons that I read it every week) especially the style of Conrad Reyner who’s blogging student politics for the paper. To quote him on why media coverage is suddenly an issue there: “I assumed it’s because media cant be fucked going to these events, so there was no need.”
In other “it’s the same elsewhere” news, off-campus bars aren’t popular with universities.
Maclean’s has learned that the lawsuit filed by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations(CASA) against the Student Society of McGill University(SSMU) is currently being argued before the courts.
CASA is suing for $28,000 plus interest. CASA claims that the SSMU failed to fully pay their required membership dues in 2005. The SSMU disputes this stating they paid what they owed.
The SSMU voted to leave CASA in 2005 and pursued membership in a rival lobbying organization the Canadian Federation of Students.
CASA also sued the University of Manitoba Students’ Union(UMSU) for dues they owed when left the organization in 2005.
CASA and UMSU reached an out-of-court settlement in the fall with UMSU paying $28,808 in back dues to CASA.
Talks between the SSMU and CASA were unsuccessful in reaching a out-of-court settlement.
The two sides have submitted arguments before the courts. A decision date is not yet known.
Students at the University College of Fraser Valley in British Columbia have decided to join the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.
Students voted for membership in CASA during a week long referendum with 74 per cent of students voting in favour of membership. CASA is the second largest national student lobby group in Canada, a rival to the Canadian Federation of Students.
The union is the third new member for CASA in the last year. The Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union became full members in April 2007 and the University of Prince Edward Island joined in November.
“This is an important step for students who hope to participate in national change for post-secondary education,” said Churchill. “We look forward to working with the SUSUCFV; their perspective and insight will be a welcome addition to the CASA table.”
SUSUCFV joins Canada’s largest students’ union, the University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society, as CASA’s two members in British Columbia.
The Ryerson Students’ Union election results are rolling in. I find interesting that the independent candidate is not doing well.
For up-to-minute coverage visit the campus media:
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations(CASA)has filed lawsuits against two students’ unions, a move that some student leaders are calling hypocritical. The suits claim that the unions owe membership fees from 2005, the year the unions terminated membership in CASA.
CASA—which is the second largest student lobby group in Canada after the Canadian Federation of Students(CFS)—is suing the University of Manitoba Students’ Union(UMSU)and the Student Society of McGill University(SSMU)for the outstanding fees. Both unions left CASA in 2005 to pursue membership in a rival lobby organization, the CFS. The suit is asking for approximately $28,000 plus late charges per student union.
The suit has at least one student leader calling the group hypocritical. "We think that it is rather ludicrous that CASA, who spends a lot of time criticizing CFS for suing students is doing so themselves," said Max Silverman, SSMU vice-president external.
Silverman believes that CASA will lose credibility over the lawsuits. "They regularly, and I think rightfully, criticize the fact that the CFS, while claiming to represent students, sue students associations. I think that’s absolutely a legitimate criticism of CFS. However, now that CASA is engaging in it, they lose all creditability in terms of the ability to have moral high ground."
However, CASA maintains that there was no choice other than to go ahead with the lawsuits. "Our hand was forced," said Zach Churchill, national director of CASA. "We have an obligation to our members to get the owed funds."
Both UMSU and SSMU are disputing the claims of CASA that they owe money to the organization.
Eric van Eyken, a former vice president of SSMU noted in an email that La Federation etudiante universitaire du Quebec—Canada’s third largest lobby group—has also considered a lawsuit over unpaid fees. "If all three major student societies in the country have at least one lawsuit against members, it stops being an issue [...] and simply establishes a norm that contractual obligations should be respected."
Churchill stated that CASA is currently negotiating with both organizations in the hopes of settling the case.
Titus Gregory, who blogs at www.studentunion.ca, today posted most of the court documents from the Supreme Court of British Columbia in the matter of Society of the Douglas Students’ Union v. Douglas College. He paid over $300 in photocopy costs in order to obtain these documents which are of great interest to students across Canada.
Global News reported back in the fall allegations that the Canadian Federation of Students Services provided funds in the form of a loan or advance to the DSU during a time when serious questions were being raised about the financial management of the DSU. Global relied upon documents including a forensic audit of the DSU in 2006 by Blair Mackay Mynett Valuations Inc.
The CFS has denied loaning the money. Global was a little unclear about whether the allegations were that the money was loaned from the CFS, CFS Services, or CFS BC.
All the documents that Mr. Gregory obtained are available here: http://www.studentunion.ca/dsu_case/
I must note that access to court documents is expensive and so is the cost of access to the administration of justice. A group of University of Ottawa students recented filed suit against their school in small claims courts. CBC News reported they had their filing fee of $75 waived by the court because of their low income. I know that increased my confidence in the justice system.
Governments should look into making the cost of obtaining court documents must affordable. One of the most important foundations of a justice system in a democratic society is transparency. Cost cannot be allowed to make the justice system lack transparency.
I know, I am supposed to be on vacation but…
I have to repost this in it entirety with a little bit of bolding to point out a few things that are very similar to the Actions of the MSU Executive.
Representative Democracy 101
If I were an instructor in Political Science, I would want to teach a practical course: Representative Democracy. It would seem to me that the first lesson in representative democracy ought to be one with two sides – one for the representatives, and one for the represented. The lesson plan would be simple, summarised with just sentences.
The lesson for the representatives: listen to your constituents, and listen well – represent their wishes, concerns, and desires.
The lesson for the represented: Don’t let your representatives not represent you.
Why is this important? We only have to look so far as the SFSS (Simon Fraser Student Society) to understand that answer. This summer, some (seven) of the Directors of the SFSS decided to entirely ignore the first part of the lesson in representative democracies: the importance of listening to constituents. Seven directors violated bylaws and collective agreement language and outraged students. While this is not necessarily a unique event, what they did when students started to speak up against their actions certainly was.
When the students – members of the Society – began to speak up and ask questions, these seven directors began holding secret meetings. They started to try and discredit the members. They ignored them. They obfuscated and frustrated. They wronged – they did not listen.
The students, however, know well and understand the lesson in representative democracy. When their representatives ceased to represent them, they began to take action. They didn’t let their representatives not represent them. The students availed themselves of all the abilities they had in the policies, bylaws, and laws that govern their society. One group of students began to collect signatures on a petition to hold a special general meeting – to consider the impeachment of the seven directors. The directors had neglected to represent the represented, and now the ill-represented were fighting back.
The seven directors (by now being called the Group of Seven or G7) ignored this petition – despite the fact that it garnered over 2,400 signatures, nearly twice the amount required to force a special general meeting of the society.
Despite this poorly disguised attack on democracy, students called for an held a Special General Meeting of the SFSS and impeached the seven directors who had neglected to represent their constituents. The seven impeached directors contested their impeachments in the courts and lost.
Democracy worked the way it should.
You know the whole meeting in secret thing, sounds like the SRA. Heck, they even vote to go into secret meetings by secret ballot! The events at SFSS started when the G7 fired, without cause and in violation of policy, a member of the SFSS staff because that staff member was more concerned with serving students than serving the student political careers of the student politican hacks. Sound familar to McMaster Students?