Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council met for the first time this academic year in person on May 30, marking the beginning of a new era for the newly restructured student association. Council filled multiple committees and amended its personal safety devices policy.
The meeting lasted for four hours of prolonged debate and only ended when quorum was lost. A special meeting was held online on June 6 to continue unfinished business. Council ratified all actions taken at the May 30 council meeting despite a lack of clarity over when quorum was lost.
Last year, CUSA merged its association and incorporation, completely rehauling its governance based upon recommendations from the Democratic Reform Committee (DRC).
Council began the new year by electing Faculty of Public Affairs councillors Erin Okrainec and Raj Gill as speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
CUSA executives presented their first monthly reports to council. All executives said they completed their training in the last month, met with the previous executives and transitioned into their new roles.
President Anastasia Lettieri said she began collective bargaining with CUSA’s full-time staff. CUSA staff are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Through the collective bargaining process, unions negotiate contracts with employers on behalf of their workers.
CUSA is also expected to begin negotiations with part-time staff. The previous collective agreement between CUPE and CUSA expired on May 31 after five years.
As per the recommendations of the DRC, CUSA executives, with the exception of the president, are no longer elected by students but rather appointed by CUSA council and have no voting powers. Davin Caratao, vice-president (internal), urged council to vote in favour of several motions including C-06.
Motion C-06, calling to change the name of CUSA bylaws from the “Bylaws of the Carleton University Students’ Association” to the “Constitution of the Carleton University Students’ Association,” failed to pass after heavy debate. Only three councillors voted on the motion—all of which were opposed.
Caratao said the renaming would be for “aesthetic purposes,” but received no support.
Vice-president (student life) Anshika Srivastava called on council to have better reasons for suggesting policies and said changing the name of the bylaws would make them appear less amendable.
Both vice-president (community engagement) Hallee Kejick and vice-president (student issues) Mohamed Faris Riazudden said they are working with the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) on increasing campus security.
Motion C-09, calling to amend the personal safety devices (PSDs) policy, which was enacted by CUSA in 1997, passed unanimously.
Previously, the policy prevented CUSA from distributing PSDs. Following this amendment, CUSA will support the use of non-weapon PSDs such as personal security alarms by women and non-binary people and distribute these products free of charge. The amendment also states CUSA will only patron PSD companies if they are owned and operated by women or non-binary people.
Panic ensued after four hours when council realized quorum was lost.
For a council meeting to be held, 51 per cent of the 25 currently sitting voting members—12 councillors—must be present. Council attempted to regain quorum by calling absent members but several attendees questioned the point of continuing the meeting at that point.
“There is no point passing anything today if it won’t be representative in general, especially considering this is not a full council as it is,” Srivastava said.
At the June 6 meeting, motion C-16, which called to reaffirm CUSA’s commitment to implementing the DRC’s recommendations was discussed. Caratao proposed an amendment to the motion, saying the wording of the motion would restrict the freedom of council and discourage critical assessment of the DRC’s recommendations if it passed without an amendment.
Caratao’s amendment led to an extended debate. Several attendees said the recommendations need to be given time before they are reviewed. Others felt it would be “disrespectful” to the work of past councils and the DRC to make changes to their recommendations before they are implemented.
Both Lettieri and former acting president Ahmad Hashmi, who attended the meeting as a student-at-large, echoed these statements and opposed the amendment.
“Not only will we go backwards [if the amendment passes], but we will drown,” Hashmi said.
Caratao’s amendment failed to pass with three votes in favour and six opposed. Motion C-16 passed unanimously afterward.
CUSA is scheduled to meet again on June 27 in person. The meeting will be held at the Nicol Building and is open to all students.
An earlier version of this article said CUSA began negotiations with both full-time and part-time staff, instead of just full-time staff. The Charlatan regrets the error.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
