The University of Ottawa (U of O) announced that it will be holding a referendum in early 2019 to allow students to choose a new student government to represent them.
Recently, two former executives of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) faced fraud allegations prompting the university of end its agreement with the student union which expires on Dec. 24. A forensic audit cleared the accused executives of any wrongdoing and the former president resigned.
In a press release, the university said it has “lost confidence in the SFUO.” But, it emphasized that this decision has no connection to the results of the forensic audit.
“The University believes that undergraduate students deserve legitimate and trustworthy student government that respects the principles of sound financial management and demonstrates respect for transparent and accountable governance.”
Paige Booth, SFUO vice-president (external) and interim president, said in an email that the university’s decision was heavy-handed considering their steps towards completely overhauling our financial operations and governance structure.
“The SFUO will have a stricter conflict-of-interest policy, will implement a procurement policy, the VP Operations position (formerly known as VP Finance) will be a permanent staff position with an accounting background, like chartered professional accountant for example, and the organization will undergo a fraud risk assessment,” she said.
Booth said the university has agreed to having a temporary agreement until the referendum to ensure that student services like the health plan are not affected. The details of this agreement is unknown.
She said having a new student government will have a negative impact on students as any new student government has to enter negotiations with the university to establish new services from scratch.
“Instead of starting from scratch and taking the risk of losing so many essential services, it would be in the best interest of students to keep our current services, businesses, spaces and funding to be able build off the foundation that we currently have.”
But, the university said they’re studying options to ensure “the smoothest possible continuation of student services once the agreement with the SFUO officially comes to an end.”
According to the press release, the referendum will be conducted and overseen by an impartial external agency, “to enable interested groups to present their candidacy and campaign to become the recognized association to represent undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa.
As of publication, there’s one new student government that has put itself on the market to represent U of O students, known at the University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU).
Currently, UOSU has a committee comprised of several students who say they won’t run for executive positions but want to provide the structure of this new student government.
Booth said she’s hopeful that undergraduate students will choose the SFUO and “protect what belongs to them.”
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