CFS-Quebec Creates New Confusing Website

The Quebec component of the Canadian Federation of Students has created a new website, www.cfs-fcee.qc.ca. This replaces their old website, www.education-action.net.

However, a great deal of confusion remains. Their old website, www.education-action.net, has not been updated to redirect people to the new website. A great deal of content on the old website has not been transferred to the new site (such as issues of Ruckus magazine, published by CFS-Quebec).

One will also find contradictatory press releases. "CAPE [Coalition for Accessible and Public Education] is a province wide coalition that includes the Canadian Federation of Students (Québec), the Conseil Régional de l'ASSE à Montréal and the Front Régional des Associations étudiantes de la Capitale amongst other groups" proclaims one press release dated March 22, 2006; seven days later, another press release states: "The CFS-Québec is not a part of the coalition that is organizing the demonstration, the Coalition for Accessible Public Education (CAPE)." There was no "apology" or "retraction" issued for the earlier press release - simply a contradiction.

One possible explanation for the errors in the "new and improved" CFS-Q website may lie in its administrators. According to CIRA, the "Administrative Contact" for cfs-fcee.qc.ca is Joey Hansen (who is erroneously listed as the Treasurer of the Canadian Federation of Students) while the "Technical Contact" is Ken Marciniec. Mr. Hansen is presently the Services Coordinator of the Douglas Students' Union - in British Columbia! - while Ken Marciniec is the National Executive Representative for CFS-Ontario. Mr. Marciniec administers, on behalf of the Canadian Federation of Students, the domain www.casa-acae.ca, which just happens to be the bilingual domain name of CASA (as The Paulinian has documented). He also administers, on behalf of CFS-Ontario (!), the "new and improved" website of the University of Toronto Students' Administrative Council.