Dear Members of the Charlatan Publications Inc. (herein forth referred to as the “Corporation”),
The Charlatan Board of Directors was made aware of allegations made against the integrity and governance of the corporation on March 17, 2025.
While we had planned to address the topic of governance at our upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 6, the recent statements made against the Corporation has forced us to set the record straight.
The Corporation has fostered free and fair elections of our editorial staff. We have never engaged in “paying friends” or misusing student funds. Such claims are baseless and are an unfounded attack on the integrity of the paper.
We also believe providing context on the unfounded allegation that the Board was “nepotism’d” into their current positions is essential. On April 14, 2024, the Corporation announced a call of interest for Board of Director applications to our membership at our previous AGM. The Board accepted every application; no one was denied. The Board did not receive enough applications for some positions, and vacant spots remained after the application deadline had passed. As such, the Board formed an appointment committee to recruit members to fill the vacant spots over the summer. During the recruitment process our call for applications remained posted. No one came forward.
Additionally, the Board consists of volunteer members who work to enhance the Corporation in our free time. Not one Board member has ever been compensated for their work pertaining to the Board.
One of the Corporation’s goals as a student-run newspaper is to allow students from all disciplines to develop and hone their skills in journalism. While we aim to ensure that all articles are reviewed for accuracy, mistakes do happen. Nonetheless, the editorial team already has an established process for reviewing articles and issuing corrections. In addition, the Board reaffirms the Corporation’s commitment to accuracy by supporting the editorial team with pre-publishing legal support on sensitive stories, ensuring that what the editorial team publishes is accurate and fulfills journalistic standards. The Board deployed this resource when we contracted a lawyer who works with the Canadian University Press and is an expert in vetting publication. He reviewed the two-part investigation concerning CUSA clubs. The Lawyer found that the story was properly written and represented extensive work carried out over a seven-month period, and that sources were properly interviewed. The Board stands by the story that was properly investigated, legally reviewed and properly published.
Undermining the dedication and hard work of our student editors and writers is misleading. Everyone who contributes to the Corporation plays a vital role in upholding journalistic integrity while ensuring that the student community has access to reporting on multiple issues of interest.
Any proposed policy that profoundly cuts the editorial team’s wages or encroaches on the editors’ editorial functions will have cascading effects on the Corporation’s ability to keep the community informed and engaged and will reduce opportunities for students seeking a future in journalism.
In addressing the legal claims made about governance, we acknowledged at our last AGM in April 2024, that parts of our Constitution and Bylaws appeared outdated and difficult to interpret. We agreed a much deeper review was needed.
The Corporation’s current Constitution, which was inherited and not created by the current Board of Directors, states that Board members are appointed by the previous Board. This Board’s appointment, therefore, followed the articles in our member-approved Constitution.
To streamline a governance analysis for this corporation, the Board created the Director of Policy and Strategic Planning, a portfolio dedicated to reviewing governance and long-term planning.
After reviewing the governing documents, our Policy director flagged certain areas within our governing documents that needed updating. Concerning the election of the Board, elections for positions on the Corporation’s Board of Directors will be run at the upcoming AGM, open to current and returning members of the Corporation. Students interested in attending the AGM must register by Friday April 4th at 9 a.m.
The Policy Director is set to present a strategic plan that will realign the Corporation’s Bylaws and Constitution in 2026 and the remaining governing documents by 2027. This plan will include specific details about plans for overhauling the Corporation’s governance.
Part of the plan will involve contracting Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), one of Canada’s biggest law firms, to conduct a thorough review of our governing documents. BLG is also home to lawyer Sylvie Lalonde, who specializes in corporate governance and has extensive experience working with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) and advising not-for-profit organizations who are governed by that Act. She has worked on a preliminary review of our Bylaws in advance of our AGM.
Although the first phase of the process of amending our Bylaws and Constitution to ensure compliance with best practices is underway, there is more work to be done after the AGM. There are costs associated with these important changes that need budgetary approval by the members at our AGM, just as we have done in the past. Our Members must also vote on any amendments being made to our governing documents, and we will ensure that the Board can improve transparency and trust in the Corporation throughout this process.
Recent allegations that attack the integrity of the Board are both unfair and unfounded. The Charlatan is and always has been committed to representing its community with integrity and professionalism. It’s what we’ve done and it’s what we’ve continued to do.
We remain supportive of all those who are eligible and interested in applying for and running in the Board’s elections. We trust that the members will register for the AGM and vote for candidates who firmly stand against those who wish to threaten the future of the Corporation.
Sincerely,
Jayden Dill, Chair of the Charlatan Board of Directors
Kirupan Krishnarajah, Director of Policy and Strategic Planning
Featured graphic from files.
