The Ontario government is filing an appeal to restore the recently axed Student Choice Initiative (SCI), a provision introduced earlier this year allowing university and college students to opt out of certain ancillary fees.
Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) officially enacted the SCI in March after first revealing it in January, detailing how students would be able to pick and choose whether they wanted to pay for certain “non-essential” fees, including those for student unions, newspapers, radio stations, food banks and clubs, or societies.
The SCI was issued directly through cabinet, rather than through legislation, and was in effect province-wide when students began the school year in September.
In late May, the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario and the York Federation of Students filed a legal challenge against the SCI, claiming the MTCU breached procedural fairness and natural justice by “failing to meaningfully consult” student student groups on the directive.
After a hearing in October, three Divisional Court of Ontario judges ruled unanimously on Nov. 21 to overturn the SCI, stating “the government has no legal power to control the universities even if it wished to do so.”
The government is now applying for leave to file an appeal against the ruling, claiming the MTCU has an authority to attach conditions to public post-secondary institutions which it argues can include those outlined in the SCI.
“Universities remain free to exercise their independence and autonomy through the choice to accept public funding, subject to whatever conditions are attached,” reads a government brief filed in the Court of Appeal, obtained by the Charlatan.
“Attaching conditions to government grants in no way interferes with university autonomy and independence,” says the brief.
Various student services at Carleton University—including CKCU, Carleton University Students’ Association, and the Carleton Academic Student Government—have reported thousands in cuts as a result of the initiative this year. Elsewhere in the province, some unions and newspapers have seen up to a 50 per cent opt-out rate.
In Ontario, after an appeal has been heard, judges may rule their decision the same day, “shortly afterwards,” or may reserve judgment for up to several months, according to the Ontario Courts webpage.
A date for an appeal hearing has not yet been set.
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More to come.
Feature image from file.
