Funding scheduled to be released by administration to the Carleton University Students Association (CUSA) Oct. 31 will be delayed pending a review of CUSA’s auditor’s report, according Peter Ricketts, Carleton’s provost and vice-president (academic).
The agreement struck between CUSA and Carleton last year required the students association to submit an auditor’s report to the university by Oct. 15. Both parties have confirmed the report was submitted on time.
If the report was approved, $2 million in student fees were scheduled to be released on a monthly basis starting Oct. 31, said CUSA president Obed Okyere, citing the association’s fee agreement with administration. The date passed, however, without any decision from the university.
“The [university] is still reviewing the documents that CUSA has submitted and the decision on releasing the fees can only be made when that review has been completed,” Ricketts said via email Nov. 1.
Vice-president (finance) Duncan Watt is away until later in the week, and will review the report when he returns, Ricketts said.
CUSA vice-president (finance) Karim Khamisa said the delay is unacceptable.
“The audit was completed on time and it was done by any agreements that we had with the university,” he said. “So why they’re delaying, I don’t understand, and I don’t think it’s acceptable. The fees are required in order for us to . . . make sure the association runs as it should, in order to serve the students as it should.”
CUSA has been embroiled in a legal battle with 16 councillors since the summer, when vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman, citing CUSA’s bylaws, attempted to vacate their seats over discrepancies in council meeting attendance.
The councillors responded by seeking injunctive relief through the Ontario Superior Court, naming Norman, Khamisa, and several other CUSA executives and councillors as defendants. As a result, the Ontario Superior Court placed an injunctive freeze on all council business.
In a written endorsement, Ontario Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon described Norman’s decision to unilaterally unseat the 16 councillors as draconian and affected without due process.
In the meantime, essential CUSA functions, such as passing the budget or the auditor’s report, can be carried out by CUSA’s trustees: Okyere, Norman and Khamisa.
Carleton president Roseann Runte raised concerns early in October that the association is not functioning democratically as a result of the ongoing conflict.
Khamisa said that CUSA’s legal situation should absolutely not impact the university’s decision to release the fees.
“CUSA is an autonomous association and any of its internal matters should be handled within,” he said.
