Ousted Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Change slate candidate Ashley Courchene has been reinstated as vice president (student services) by order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a decision made May 27.
CUSA president Fahd Alhattab said Courchene will take over the vice president (student services) office from incumbent Frena Hailekiros on June 2.
Courchene was previously disqualified from the CUSA elections, alongside the Change slate members, due to alleged electoral violations by other candidates. The judge’s decision overruled the disqualification decision made by Carleton’s Constitutional Board in April.
“Obviously, I’m pretty ecstatic about it,” Courchene said. “It was a pretty long process, and I’m just kind of happy that the judge saw the ridiculousness of the whole issue and reinstated me. The judge said it didn’t have anything to do with me, and it didn’t have anything to do with [Hailekiros].”
As per his original election platform, Courchene said he plans to use his position to advocate for lower tuition fees and work towards a better hiring and electoral processes for CUSA.
Courchene said taking the issue of his disqualification to court played into a sense of doing what he felt “was right.”
“I mean, the reason I got involved in the first place was that I found out a couple of years ago that [CUSA was] cutting services from the Aboriginal Service Centre, and I thought ‘Hey, that’s not right, I have to rectify it.’” Courchene said.
Courchene said he is unsure of his position with the current CUSA executive, but added he looks forward to serving students.
“I don’t know if they’re willing to work with me, but I’m going do the best I can to do my job,” he said.
Alhattab said although the judge’s decision came as a surprise, the CUSA team is looking to move forward.
“We’re very shocked by the judge’s decision,” Alhattab said. ” . . . [Hailekiros] has done a great job in the past year, and while we’re disappointed, we have a lot of respect for [Courchene], and now it’s about focusing on what’s best for students.”
Alhattab did not clarify whether or not CUSA plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
“We’re looking at all possible options,” he said. “If we were to go ahead and appeal, it’s no longer about who’s vice president (student services). It’s about the implications that this ruling has on the student union, and for student unions across the country.”
Alhattab said he is concerned at the costs of the legal proceedings as well as their implications.
“We’re worried about what this sets as a precedent for future elections, where if a team chooses to cheat and have violations awarded against them, and the constitutional board finds them guilty, whether every team is going to go and take up a court order and cost the association thousands and thousands of dollars.”
The exact distribution of the legal fees for the court proceedings are yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, Alhattab said CUSA executives have already had their first monthly meeting.
“We’ve already done the full executive orientations, we’ve pretty much already put together the strategic plans,” Alhattab said, “so there’s a lot of catching up for [Courchene] to do.”
Courchene’s message to students is optimistic, however: “I look forward to serving them, the best I can,” he said, “and my doors are always open.”
The full text of the legal decision can be read below.
