On Vacation

I will be taking a break for the next ten days or so. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!

Paul Browning files complaint regarding SFSS by-election

This complaint was filed today with the Independent Electoral Commission:

To: SFSS Independent Electoral Commission

I am hereby submitting a complaint as follows:

The message below (both the message and the forward) were sent to a Departmental Student Union e-mail list.

In this message, contents of a blog/weblog by Titus Gregory at his website, www.studentunion.ca were copied by an individual named Theresa Hughes and then further distributed by an individual named Anita Swallow. The original posting is accessible on studentunion.ca is accessible as a posting on December 5th, 2006 with the title "SFSS By-Election: The Candidates."

I believe that this is a biased commentary on the candidates that could influence the election and could therefore be considered an unauthorized form of campaigning by Mr. Gregory, as well as the individuals that forwarded the message.

Also, in the comments underneath the posting, Xenia Menzies makes a comment on how she is voting which can also be considered an unauthorized form of campaigning. Furthermore, if you view the comments on the wesbite, other individuals including Derrick Harder and Chris Sandve also answer people's questions and/or give out their e-mail addresses in cases voters would like to contact them. I consider the postings of Harder and Sandve along with the numerous third-party comments to also be forms of unauthorized campaigning.

Sincerely,

Paul Browning

(I do not have the "message" that allegedly constituted 'unauthorized campaigning.')

I have been advised that four other election complaints have also been submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission by Paul Browning, but the Commission staff refused to deliver these to me for some reason....

SFSS by-election results

I've just received word that the unofficial early results of the SFSS by-election are:

• President: Derrick Harder, 329; Bob Wilkins, 123; Eric Lyndon Koch, 73, J. J. McCullough, 67
  
• External Relations Officer: Graham "Sasha" Fox, 255; Nigel Tunnacliffe, 173; Anita Yung, 108
  
• Internal Relations Officer: Sean Magee, 331; Lindsay Gabelhouse, 158; Kristiana Bruneau, 78
  
• Member Services Officer: Chris Sandve, 242; Bryson Yuzyk, 183; Matthew De Marchi, 103
  
• Treasurer: Adam Lein, 344; Freda Carmack, 194
  
• At-Large Representatives: Jacqueline Hiew, 179; Joseph Paling, 169; Tyler Massé, 158; Derek Andrew, 155; Karilyn Kempton, 139; Niusha Bakhtiari, 80; Ashley Nijjer, 78; Serenna Romanycia, 29

Note that absentee ballots have yet to be received and counted, so the results of the At-Large race are not yet final.

Looks like the "Revive" slate was shut out completely.

SFSS court case Reasons for Judgment released!

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has finally released the Reasons for Judgment in the case Simon Fraser Student Society v. Gregory.

Carleton students' union bans abortion ban advocates

The Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) has spawned a world of controversy by voting to exclude anti-choice student clubs from being recognized or funded by the students' union. The motion, as originally introduced on behalf of the Womyn's Centre, read as follows:

"Whereas anti-choice groups or organization compromise the personal safety and threaten the self-esteem of women who may contemplate abortion or have chosen to have an abortion, and
"Whereas CUSA prohibits harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, or gender identity, and
"Whereas every member of CUSA has the right to study, work, and live in an environment free of discrimination or harassment on the basis of sex, gender, or gender identity, and
"Whereas anti-choice groups aim to remove choice by making abortion illegal, and
"Whereas it would be impossible to make abortion illegal without violating the Canadian Constitution, by removing a woman’s right to life, liberty and security of the person;
"Be it further resolved that the Discrimination on Campus Policy be amended to include

"5. CUSA and CUSA Inc. respect and affirm a woman’s right to choose.
"6. No CUSA resources, space, recognition or funding be allocated for anti-choice purposes."

(Source: Facebook)

The current Discrimination on Campus Policy [PDF] can be found on the CUSA website. IMPORTANT NOTE: The Charlatan reports that this motion was amended during the course of the Council meeting. I do not yet know the exact wording of the motion as amended.

The minutes of the December 5 meeting are not yet online, but one can read the November 2006 minutes of CUSA Council [DOC], in which a brief debate is recorded (pages 8 - 10) between Nicholas McLeod (Carleton Lifeline) and Katy McIntyre (CUSA VP Services and mover of the motion).

A great deal of opinion has been expressed on this subject, both within the student media and beyond. The Charlatan has covered this issue extensively, including:

• "CUSA council passes controversial motion," which covers the Council debate itself
• "Is CUSA a political organisation?" - in which CUSA President Shawn Menard declares that CUSA is not a student government
  
• "Referendum required" - Charlatan editorial, supporting a referendum on making CUSA fees opt-out, on the grounds that CUSA "cannot call itself a political organization and expect access to funding from students who do not agree with the stances it takes"
• "Abortion: the right to life or the right to choose" - a general discussion of the issues
• "Why can't we all just get along?" - the text is as smarmy as the headline
• "Don't stifle discussion"
• "Questions you may have forgot to ask"
• "LETTERS: A diversity of opinions" - 8 letters, including a long letter from Sarah Fletcher, President of Carleton Lifeline

Now that the policy has been adopted, mainstream newspapers have also covered this issue, including CBC, the National Post, and the Ottawa Citizen.

CUSA put out a press release entitled "CUSA seeks to Clarify Anti-Choice amendment." In this press release, President Shawn Menard makes a number of points "in response to a disinformation campaign" waged against the students' union:

• Although explicitly anti-choice student groups would be recognized or funded by CUSA, pro-life student groups that did not seek to criminalize abortion would not be affected.
• Anti-choice student groups could continue to exist on campus, albeit without recognition from CUSA, and would be able to use University facilities that are not owned by CUSA.
• CUSA is not seeking to silence debate; after all, the CUSA motion itself inspired a tremendous amount of debate, none of which CUSA sought to censor.
  

CUSA also noted that three other Canadian students' unions had adopted similar policies: the University of Victoria Students' Society, the Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador Students' Union, and the Guelph Central Students' Association. (In fact, although the UVSS did at one point ban an anti-choice group, said group's status was eventually restored.) In contrast, executives at the Wilfred Laurier University Student Union (JD Muir) and the University Students' Council of the University of Western Ontario (Fab Dolan) stated that they would not support such a similar motion being adopted by their students' unions.

The Carleton University Debating Society has also published a statement, entitled "CUSA and Free Speech," opposing CUSA's decision. Carleton University published a press release entitled "Carleton University Encourages Diversity of Opinion," stating that all student groups, including groups not recognized by CUSA, would be able to book space on campus - essentially making CUSA's decision largely symbolic in its practical effect.

The blogosphere has been awash with debate and commentary. Some of the most interesting blog entries:

• A Carleton student, Doug Nesbitt, has written a very good, very comprehensive blog entry on the entire subject. Mr. Nesbitt supports CUSA's decision, and criticizes both LifeLine and the Carleton University Debating Society.
  
• The Prairie Wrangler takes up the pro-life mantle.
• Clear Grit notes that the general "CUSA-must-respect-all-viewpoints" perspective necessarily requires recognizing much more extremist groups, such as NAMBLA, etc.
• The Crusty Curmudgeon rebuts a wide variety of arguments made by CUSA, starting with the argument that "CUSA isn't a student government."
• The Volokh Conspiracy, a famous American legal blog, has a chain of blog entries on the subject.

The legal arguments surrounding this issue are truly fascinating. For example, the National Post quotes University of Ottawa professor Martha Jackman as saying:

"Essentially, a claim that a Charter right has been breached can only be brought against an entity that is part of the government, for the purposes of the Charter: The government, the state, the government or its delegates. Clearly the Carleton student association is not government. They are a private student organization, but the question can still be raised is Carleton University the government or a government delegate?"

This argument might apply to CUSA, but I doubt that it would apply to the SFSS, who's Bylaws state: "The Society shall not discriminate against any person on any ground enumerated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the British Columbia Human Rights Code" (Bylaw 20).

Students' unions play a dual role: they are both political advocacy organisations and student service organisations. In the former capacity, students' unions take positions on a wide variety of subjects: post-secondary education issues primarily, of course, but many students' unions also take positions on a variety of other issues as well, including freedom of choice with regards to abortion. In the latter capacity, students' unions provide services to benefit their membership, including funding and support for student clubs and societies. In the former capacity, students' unions seek to represent the majority student opinion; in the latter capacity, students' unions normally seek to serve all students, regardless of their political opinion.

In my opinion, students' unions should have the right to distribute their resources as they see fit. No student group can legitimately demand that their students' union give them money, no matter how extreme. LifeLine will still be able to exist, and they will still be able to hold meetings, engage in advocacy work on campus, etc. However, a students' union ought to tread carefully before exercising this right. When I look at the official list of CUSA clubs and societies, I see a great number of clubs whose causes might potentially contravene CUSA policy (the Israel Awareness Committee, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, and the Young Liberals, in particular). Whenever a students' union bans a club (see: Concordia Students' Union v. Hillel), controversy always ensues unless the club is near-universally despised. Time will tell whether Carleton students consider LifeLine so offensive that they want their students' union to not even recognize it as a student club.

CFS-BC job opportunity: apply by Dec. 19 or 29

The Canadian Federation of Students - British Columbia Component (CFS-BC) has posted an employment opportunity for a Research and Communications Officer for a six-month term, starting January 2007. However, there are two different versions of this notice floating around, each indicating a different application deadline.

The notice on CharityVillage.com ("Canada's supersite for the non-profit sector"), which was posted on December 14, indicates that the deadline for applications is December 29, 2006, giving applicants 14 days to submit their résumés. In contrast, the PDF document that was emailed to all CFS member local associations in BC, also sent on December 14, states that the deadline for applications is December 19, 2006, giving applicants just 5 days (including the weekend) to submit their résumés. In addition, there are a number of small discrepancies between the CharityVillage version and the PDF version of the job. (For example, the CharityVillage version indicates that knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, IWork '06, Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Filemaker Pro is important, software that is not mentioned in the PDF document.)

You Don't Say....

From the home page of CUP: "Impromptu SFU student election cause for concern"

Another Disputed Election, Another Lawsuit

In an earlier blog entry, I noted that the third consecutive general election of the Kwantlen Student Association is now headed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

I have now obtained a copy of this petition to the Supreme Court of British Columbia [PDF], asking the court to annul the election.

(Earlier StudentUnion.ca coverage of the KSA: here, here, here, and here.)

SFSS By-Election: The Candidates

A by-election is taking place to replace the "Group of Seven" on the Simon Fraser Student Society Board of Directors - and as far as I can tell, most SFU students don't have a clue that this is taking place! The Independent Electoral Commission helpfully informs us that voting will take place on December 18 and 19 - after final exams are all finished - and that "advance polling" will take place on December 7, 8, 12, and 15.

And what of the candidates in this by-election? No doubt many of them will be putting up glossy posters of themselves in the next few days, but this reveals little, if anything, about the candidates themselves. Fortunately, thanks to Facebook, Google, and my own knowledge of matters political at SFU, here is a brief précis of the hacks and hacks wannabe:

(1) President

• Derrick Harder is a perennial candidate and general hanger-on in matters SFSS. He was elected in 2003 as an At-Large Representative, on the Access Coalition slate, a slate that he later asserted was largely managed by various current and former Canadian Federation of Students officials. Mr. Harder was subsequently elected University Relations Officer in 2005. In a contentious by-election, he was elected to the Board of Governors of SFU (joining me). He holds other positions within the NDP and The Peak, and he is one half of SFU's Ultimate Power Couple.
  
• I have little information on Eric Lyndon Koch, beyond his entry in Facebook.
  
• J. J. McCullough is the editor of Filibuster Cartoons, a right-wing cartoon that is regularly published in a number of publications, notably the right-wing Western Standard. He is a columnist for The Other Press, the student newspaper at Douglas College; his column is called "Right Hook." He describes himself as "Very Conservative" on Facebook.
  
• Bob Wilkins is the Chair of the History Student Union of SFU. He wrote an Affidavit in support of the Respondents in the SFSS SGM trial.

(2) External Relations Officer

• Graham Fox first ran for President in 2004, as an Independent protest candidate. He tried again in 2005, this time running for President with the DoublePlusGood slate. In his spare time, Mr. Fox found time to run in the riding of Burquitlam with the Rhinoceros Party, garnering 125 votes.
  
• Nigel Tunnacliffe is a Science student; in spring 2006, he ran (and lost) on the Orange Revolution slate for At-Large Representative.
  
• I have nothing on Anita Yung.
  

(3) Internal Relations Officer

• Beyond her Facebook entry, I know nothing about Kristiana Bruneau.
  
• Lindsay Gabelhouse ran in 2006 for At-Large Representative on the Orange Revolution slate with Nigel Tunnacliffe. She is a supporter of the BC Liberals, according to her Facebook entry, and is part of the group "The Canadian Federation of Students hates students". She is the Secretary of the Kinesiology Student Association.
  
• Sean Magee served two terms as Science Representative to the SFSS, having been elected in 2004 and 2005. Mr. Magee is also a Student Senator. His Facebook entry shows him to be a CFS-hater along with his competitor Lindsay Gabelhouse.

(4) Member Services Officer

• Pretty much all that I know about MSO candidate Matthew De Marchi is his persistent opposition to the impeachment of the "Group of 7." According to the Special General Meeting minutes [PDF], Mr. De Marchi questioned the appointment of Chair Patrice Pratt; questioned the legitimacy of the Forum meeting which had called the SGM; and attempted to have the SGM consider the By-Law amendments after the impeachment motions. He wrote a letter to The Peak prior to the SGM, questioning the entire basis for impeaching the "Group of 7." After his efforts to prevent the impeachment failed, Mr. De Marchi called the SGM "A good ol'-fashion' lynchin'," "an incredible 'circle jerk,'" and a "Nuremburg Rally." He also criticized the security volunteers as "arm-banded brownshirts." Interestingly enough, one of these "brownshirts" is none-other than candidate for Internal Relations Officer Sean Magee....
  
• Chris Sandve ran for University Relations Officer with Orange Revolution in the Spring 2006 elections, finishing third (behind me). In November of this year, he was elected President of the BC Young Liberals (province-wide). His Facebook entry also shows him to be a supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada.
• Bryson Yuzyk ran for Member Services Officer in the spring 2005 elections, with the DoublePlusGood slate (along with Graham Fox), losing to Common Sense candidate Shawn Hunsdale.

(5) Treasurer

• Freda Carmack is all about politics. She is the President of the Political Science Student Union, and in a more partisan capacity she sits on the Executive of the New Westminster/Coquitlam Federal Liberal Riding Association. Her Facebook entry suggests that she was a supporter of Michael Ignatieff.
• Adam Lein is a Computing Science graduate student. He is the CS graduate rep on Forum, and in that capacity he was elected to the Lawsuit Committee, which represented Forum in its efforts to uphold the Special General Meeting.
• I have no information on Chris Rasmussen beyond his Facebook entry.

(6) At-Large Representative

• I have no information on Derek Andrew.
• Niusha Bakhtiari would be the perfect "Manchurian Candidate" - there is virtually nothing available on the Internet about her. Except one. The minutes [PDF] of the September 15, 2006 meeting of the SFSS Board of Directors show that then President Shawn Hunsdale nominated Ms. Bakhtiari nominated her, successfully, to sit on the Stipend Appeals Committee, which handles appeals from directors and Forum members over stipend deductions.
• Jacqueline Hiew is the Vice-Chair of the History Student Union. She served as Forum Rep from July 19 to September 22, 2006, and ended up being at the centre of a legal dispute over the legitimacy of the September 27 Forum [PDF] meeting.
• There are plenty of Google hits on Karilyn Kempton, but I have no idea whether they are referring to the candidate in these elections.
• Tyler Massé is a member of the Executive of the Geography Student Union.
• Ashley Nijjer's primary accomplishment to date appears to be her incendiary letter to the editor of The Peak, alleging that former President Clement Abas Appak had impure motives in pushing for the impeachment of the Group of 7, due to his affiliation with Canadian Students for Darfur. (This letter was rebutted in a subsequent letter to The Peak by Mr. Apaak.)
• Joseph Paling has written quite a number of articles to The Peak over the years.
• I have no information on Serenna Romanycia.

So that's that! SFU students: find out all the information that you can about the candidates, and please take the time to vote!

Non-SFU students: again, my apologies for the SFU-centric nature of this blog. As soon as the by-election - and my final exams (!) - are over, I will again have enough time to offer a more pan-Canadian perspective on this blog.

Stunning Display of Apathy: Douglas Students' Union SGM Fails

According to my sources, the Special General Meeting of the Douglas Students' Union held on November 29, 2006 only have about 50 student in attendance, falling short of the 75 required for a quorum. As a result, students were unable to vote on whether or not to impeach the Representative Committee, the governing body of the students' union of Douglas College.

Victory!

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled:

• that the October 25, 2006 Special General Meeting (SGM) is valid, and the impeachments are effective;
• that there no problems with the September 27, 2006 Forum meeting that called the SGM;
• that even if there were problems, the Court would nonetheless have upheld the validity of the SGM; and
• that the G7 shall pay the legal costs of the Respondents.

I will upload and post the text of the Court's judgment as soon as possible.

A Holiday Poem for Students
(Author: sadly unknown)

Twas the night before finals, and all through the College,
the students were praying for last minute knowledge.
Most were quite sleepy, but none touched their beds,
while visions of essays danced in their heads.

Out in the taverns, a few were still drinking,
and hoping that liquor would loosen their thinking.
In my own room I had been pacing,
and dreading exams I soon would be facing.
My roommate was speechless, her nose in her books,
and my comments to her drew unfriendly looks.

I drained all the coffee, and brewed a new pot,
no longer caring that my nerves were all shot.
I stared at the notes, but my thoughts were muddy,
my eyes went a blur, I just couldn’t study.
“Some pizza might help”, I said with a shiver,
but each place I called refused to deliver.

I’d nearly concluded that life was too cruel,
with futures depending on grades made in school.
When all of a sudden, our door opened wide,
and Patron Saint Put-It-Off ambled inside.

His spirit was careless, his manner was mellow,
when all of a sudden he started to bellow:
“On Cliff’s notes, on Crib notes, On Last Year’s Exams,
On Wing-It and Sling-It and Last Minute Crams!”

His message delivered, he vanished from sight,
but we heard him laughing outside in the night.
“Your teachers have you pegged, so just do your best,
Happy Finals to All and to All a Good Test!”

(Hat-tip: Andrea Sandau)

P.S.: The SFSS court judgement is expected to be issued this Monday, December 4.