Prior to my decision to run for the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council last winter, I really had no position on the affairs of CUSA. What prompted me to run was my involvement with various clubs and societies on campus and the shared concern that was held in relation to the underfunding these groups faced as a result of the subjective and biased CUSA funding process.
In addition to this, I was aware of the undemocratic practices in CUSA that had been present for years and sought to change this so that CUSA could truly represent Carleton students in a democratic manner.
CUSA council was suspended in August as the result of the undemocratic actions of vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman in relation to two CUSA council meetings during the summer.
At the first meeting, the chair of council was away so Norman brought in a substitute from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). This chair was not a valid chair under the CUSA bylaws; therefore, no valid meeting could take place. When this chair tried to call the meeting to order (having expressed he would not recognize certain proxies despite a valid constitutional board ruling requiring him to do so), a number of representatives, including myself, left the meeting in protest.
At the second meeting, the situation was the same. The substitute chair was not valid and no valid meeting could be held. There was a complete disregard for any democratic process under the CUSA governance documents by a number of CUSA representatives.
As a result of these invalid meetings, Norman asserted that 17 councillors’ seats had been vacated under the CUSA bylaws.
We did all what we could to protect our seats but Norman, the CUSA executive and the remainder of council refused to uphold the CUSA bylaws and recognize our seats in what appeared to be an attempt to serve their political ends. The only recourse left to protect the democratic will of Carleton students was to take legal action.
A court order maintaining our seats was secured and an Ontario Superior Court Justice condemned the actions of Norman and her council supporters calling her actions “draconian,” “affected without due process” and a defiance of the “democratic will of the Carleton electorate.”
I, along with my colleagues, was elected to CUSA with the mandate to change it to better represent students — to put students first. Upon return to council, we will finally have an opportunity to a reform the clubs and societies bylaw and the consolidated electoral code. We will also pass a fair and reasonable budget.
Additionally, we negotiated the formation of a governance reform committee to fix the association. The committee will be made up equally of defendants and plaintiffs, but the real question is whether the defendants want change or whether they will simply deadlock the committee until the end of the year.
There was also an agreement reached for a fair, democratic and transparent election process. This will be the first time in many years that CUSA will have democratic and transparent elections.
The specifics of our return to council were made confidential at the request of Norman and her colleagues. In the interest of reaching a timely settlement, we did not contend this point as it was necessary to get back to working for students on council as soon as possible. Details will become evident through our work on CUSA Council and CUSA Inc.
The general message to be taken away from my experience is that certain CUSA executives and councillors only abide by democratic principles when it proves convenient to their own political agenda and position.
They break the rules they were elected to uphold in order to suit their interests and to ensure they retain control over CUSA, which is financially beneficial.
If you look at CUSA businesses and service centres, you will see that those who hold the well-paid positions are all friends of the CUSA executive. CUSA should be fighting for equality and students’ interests. It is a grand paradox that there is such discrimination in the CUSA hiring process to the detriment of the average student.
The goal of this open letter is to raise awareness about the true state of affairs within CUSA. I hope that Carleton students take note of the complete disregard for democracy by certain representatives of CUSA and understand the reality of the legal dispute CUSA has been in for the past five months.
I will be happy to complete my term on council this year knowing that I have done what I can to make CUSA more democratic, transparent and accountable to, and for, Carleton students and to bring to light the reality of how poorly it has been governed for so long.
– Michael De Luca
fourth-year law and political science
See vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman’s side of the story here.
