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UTSU announces CFS decertification UTSU’s reasons include CFS postponing the announcement of an audit at its general meeting
KASSANDRA HANGDAAN NEWS EDITOR ASSISTANT WITH NOTES FROM MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR
On January 24, UTSU released a statement on their Facebook page announcing its decision of decertification from the Canadian Federation of Students. According to the statement, one reason for UTSU’s withdrawal was that CFS postponed the announcement of an audit at its national general meeting held in November 2016, due to the findings of a “secret bank account.” According to UTSU’s president, Jasmine Wong Denike, in an email to The Medium, the results of the secret bank account’s investigation will be released in a national general meeting expected to take place in
CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM
UTSU released a Facebook statement on January 24, announcing the decision to decertify CFS. June 2017. Denike addressed her concerns that a CFS election of new executives, around the time of the meet-
ing, will result in an executive body with “very little knowledge” of the secret bank account. “Because the CFS will likely dis-
close little to no information on it at the time, it will not go truly investigated or questioned until the CFS releases a public statement to the
contents and usage of the account to the public, before the turnover of both local and CFS Executives takes place,” she wrote. CFS national chairperson, Bilan Arte, told The Medium in an interview that UTSU’s claims are a “misrepresentation” of the discussion that occurred at a budget committee. Though Arte conceded that she was not personally present at the committee, she stated that a resolution was reached at the committee wherein CFS members tasked the national executive to prepare a more detailed report of the bank account. In regards to the history behind the secret bank account, Arte told The Medium that it was discovered in 2014 and that they informed their members about a subsequent general meeting in January 2015 to discuss it. Decertify continued on page 3
Alideeb elected as the CFS chairperson Nour Alideeb is the first UTMSU representative to be elected as the CFS Ontario Chairperson
MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR
UTMSU president, Nour Alideeb, has been elected as the chairperson of the Canadian Federation for Students Ontario, which was announced at the CFS semi-annual general meeting held over the weekend of January 21. According to Alideeb in an email to The Medium, this is the first time that a UTMSU representative has been elected as the CFS Ontario chairperson, whose responsibility, aside from being the official spokesperson, is to “oversee the strategic direction” of CFS, including implementing campaigns and services to its members. “I’m very excited for this role, because I’ll be able to take my passion to a provincial level,” Alideeb said. “Among many things, I look forward to working with students
UTMSU’s president, Nour Alideeb, assumes office on June 1, 2017. across the province on issues like fighting for a free and accessible post-secondary education system, reviewing and improving sexual
violence policies on each campus, and challenging the many systems of oppression that affect our students on and off campus.”
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
Candidates were required to submit a nomination form, give remarks at the all-candidates election forum, and engage in a
question-and-answer period at the meeting. Each member of a students’ union had the right to vote and cast a secret ballot. “This election, we saw a lot of engagement, a lot of different people from across the province interested in each of the positions contested,” said Rajean Hoilett, the current CFS Ontario chairperson, in an interview with The Medium. They explained that every January at the semi-annual general meeting, the CFS and student union members elect a new leadership. Other than Alideeb, another student from Ryerson University ran for the same position. Over 80 student unions are members within the CFS, including UTMSU, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union, and the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students. Alideeb’s term as the chairperson begins on June 1, 2017.