Interesting Videos on YouTube...

• Ever wondered what goes on at Canadian Federation of Students general meetings?
  
  
• So many posters, so little wall space... Concordia Students' Union Poster Night 2004

An Update on SFU Health Plan Politics

StudentUnion.ca has learned that several directors of the Simon Fraser Student Society are doing classroom speaking, explaining to students that they are trying to bring then a "non profit undergraduate health care plan." There is only one such plan in Canada: the National Student Health Network. The Board of Directors has never decided to limit their health plan choices to non profit entities, nor has any such decision been made by an entity acting under delegated authority.

SFSS Hires Catalyst Creative to Survey SFU Students re: Undergraduate Health Plan

Undergraduate students of Simon Fraser University are some of the last remaining university students in Canada not to have a student health plan. Starting in 2005, SFU graduate students obtained a health and dental plan following a student referendum, through Gallivan and Associates. And so, this past summer the Simon Fraser Student Society formed an "Undergrad Health Plan Negotiating Committee" to look into the possibility of obtaining a health plan for undergraduate students.

Interestingly enough, however, the Executive Committee of the SFSS just today approved a motion assigning to Catalyst Creative, Inc. the task of conducting a survey of SFU undergraduate students relating to a possible health plan. [Note: See update below for correction.]

Now Catalyst Creative is an interesting firm. Their Vice-President (also known as the "Strategic Director") is none other than Michael Gardiner, who also works (or at least was recently employed) as Organiser of the Canadian Federation of Students-BC. This article (PDF, p. 8), published by CCEC Credit Union, indicates that Catalyst Creative was founded in 2005 by just two individuals: Michael Gardiner and David Launainen.

Catalyst Creative's website does not indicate that they have any expertise conducting surveys or soliciting opinion. Their services (according to their webstie) are Merchandising, Print Media, Broadcast Media, Publicity and Earned Media, Events, Training, Positioning, Identity, Packaging, Web Technologies, e-Collateral, and Print Collateral. Their list of clients is interesting, however, as it includes the National Student Health Network (NSHN), owned and operated by the Canadian Federation of Students-Services. And, indeed, CIRA records show that the Administrative Contact for the NSHN is none other than Michael Gardiner.

SFSS records also indicate that the Catalyst Creative staffer responsible for conducting the survey is the same Mr. Gardiner. External Relations Officer Margo Dunnet's August work report states:

"The Undergrad Health Plan Negotiating Committee met with Michael Gardiner from Catalyst Creative to discuss what should be included in the survey to undergraduates. We mapped out the questions and he will get back to us with the format in early Sept. I talked to Ron Heath, Office of the Registrar, and he agreed to supply us with the e-mail addresses we need to administer the survey."

SFSS executives may wish to consider a historical perspective in this matter. In an article written in 1996 entitled "SFSS, This is Your Life," Peak writer Patrick Kolby wrote:

After the summer hiatus, Forum members decided to begin steps to hold a referendum on SFSS membership in CFS. The move was sparked by problems with the CFS' handling of SFU's health care plan broker, and an apparent conflict of interest between the plan's organizer, Joey Hansen, and the CFS. Hansen held positions both on the SFSS and on the CFS. Although not a concern of most students, the SFSS dissatisfaction with the CFS grew as they were blamed for the problems of the health plan. Adding to the push to leave the CFS was the creation of a new student organization, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. This new option has made the move possible for SFU out of the CFS and into CASA more likely than ever. How the implementation of the CFS-backed health care plan in May affects the proposed referendum is anyone's guess. It is also anyone's guess whether or not the plan will actually be implemented by May, if the past is any indication. In their final act of 1995, Forum voted to decide to consider one of the many options to increase efficiency after the $25,000 Ernst & Young accounting report was tabled. Good work.

Another article in 1997, entitled "Students axe health plan," provide a short summary of what happened to our previous health plan:

Although Simon Fraser students decided to remain in the Canadian Federation of Students in last week's referendum, they axed the federation's health plan.
....
The plan, implemented in January of this year, was the target of attack from a number of extremely vocal groups on campus. Aspects under fire included the inability of students with only basic provincial health care to opt-out, as well as concerns that the CFS was receiving a large commission from student fees.
....
Respresentatives of the federation deny allegations that it is profiting from the National Student Health Network.
"It's a break-even operation," said Michael Gardiner, provincial chair of the Federation. "The only reason the CFS operates the health plan is so that individual student associations don't get ripped off by local brokers. The National Student Health Network has brought prices down for everyone. Because of this, students across the country get their health care cheaper."

(The aforementioned Margo Dunnet is a member of the Executive Commitee of the Canadian Federation of Students - British Columbia.)
..............
UPDATE (2006-09-23): I have been informed that the Executive Committee of the SFSS merely received a report from the Undergrad Health Plan Negotiating Committee regarding the retention of Catalyst Creative; it did not actually pass any motion. The Undergrad Health Plan Negotiating Committee was struck by the Board of Directors on July 27, with a mandate to spend up to $6000 on a contractor to create a survey for the undergraduate health plan.

No Voice for SFU Graduate Students on Key Hiring Committee

The Board of Directors of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) has made its latest political mistake. The Board struck a hiring committee to replace former Graduate Issues and University Relations Coordinator (GIURC) Hattie Aitken, whose firing has sparked the latest controversy at SFU. Three directors applied for positions on this committee: undergraduate executives Andrea Sandau (the University Relations Officer) and Margo Dunnet (the External Relations Officer), and Graduate Issues Officer Joel Blok. But the Board, in its infinite wisdom stupidity, decided to reject Mr. Blok in favour of the two undergraduate executives.

As the job title implies, the "Graduate Issues and University Relations Coordinator" has two responsibilities: to assist in the university relations' work of the Society, and to serve as the chief resource person for graduate student issues. The SFSS is unusual in that it represents both undergraduate and graduate students. The GIURC regularly meets with the Dean of Graduate Studies, does research on the graduate health and dental plan, and generally supports the work of the Graduate Issues Committee. By rejecting Joel Blok, the Board of Directors (or at least the dominant majority) has ensured that SFU graduate students will have absolutely no voice in determining their chief resource person.

Current speculation is that the Board majority rejected Joel because of his alleged support for an independent graduate students' union at SFU. It is ironic, then, that their latest action may simply serve to build support for such a move.

Canadian Student Union Database Now Online

I have finally completed the Canadian Student Union Database. This database contains links to all the student unions in Canada that I have come across, as well as links to Contact page (basic contact information), Executive page (list of elected officials), and Documents page (constitution, bylaws, policies and procedures, etc.). I have also included a list of affiliations to national and provincial student organizations.

The Canadian student movement is much larger than many people think. It includes CFS unions, CASA unions, and many unaffiliated unions; it is anglophone and francophone; it includes students at very large and very small institutions; it ranges from right-wing to very left-wing. Many elected officials only learn about a very small part of the entire Canadian student movement. This database will not rectify this problem overnight, but hopefully it will begin to create links between student unions that have not previously existed.

Please feel free to send me corrections, additions and suggested improvements to this database!

Impeachment Petition Delivered to SFSS

Students for a Democratic University (of which I am a member) today delivered a petition containing 2,541 signatures to the Simon Fraser Student Society, petitioning for a Special General Meeting for certain purposes (which you can read here.) Less than 1,500 signatures were required to force such a Special General Meeting, according to the organization's bylaws.

This letter was accompanied by a cover letter [PDF] outlining the SFSS's legal responsibilities with respect to this petition.

Also, one can find several news items, opinion pieces, and letters to the editor on this issue in this week's Peak.

UK Students told: turn up or face expulsion

The Guardian has reported that a number of British universities have forced their students to sign legal contracts as a condition of taking courses. These contracts specify that the students will observe "good behaviour" and will regularly attend lectures and tutorials.

But the National Union of Students has condemned these contracts, calling them "one-sided," as they do not place any obligations on universities (for example, in terms of quality of teaching).

When I was enrolled in the Technical University of British Columbia (R.I.P.), we were required to sign a contract as a condition of enrollment. However, if I recall correctly, this contract merely required us not to engage in crime, academic dishonesty, etc., without imposing any specific requirements to attend lectures. British Columbia courts have ruled that there exists a contractual agreement between the student and the post-secondary institution, defined by the official literature (calendars, etc.) produced by the institution, but (TechBC aside) there haven't been any actual contracts in place in BC universities.

Does your post-secondary institution force students to sign contracts as a condition of enrollment? If so - what do these contracts contain?

FCSL Steering Committee

The steering committee of the Federation of Canadian Student Leaders is as follows:

• Host School — Rick Powelson (MSU)
• BC — Tiffany Kalanj (SUVCC)
• Alberta — Garth Crump (NAITSA)
• Saskatchewan — Amanda Smytaniuk (URSU)
• Manitoba — Garry Sran (UMSU)
• Ontario — Paul Bretscher (UofT SAC)
• Quebec — N/A
• Nova Scotia — Ezra Edelstein (DSU)
• Newfoundland/Labrador — Stella Magolios (MUNSU)
• New Brunswick — N/A
• PEI — N/A

Provinces that did not send delegates to the FCSL conference have no representation on the steering committee.

SFU political controversy heats up

Read this article in the Georgia Straight about the impeachment campaign at SFU..

Lakehead SU - Reviewing its membership with CFS

Joey Coleman reports.

Reactions from Federation of Canadian Student Leaders Conference

The inaugural Federation of Canadian Student Leaders (FCSL) conference is over - as is its website - and many of its attendees have written reports to their students' unions. Several of these reports are online, and they paint a picture of an event that has not avoided the problems that have plagued its predecessor, the Canadian Congress of Student Associations.

• Joanne Liu, VP Administration for The University of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU), submitted a generally positive report (PDF). She summarized the keynote lecture ("Bill Smith's 25 tips for a Successful Year"), which she described as "inspirational advice." She also reported on workshops on Student Apathy, Human Resources and Staff, Fundraising and Sponsorship, Setting Up Legal Contracts, Lobbying, Senior Administration Relations, and Budgeting. She noted that the "2007 FCSL conference will be hosted by Malaspina Student Association in Nanaimo, BC." The "Malaspina Student Association" is actually the Malaspina Students' Union. Their General Manager is Steve Beasley, who was the full-time British Columbia National Executive Representative to the Canadian Federation of Students in 2004.
  
  
• Charlotte Kingston, VP Academic for ULSU, submitted a decidedly mixed report on the conference (PDF), addressed to "whoever you report readers are..." (little does she know ). She said that the opening plenary "quite literally made me bang my head on the table and did not exactly set a great tone for the rest of the conference," due to the "nit picking and adversarial atmosphere that was established by some members in the room." However, Ms. Kingston had generally positive memories of the workshops that she attended on such issues as on campus childcare, executive compensation, students' union-run bookstores, and event planning. She also shared her colleague's high regard for Bill Smith's "25 tips for a Successful Year."
  
  
• Kevin Keystone, President of the Alma Mater Society of UBC, reported on his attendance at the FCSL conference verbally at a meeting of Council, the substance of which has been recorded in the minutes (PDF, pp. 3-4). He stated that the Canadian Congress of Student Associations (CCSA) conference had been cancelled due to the FCSL's decision to schedule their meeting simultaneously with that of the CCSA, which led to a situation whereby "the schools that would have gone to CCSA (mostly CFS schools) came at the last minute to FCSL." Then, "at the open plenary, the bylaws [proposed bylaws to officially organize the FCSL] and code of conduct were thrown out through block voting by the CFS schools, setting the tone." (This sort of block voting was also reported to have occured, across the country, in 1995 allegedly to prevent the formation of a British Columbia organization of students' unions.) Despite such comments, Mr. Keystone and his colleagues also noted the positive opportunities to network and meet fellow students' union executives.
  
  
• David Cournoyer, Omer Yusuf, and Samantha Power all provided reports on their experiences at FCSL (PDF, pp. 24-32) in their respective capacities as the VP External, VP Student Life, and President of the University of Alberta Students' Union. Mr. Cournoyer appreciated the opportunity to meet with many other VP Externals (or their equivalents) at the conference, to network and to discuss campaigns and lobbying strategies; he also believed that he had "gained a base of first-hand knowledge" regarding the national student movement and its organizations (i.e. the Canadian Federation of Students and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations). However, he felt that many of the workshops were not useful, as they were geared towards smaller student associations.
  
  
• Omer Yusuf similarly felt that the workshops were "extremely useless" for the most part. Mr. Yusuf did report positively on the opportunity to meet fellow VP Student Life executives from other students' unions, but felt that, on balance, the Federation of Canadian Student Leaders was a conference more suited for Presidents and VP Externals.
  
  
• President Samantha Power (again from the UASU) reported positively on a number of workshops (on ethical businesses, corporatization, and maintaining positive relationships with the senior administration) that she attended. She also appreciated the opportunity to talk with fellow students' union executives, both in Alberta and across the country. However, she was extremely disappointed in the keynote speakers, and was troubled that Studentcare.net/works hosted a social event that was heavily promoted by the conference organizers.
  
  
• Ezra Edelstein, President of the Dalhousie Student Union, reported (PDF, p. 28) that the FCSL went quite well: "The professional development and partnerships aspect of the conference went very well, with great sessions on legal contracts, media relations, lobbying, services, and a half day open space where people could talk about issues that were pertinent to them."
  
  
• Chris Ide, VP Internal of the Dalhousie Student Union, reported (PDF, p. 29) a slightly different tale. "Interesting," reported he. "The entire exec attended this conference in Toronto from June 2nd – 10th which was aimed at partnership and professional development. To see a group of student leaders unite in an attempt to derail a conference was both encouraging a disappointing (students standing together = encouraging; when they do it at the detriment of other students = disappointing)."
  
  
• Chad LeClair, VP Finance and Operations of the Dalhousie Student Union, reported (PDF, p. 31) that the sessions and networking opportunities were good.
  

All in all, a rather mixed review of the conference. It would appear that the goal of the conference organizers - to hold a "non-political" conference - did not succeed. I am presently trying to determine who is now sitting on the steering committee that is planning next year's FCSL conference....