Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that TA Wesley Petite brought his class to the protest to support Ashley Courchene. Petite brought students who wished to observe the protest itself and not in support of any one person. The story has been updated to reflect this. The Charlatan regrets the error.
After protests at a March 7 emergency Carleton University Students’Association (CUSA) meeting, members of the constitutional board accused of conflict of interest have declined to step down from the board.
Ashley Courchene, member of the Change slate and vice-president (student services)-elect and Abel Hazon, assistant campaign manager to Your Carleton, are both sitting members of the constitutional board, and have declined to step down in conflict of interest. Other members of the board accused of conflict of interest are Jon MacDougal and Baraa Jandali.
CUSA president Fahd Alhattab confirmed that MacDougal stepped down, but Courchene and Hazon remain on the board. University ombudsman Jim Kennelly has given members until March 10 to declare a conflict of interest and step down.
After the constitutional board meeting, Hazon released an email to CUSA council stating he has chosen not to step down until Courchene does as well.
“I believe that I may have the same relationship with the issue being addressed as Ashley Courchene. During the Board meeting, Ashley chose not to step down off of the constitutional board, so I did not either,” Hazon wrote. “If Ashley decides to recognize any conflict of interest he may have in the outcome of the decision and step down, then I will too.”
In response, Change campaign manager Adam Carroll said he thinks waiting for Courchene to resign was “highly inappropriate.”
“I would advise you to speak to the ombudsman about your recognized conflict of interest and taking the appropriate measures to step down to ensure a fair process that ensures the reputation and integrity of the student association,” Carroll wrote.
Your Carleton has launched an appeal of the constitutional board decision that reverses the disqualification of the Change slate.
At the emergency meeting, a motion was called asking members of the constitutional board to resign and and cite conflict of interest. The meeting was called in camera, and the motion eventually called out of order, according to public affairs and policy management councillor Matt Pelletier. Students gathered in protest outside the meeting.
CUSA council chair Shawn Humphrey said the decision to hold an in camera meeting was not made lightly.
“My concern is that there are four people here that are being implied strongly that they are in a conflict of interest before they’ve had a chance to express themselves,” he said. “I feel that to respect their privacy this session should be in camera.”
Courchene was ruled to be disqualified from his position after electoral violations by his slate, Change, during the CUSA elections. The electoral board overturned the decision to disqualify him in light of new information disproving the allegations, but Your Carleton, the slate that holds the majority of positions on CUSA, has appealed this ruling.
Wesley Petite, a teaching assistant at Carleton, said he offered his first year human rights discussion group the option to observe the protest when it was announced at the beginning of the session. After discussion, the students decided to attend and observe.
“I thought it was interesting because we’re always talking about democracy on Parliament Hill or democracy in other countries and here we have an act of transgression of democratic values on our own campus,” he said.
Several dozen protesters entered the meeting right when it was wrapping up and councillors were voting to adjourn it, said Sean Smith, vice-president (student life).
