Kwantlen Student Association Lawsuit Settles

A settlement has been reached between the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) and a group of Kwantlen University College students over a lawsuit over alleged KSA procedural violations, gaming fraud, and electoral fraud. The Vancouver Sun has provided a summary of the case.

Specifically, the petition [PDF] of a group of four Kwantlen students alleges the following:

• powers that the Bylaws specified were properly the domain of Council (such as setting the budget) and of the General Manager (such as managing staff) were delegated to the Executive
• the Executive increased their own salaries (by over 80%) without the matter going to Council
• various members of Council were removed from office through procedurally irregular means, and four members of the KSA were actually expelled
• a Special General Meeting was held in September 2005, but inadequate notice was given, and a motion to adopt a radically altered set of Bylaws was voted on in a confusing and undemocratic manner (debate was not allowed, and the 'no' votes were not called for)
• one Executive member was offered a bribe in exchange for his voluntary resignation
• the spring 2006 elections were conducted in an irregular manner - the Elections Committee was established by executive fiat, ballots were not secured, campus representatives were elected by students across all four campuses, etc.

The petitioners requested that a new election be held under the supervision of "the Chief Returning Officer of the Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia," trusting the AMS to be an "independent third party."

The final settlement [PDF] does not mention the AMS, but it nonetheless satisfies most of the requests of the petitioners. The September 2005 Special General Meeting was ruled invalid, a caretaker executive was established (including two of the petitioners), and new elections will be held on October 17-19, 2006.

For more information see Steve Lee's webpage and blog.