After being suspended for an entire semester and part of the summer, the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council resumes this month.
CUSA president Obed Okyere said he’s very pleased with the announcement of a settlement, but now council needs to do its job.
“It’s very important for us to come back and not just waste our time as councillors but make sure we achieve something for Carleton students,” Okyere said.
April 21 – CUSA council amends the constitution to require a larger majority to make changes to the constitution, bylaws or policies. It also tweaks a bylaw to require proxies in the summer to be from the same faculty as the absent councillor they are representing.
May 28 – CUSA’s constitutional board repeals the changes on the grounds that not enough public notice was given before the meeting. CUSA vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman says CUSA will not recognize the board’s decision, as they broke the bylaws by hearing the challenge in the first place.
July 28 – Norman tells 16 councillors they have lost their seats on council. Norman says the councillors failed to send students to represent them at two summer meetings, and therefore they missed the meetings. CUSA president Obed Okyere disagrees with Norman.
Aug. 9 – Carleton’s vice-president (academic) Katherine Graham sends a letter to CUSA’s councillors and executives offering the services of an independent mediator to help resolve the issue.
Aug. 10 – An Ontario Superior Court Justice rules that the councillors still hold their seats for a 10-day period, until further order of the court.
Aug. 11 – CUSA chair Brent Farrington does not count the votes of the 16 councillors at a CUSA council meeting, which allows Norman to end the meeting. Farrington says he was upholding the CUSA constitution; the 16 councillors seek a second court order.
Aug. 18 – At the request of CUSA’s legal counsel, the judge rules that council cannot conduct any business until the 16 councillors and Norman reach an agreement. This leaves all decisions about the budget in the hands of Norman, Okyere and vice-president (finance) Karim Khamisa.
Sept. 29 – After a failed attempt at mediation, a judge refuses to overturn the Aug. 10 decision, and rules that the matter can only be settled in court. Ontario Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon describes Norman’s decision to “unilaterally” unseat the 16 councillors as “draconian and affected without due process.”
Oct. 15 – CUSA submits an auditor’s report to Carleton administration, which the university needs to see before it can hand over millions in student fees it collects on CUSA’s behalf.
Nov. 1 – Peter Ricketts, Carleton’s provost and vice-president (academic), says the university is still reviewing the report. As per the university’s agreement with CUSA, the money should have been released Oct. 31.
Nov. 9 – Ricketts says there are problems with the auditor’s report, and the administration is waiting on a response from CUSA. Khamisa says the requests deal with internal matters, and CUSA has held up its end of the agreement.
Nov. 25 – The administration hands $5.4 million in student fees over to CUSA. Ricketts says the remaining money will not be released until the discrepancy that sparked the original delay has been resolved.
Dec. 9 – Okyere suspends the pay of all CUSA executives, including himself, saying he wants to pressure them into resolving the ongoing legal battle with the 16 councillors.
Dec. 16 – CUSA reaches an agreement with the 16 councillors, who will return to their seats when council resumes in January. A confidentiality agreement prevents the details from being made public.
