CFS goes to B.C. Supreme Court to delay Kwantlen referendum

David Karp, CUP Western Bureau Chief

VANCOUVER (CUP) — The Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) has been stalled in its attempts to leave the Canadian Federation of Students after the CFS petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court to have the referendum delayed.

The CFS-launched petition was heard on March 14 and asked the court to postpone the referendum at Kwantlen College until the fall. The petition failed, only delaying the

referendum by three weeks.

The judge presiding also accused the CFS of attempting to

delay the referendum.

“The sense that I got is that the Canadian Federation of Students representatives have displayed no great alacrity in trying to bring this on in time,” Justice Mark McEwan, an 11-year veteran of the

Supreme Court, said.

The referendum to pull out of the national lobby group was set to occur on the same days as referenda by the Simon Fraser Student Society and the University of Victoria Graduate Students’ Society.

Indeed, Martin Palleson, a CFS lawyer, said the federation would be disadvantaged if the referendum proceeded to the other two referenda.

“That suggests there’s some interest in hamstringing the Canadian Federation of Students,” he

told the court.

But Amanda Aziz, a Canadian Federation of Students chairperson, said by phone afterwards that their representatives on the oversight committee weren’t trying to

stall the referendum.

“From our perspective, there could be nothing further from the

truth,” she said.

The central issue, however, revolved around the referendum oversight committee, a four-person group in charge of overseeing the referendum, including setting a referendum question, determining polling locations and setting campaign rules.

The CFS and the KSA each appointed two members and the committee, but it quickly became deadlocked on major issues. By March 14, the committee had not even agreed on a question upon which students could vote, a vote set to begin on March 18.

“If the oversight committee can’t make a decision, you can’t just wallow in deadlock,” MacEwan said.

CFS representatives on the referendum oversight committee initially proposed a two-page referendum question that asked, “Are you in favour of maintaining formal relations with the students who are members of the following students’ unions?” and proceeded to list the 85 students’ unions that are members of the CFS.

With the referendum oversight committee deadlocked, the KSA hired Schiffner Consultants Inc. to run the referendum as an independent

third party.

CFS bylaws state that the referendum oversight committee must be composed of the two representatives from each side.

“It was that move which was outside the bylaw procedures which prompted the Canadian Federation of Students to bring the petition it brings,” McEwan said.

“The Kwantlen Student Association, by taking matters into its own hands, put itself offside, according to the bylaws, which is difficult for the court to ignore after having it brought

to its attention.”

The judge ruled that the referendum oversight committee will be given another chance to reach an agreement, but McEwan said that he would impose referendum rules if the committee is unable reach an agreement by March 20.

McEwan rejected the CFS lawyer’s argument that the referendum should be postponed until the fall.

“We say that pre-campaigning has led to an unfair election,” Palleson said. “It won’t be fair and it won’t be balanced. We recommend a cooling off period.

“If we had a longer time where we don’t have this early campaigning, my view is that it would result in

a fairer vote.”

Palleson said it was acceptable to talk about the Canadian Federation of Students before the official campaign period — just not to have an organized effort.

But McEwan disagreed.

“It’s how elections work in the country,” he replied. “There are people who campaign in Quebec full

time for certain elections. Isn’t Kwantlen your Quebec?”

McEwan said if the CFS could prevent pre-campaigning, then it would be impossible to gather a petition with the signatures of 10 per cent of a student body, a requirement for a student union to declare a defederation referendum in the first place.

“Don’t we have to have some kind of notion here of the rough-and-tumble of democracy?” he asked, rhetorically.

Kieran Siddal, a KSA lawyer, asked the judge to set rules for the referendum and allow it to go ahead on Tuesday. But McEwan also rejected that scenario.

“Maybe your faith in judges is too strong,” he said.

McEwan ruled that the referendum be postponed to April 8, 9 and 10, with two weeks of campaigning to start on March 25.

Each side put on their best face after the result.

“My client is pleased that a date is certain for the referendum, and that the process will be overseen by the Supreme Court of B.C., and that students will have a chance to get out and vote,” said KSA lawyer David Borins.

“We’re pleased with the outcome,” said Amanda Aziz, CFS president, who was not in attendance.

“I think the problem was that when campaigning was supposed to begin there were no rules established.”

The Kwantlen Student Association is a founding member of the Canadian Federation of Students. It contributes approximately $150,000 in annual membership fees to the federation.