The Ontario Court of Appeal has unanimously rejected an appeal from the Ford government to reinstate the Student Choice Initiative (SCI).
The SCI, which was introduced in March 2019 by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, mandated Ontario universities to offer students the option to opt-out of non-essential fees such as student unions, campus clubs and campus media. Some fees remained mandatory, such as athletics and recreation, health and counselling and academic support.
To ensure compliance, universities were expected to report annually to the ministry. In the case of non-compliance, the school would have to reimburse students. If the school could not reimburse students, the ministry had the option of reducing the institution’s operating grants given to them by the provincial government.
At Carleton, the policy led to funding cuts for campus clubs and organizations and campus media groups such as the Charlatan. CUSA service centres, such as the Womxn’s Centre and the Food Centre, also saw losses in funding.
In May 2019, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O) and the York Federation of Students (YFS) filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government, arguing the SCI encroaches on the autonomy of student unions and organizations in Ontario.
The Divisional Court of Ontario quashed the SCI in November 2019, stating that the Ontario government acted without statutory authority by mandating the guidelines, which the court said violates the autonomy that universities and student government bodies at colleges are granted through various University Acts and the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act.
“We find that the university guidelines are beyond the scope of the Crown’s prerogative power over spending because they are contrary to the statutory autonomy conferred on universities by statute,” the decision read in part.
In March 2021, the provincial government appealed against the Divisional Court decision. On Aug. 4, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal.
“The ancillary fees framework conflicts with the legislation governing Ontario’s colleges and universities and cannot be imposed upon by the exercise of executive authority,” Justice Grant Huscroft wrote in the decision.
“The Minister [of Training, Colleges and Universities] has no authority to fetter the exercise of the universities’ discretion concerning student associations in any event — again, not because universities are immune from regulation, but because the Legislature has chosen not to regulate them,” Huscroft wrote.
The government was ordered to pay $20,000 in legal costs to the CFS-O and YFS.
In a press release, Kayla Weiler, national executive representative for CFS-O, said the ruling “reflects what students have been saying across the province.”
“Students’ unions exist on campuses around the world to provide students with a united voice, advocate for change and operate essential support services,” Weiler said. “Ontario’s students deserve the same and it is not the place of the Premier or Minister to interfere with long-standing democratic processes.”
The release called for the provincial government to respect the decisions of the Divisional Court of Ontario and the Ontario Court of Appeal and refrain from taking the issue to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Charlatan will continue providing updates as the story develops.
Featured image from file.
