In a historic move, Ryerson University announced they were terminating their Operating Agreement with the Ryerson Student Union (RSU) and no longer recognizes them as the organization that represents the student body.
The operating agreement, dating back to 1986, is essentially a “transfer payment agreement” between Ryerson and the RSU. The RSU was recognized as a separate corporate entity from the university, with its own structure and the operating agreement lays out how fees from students are collected and then transferred to the RSU, according to an article by The Eyeopener.
On Jan. 31, 2019 the university met with the RSU and board of directors to inform them that funds would be withheld until a forensic audit of the RSU’s finances was conducted, the findings of the audit were shared with the university, and both Ryerson and the RSU negotiated a new operating agreement.
The RSU’s misuse of funds by members of the 2018-19 RSU executive resulted in further issues about the RSU’s “management of internal affairs.” These internal issues are in breach of the 1986 agreement, according to Vice-Provost, Students Jen McMillen, in a public statement.
Student Democracy and Accountability
In a public statement released by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the organization said the university made their decision hastily and undermined the democratic function of the RSU.
Ryerson University needs to reopen the conversation with the RSU after “overstepping their autonomy and democracy,” said Kayla Weiler, the national executive representative of the CFS.
At the RSU’s Semi-Annual General Meeting scheduled for Feb. 3, the Ryerson student body will be able to fulfil their democratic role and should “use their democratic practices to make these decisions,” added Weiler.
“It’s really tough to say that it is an ‘erosion of student democracy’ when you only give students one time a year, say for the Annual General Meeting, to really have their voices heard,” said Joshua Bowman, president of the University of Toronto Students Union (UTSU).
At the general meeting, the RSU will present a forensic audit of expenditures to student members.
However, Ryerson University said that despite repeated requests for the analysis of the forensic audit of expenditures, the RSU refused to cooperate by sharing its analysis.
“It’s not for the administration to make those decisions. What we as an organization encourage other organizations to do is to be transparent and have practices of good governance,” said Weiler.
The university should not have intervened in the “internal matters” of the RSU, emphasized Weiler.
However, not everyone sees it this way.
“It’s really tough to say that it is an ‘erosion of student democracy’ when you only give students one time a year, say for the Annual General Meeting, to really have their voices heard,” said Joshua Bowman, president of the University of Toronto Students Union (UTSU).
The UTSU passed a motion that was finalized on Jan. 22, to “not collaborate with any groups that do not … align themselves with our anti-harassment policy and our code of conduct,” said Bowman.
The RSU was not explicitly listed as a reason for the motion, but was listed in the “whereas” clauses because of the working conditions several former executives listed as being the cause of their resignation.
“We made that decision because we need to hold student union leaders accountable and we need to hold ourselves to the greatest standards possible,” said Bowman.
But Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is in complete disagreement with Ryerson’s “ill-conceived and short-sighted decision” to terminate their contract with the RSU, which is completely independent from the university, according to a public statement.
“It is a step forward for accountability … oversight and it is a step forward to ensure that the services [that] are there for students are being looked at and they are being guided by constant oversight,” said Bowman.
What Now?
The dissociation of RSU from Ryerson is not expected to diminish the quality and availability of any student services, according to Ryerson’s public statement. In particular, the university is committed to maintaining health and dental services that students have already paid for until the end of the academic year.
It is unclear what will happen to student services after the end of this academic year.
Ryerson is now encouraging students to form a new student government and opted to facilitate the process to help students “determine the structure of their representative government.”
However, on Jan. 29, the RSU filed a statement of claim against the university, with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In a public statement, the RSU said the lawsuit was due to the cancellation of their agreement and the university withholding student funds from the RSU.
The RSU has had to deplete their resources in order to continue providing “essential services to students,” said Vanessa Henry, president of the RSU, in the statement.
“We are no longer just defending the RSU. We are setting precedent for student voices throughout Ontario and across Canada,” said Henry. “The administration has tried to silence students. We will not be silenced that easily.”
Graphic by Paloma Callo.
