Ryerson students to remain members of Canadian Federation of Students

Graham Pollock, Ryerson Free Press (University)

TORONTO (CUP) — Ryerson University students will remain members of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Canada’s largest student lobby group. A motion to withdraw from the CFS was rejected by the students’ union board of directors at a Sept. 25 meeting.

The board voted by a narrow margin — 12 in favour, 12 opposed, one abstention — to oppose the motion, which called for a campus-wide referendum, on CFS membership.

The call to initiate defederation procedures was initiated by union vice-president of student life and events Ibrahim Snobar, who questioned the motives of the CFS and the benefits of membership in the federation.

In defense of his motion, Snobar said he saw excessive influence of the CFS in campus politics.

“In my experience, the CFS is way over-involved with elections at different local unions,” he said. “Many of the chief returning officers are, in my opinion, CFS-friendly, for lack of a better term.”

Snobar claimed that a meeting had taken place between last year’s students’ union executives and the CFS to determine who would run for which positions.

Snobar also said that some of the services offered by the CFS were more expensive than if they were sourced locally.

The Ryerson students’ union paid $55,000 to the CFS for its student handbooks, he said, which were delivered over a week late. He told the board he had found two different quotes from printers offering better prices than the bulk purchase program offered through the CFS.

Despite the wording of the motion — which directed the students’ union board to support defederation — Snobar and his supporters said that they were not trying to tell students how to feel about the CFS.

Instead, they said, they want to start a dialogue on campus to review Ryerson’s CFS membership.

“All we’re saying is that we’re bringing this to the students for you guys to have a chance to speak on it, on whether you guys want to stay with the CFS or get out of the CFS. That’s all we’re trying to do here,” said board member Abdullah Snobar, Snobar’s brother.

Nora Loreto, president of the Ryerson students’ union, disagreed with the motion. She praised the work of the CFS and stressed the need for student unity.

In an impassioned 10-minute speech, Loreto laid out the case against defederation.

“If we decide to sever our ties with the Canadian Federation of Students, we effectively reduce the bargaining power in this city by a third — a whole university,” Loreto told the board.

“And we effectively take our students’ voices out of the discussion.”

Chris Drew, vice-president of finance, repeatedly pleaded with the board to exercise fiscal responsibility.

The motion called for “significant RSU staff resources and funds” to be allocated to the defederation process.

“How can students trust us to have a responsible and democratic budget process if the executives and board members want to divert funds midway through the year?” Drew asked. “How can you vote to spend funds that don’t exist in the budget?”

Although the motion was voted down, petitions continue to circulate on campus seeking support for the process. Counter-petitions are also circulating, seeking support for the CFS.

Concordia University’s Graduate Students’ Union and Cape Breton University’s students’ union are also expected to file petitions this year.

According to CFS national chairperson, Amanda Aziz, individual unions have the ability to change elements of the CFS that they are displeased with.

“The CFS is what the membership decides to make it,” she said. “There are ways of bringing concerns forward and influencing the policies of the union.”