Vol. CXXXVII, No. 13 January 9, 2017 thevarsity.ca —— The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
Now ? t a wh COMMENT — Page 9
From party lines to warning signs Predicting Canada’s fate in 2017
ARTS & CULTURE — Page 14
From the ashes
A tumultuous year leaves room for healing and inspiration in 2017
CFS under fire for handling of “hidden” bank account
U of T expands outsourced cleaning services
National Executive to release report based on forensic audit for June general meeting
CUPE 3261 claims contractor pays unfair wages, discriminates against women
Lesley Flores Varsity Staff
Jack Denton Associate News Editor
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is facing scrutiny from the UTSU for its handling of a “hidden” bank account that was discovered in 2014. Delegates at the CFS’s National General Meeting (NGM) on November 17–22 voted to approve the audit of a CFS controlled bank account without having had access to the audit report that discussed that account. The bank account was hidden from auditors for years before being discovered in 2014 and remains shrouded in mystery. The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Vice-President Internal, Mathias Memmel, described the CFS’ handling of the hidden bank account at the National General Meeting as “incredibly disturbing,” in his executive report
because, he writes, the federation “refused to disclose where it came from or where it went despite the completion of a forensic audit and report.” When asked by The Varsity why the CFS did not provide members with access to the forensic audit report before having to vote on its acceptance, CFS National Chairperson Bilan Arte stated, “No reports have been withheld.” Arte said that the CFS National Executive was in the process of writing its own report “on the findings of the forensic review in time for the June general meeting.” According to Arte, the National Executive’s report would contain “additional information about the review,” and would be released to members instead of the full report that was done by Grant Thornton LLP because of “potential human resources matters.”
Memmel said that “According to the National Treasurer, the CFS was advised by its lawyers not to release the forensic audit to its members, although he later admitted that he hasn’t actually seen the legal opinion in question.” Memmel also stated that the CFS National Executive announced the existence of the bank account in 2014 but its details have “never been explained.” “The National Treasurer and a number of CFS staff refused to elaborate on [the bank account], despite persistent questioning by the Budget Committee,” Memmel said. Arte denied withholding information from members, stating that “member local students’ unions have been kept up to date on actions taken by the executive.” Arte also stated that the bank account in question was “immediately frozen” upon its discovery. CFS, page 3
Science — Page 19 Hatching into a dragon Robert Herjavec on trials, tribulations, and ultimately — success.
The university is continuing to outsource cleaning services on campus with contract workers from Compass Group. There are 25 buildings on campus that are being cleaned by workers from Compass Group, which is a multinational cleaning and property management company that is also the world’s largest food service company. These buildings have had their cleaning services outsourced gradually, with five buildings added in fall 2015, one in early 2016, and an additional eight in the fall of 2016. The outsource has been met with criticism from CUPE 3261, the union representing service workers employed by U of T. CUPE 3261 has argued that Compass Group does not pay its workers fair wages, has a wage breakdown that discrimi-
nates against women, and that the use of Compass contradicts the university’s commitment to leveraging its position as a key institution to bring about pay equity. U of T Media Relations Director Althea Blackburn-Evans told The Varsity that new buildings are given priority consideration for outsourcing to Compass, followed by buildings where retirement or resignation of staff leaves a dwindling number of workers. “I want to emphasize that no caretaking staff at the university has lost their jobs, or will lose their jobs, as a result of outsourcing,” she said. “We are absolutely duty-bound to use the money that we get very efficiently, and we are facing increasing cost pressure” — Althea Blackburn-Evans Outsource, page 4