The University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) became the sole undergraduate student association at the University of Ottawa (U of O), following a referendum held earlier this month. But, this transition doesn’t come without its challenges.
Recently, the provincial government introduced changes to the Ontario student assistance program and tuition fees. Among those changes is the Student Choice Initiative which outlines which services are deemed “essential” and which are not. Students can choose to opt out of ancillary fees to services not deemed essential.
In a press release following the results of the referendum, the outgoing student union, the Student Federation at the University of Ottawa (SFUO), said the new student government should propose an agreement with the university which would deem all services provided by the union as essential.
“Students from all walks of life use SFUO services, programs and businesses to fulfill a variety of purposes and needs. Eliminating even one of the resources and support offered would greatly impact the wellbeing of the students,” the statement said.
In 2018, the SFUO held elections where students voted in on services they viewed as essential, according to the press release. Following the Student Choice Initiative released by the provincial government of Doug Ford, the SFUO said many of these services voted in are not seen as essential and are excluded.
Francesco MacAllister-Caruso, a coordinator of the UOSU, said the government is yet to provide any strict guidelines to universities. However, once the “strict” guidelines are produced, there will not be any room for discussion with the university, since it is out of their scope of power, said MacAllister-Caruso.
“It’s a grey zone,” he said.
Mik Vattiata, also a coordinator of the UOSU, said the SFUO is currently looking at ways that they can move services around in ways that they will all be directly under the language the provincial government is using for mandatory and non-mandatory services.
Vattiata said the university is on board with the direction the SFUO is going in.
However, some students are worried about the shift in student government.
Svetlana Zdero is a third-year health sciences student at the U of O and the president of the uOttawa Interprofessional Health Association, an SFUO-registered club.
She said she is disappointed with the referendum results and is worried about the effect this will have on essential services that the student union provided, mainly financial support for student clubs.
“My club has already been forced to evaluate our ability to continue activities for this semester, as our funding has been cut completely,” Zdero said.
She said she hopes the UOSU ensures a smooth transition and informs the student body of their plans of action in the near future.
Danika Goveas, a third-year health sciences student, said she found it unfortunate that the UOSU will decide which services they plan on offering students which must then be elected upon by the student body.
“This means crucial services that support our students, like the Centre for Disabilities [and] our food bank, could be eliminated,” she added.
MacAllister-Caruso said the UOSU is looking forward to having their executives fully elected, to get services up and running for students and to get students engaged in their local student union.
He said the transition between the two student governments are going along well and are planning on holding elections for executives at the end of March.
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