The Concordia Student Union (CSU) is the latest group to enter the boxing ring against the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) following a resounding vote to de-federate.
The vote took place March 23-25, with 72 per cent of students voting “no” in response to the referendum question “Are you in favour of continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students?”
CSU is the second student union to vote to leave the federation this year, following the heels of the University of Calgary Graduate Students’ Association, who concluded voting March 24.
However, both these referendums contravened Motion 6, which was passed in November 2009 and states that only two student unions may hold a referendum in a three-month period and that 20 per cent of the student union must sign the petition.
McGill’s Post-Graduate Student Society and the Alberta College of Art and Design Students’ Association were the two groups recognized by the CFS as being allowed to hold a referendum this spring.
CSU president Amine Dabchy said the vote should be held to the old rules because its petition was submitted prior to the change in regulations surrounding referendums to de-federate.
“We know that it’s bullshit,” he said. “We respected every single line of the by-laws,” he said.
This included inviting the CFS to oversee the vote, he said, although no representatives showed up.
Voting at McGill and the Alberta College of Art and Design takes place the last week of March.
The CSU petition was submitted Oct. 19 with 16.7 per cent of undergraduate students having signed it, according to the Concordian.
The CFS also claims the CSU owes them more than $1 million, according to the Concordian.
The CSU said it expects the situation will end up in court.