Translation: Traitors!

Yet another anonymous informant has obtained a copy of a letter that was apparently sent to student unions in Canada by a group calling itself the "Canadian Conference of Student Associations" (CCSA). This may or may not be related to the "Canadian Conference for Student Associations" (CCSA) that is being held in one month in Ottawa; and it may or may not be related to the "Canadian Congress of Student Associations" (CCSA) that recently became a federally incorporated (but apparently dormant) organization. The letter reads as follows:

Monday May 1, 2006

Dear Colleagues,

I trust that by now you have received the information package for the Canadian Conference of Student Associations. As you may know there is another group of schools that are attempting to organize a competing conference immediately following the CCSA.

At the annual CCSA in Vancouver in June 2005, student representatives from across Canada democratically voted to hold this year’s conference in Ottawa, with Carleton and ourselves, hosting. For the past ten months we have worked in preparation for hosting this year’s conference. Now, with only weeks before its scheduled start, it appears that the competition is looking to override the democratic vote of last year’s conference by organizing a similar but opposing event, the schedule of which overlaps with the CCSA.

We at the Student Federation at the University of Ottawa have invested a significant amount of time, energy and money into to organizing this year’s CCSA. Amongst other thing, deposits have already been paid to the University of Ottawa Conference Services for accommodation, to the company providing French- English interpretation services, to the company supplying the party boat for the Ottawa River boat cruise and to the company that will be ferrying participants between the University of Ottawa and Carleton University on the historic Rideau Canal.

In Vancouver, all schools had every opportunity to submit a bid. No one else chose to do so at that time. Now with only a few weeks left, an announcement is made that a competing event is unilaterally being organized.

Since the 2005 CCSA in Vancouver, we have worked diligently to address the concerns of student associations that both attended and did not attend last year’s conference. We will have more specific sessions for colleges and smaller universities. We have worked to include Quebéc [sic] and francophone student associations to provide a venue that can truly meet the needs of all student associations in Canada. And, as delegates agreed last year, there is no better place to have this type of truly national conference than in the heart of our nations capital. We do not understand why the decision was made to go out of one’s way to divide and undermine the one opportunity for all students, regardless of affiliation, to meet, learn and discuss with each other.

I encourage you all to go with the democratic process that all our student unions and associations are modeled on. This year’s CCSA promises to be a dynamic and engaging event that will allow student leaders to form those necessary bonds to colleagues all over the country. The CCSA is a grouping of three conferences, which brings together post-secondary student leaders and students’ association staff from all over Canada. Each year, student leaders and their staff meet to share their ideas, learn new skills, and celebrate their achievement and progress. I hope to see you in Ottawa.

Yours truly,

Adrienne De La Rosa
Conference Coordinator, CCSA 2006

Student Federation of the University of Ottawa

Adrienne De La Rosa is the former Vice-President, Student Affairs (2005-2006) of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa. Since her term ended one month ago today, she was presumably hired by one of the sponsoring student unions just a few weeks ago for the purpose of coordinating this conference.

In addition, one will note that the letter states that "[t]he CCSA is a grouping of three conferences." Persons familiar with past CCSA conferences will know that it is - or at least was - a grouping of four conferences: MoneyCon, SuperCon, CART, and AMICCUS-C.