As one of two Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) member locals at Carleton University, we feel it important to respond to The Charlatan’s article: “U of T students’ union, CUSA support leaving CFS” to address a number of factual errors. If a debate on membership is going to be had on campus, let it be a real debate that is not obscured by the Carleton University Students Association (CUSA)’s “alternative facts.”
The Graduate Students’ Association is Local 78 and a proud member of the CFS. We believe the Federation is the only national student movement dedicated to maintaining a public, affordable system of high-quality post-secondary education. It is also an important voice for students, and serves as a national progressive voice for international, Indigenous, racialized, queer, and other marginalized students. This is not to say that we are not critical of our provincial and national organizations. At Local 78, we are pleased to voice our strong opinions at provincial and federal general meetings around a number of controversial topics facing the student movement.
First, let’s address the rhetoric around the “hidden bank account.” It is true that in 2014 the National Executive discovered a bank account that was not included in prior audits. The executive acted responsibly by reporting the account to both the auditors and the membership. Since 2014, this account has been discussed at every national meeting, culminating in the presentation of an auditor’s report at the November 2016 meeting. Local 78 has been present at every national meeting and moved a motion in November to have additional information on the bank account presented at the next meeting. If Local 1—CUSA—considers it a “secret” account, it is because they have failed to attend a number of meetings for several years.
Second, on the issue of student health insurance, The Charlatan article in question claims that “[t]he arrangement in place with Green Shield, known as refund accounting, placed the risk on the UTSU.” The GSA is part of the National Student Health Network, and it has used Green Shield Canada for both refund and fully-insured accounting over the past decade. If an individual student union fails to take responsibility for the outcome of the health plan design it chooses, that is a failure of the student union, not the CFS.
Finally, the article ends with a series of quotes from CUSA President Fahd Alhattab, in which he reiterates the alternative truth that the CFS is responsible for health plan decisions made by individual student unions. He also expresses his discomfort with a “hidden” bank account, which ironically brings him into agreement with the CFS national executives that have reported the account and actively sought clarification on its origins and history.
Students are welcome to debate the state of our provincial and national federations, and the GSA will be part of that debate. We only ask that it be based on actual facts.
— Jenna Amirault, GSA executive
