The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) still consists of 34 councillors with no vacant seats, CUSA president Obed Okyere wrote in an email to councillors July 28 after 17 councillors received an email notifying them their seats had become vacant.
CUSA vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman sent an email to 17 councillors earlier in the day, stating their seats are vacant because they failed to attend or send a proxy to two council meetings this summer, said special student councillor Ashley Scorpio.
In the email, Norman cited CUSA bylaw 1, section 2.5, which states a seat will be considered vacant if the councillor misses or fails to send a proxy to two meetings during the summer session.
Scorpio, who is among the 17 councillors who received the email, said the two meetings Norman cited did not take place because a quorum was not met. She claimed the course of action Norman is pursuing is related to her failure to recognize the legitimacy of the May 28 constitutional board meeting to throw out changes made to the association’s constitution April 21.
One of the motions passed at the April 21 council meeting changed a sub-section of the bylaw regulating the selection of proxies by councillors unable to attend meetings. This change prevented councillors from selecting as a proxy a student from a different constituency during the summer session.
Although a quorum was not met, both meetings still took place because both were called to order and adjourned, Norman said. A meeting must be called to order to determine if there is a quorum, and a meeting is happening if it’s called to order, Norman added.
“This is strictly a bylaw that I’m following,” Norman said. “I’m just trying to do my job.”
Scorpio said she thinks the councillors who received the email were picked for different reasons.
“Lots of these people have been vocal about not just going along with the status quo. We’re actually questioning things, raising important questions during question period, and actually asking to see a budget before just voting it through,” Scorpio said.
Computer science councillor Justin Campbell, another member of council who received the email, said the 17 councillors were targeted by Norman because they are in opposition to the executive over the legitimacy of the constitutional board ruling and the passing of the budget.
“It’s an attempt to basically silence the councillors who want to see the budget and want to sit down and do work,” Campbell said. “They don’t want to put up with us anymore and they want to have carte blanche to do what they want with the organization.”
Campbell said he and the other councillors who received the email from Norman do not believe their seats are legitimately vacant. He said the point of contention is Norman’s view that the two meetings count as having taken place.
Faculty of arts and social sciences councillor Brandon Wallingford said he received the email informing him his seat is vacant despite never missing a meeting and never sending a proxy.
“This is very clearly not about attendance and very clearly about the politics of the individual making this call,” he said.
Okyere said he has asked Norman to investigate the matter further. Norman declined to comment on Okyere’s email to the councillors. She said she needs to look into the matter and will speak with Okyere July 29.
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