The votes are in, but the result of the CFS referendum is anything but final.
According to “No” committee member Mike Foderick, potential violations by scrutineers, among other things, are being investigated by the Joint Referendum Committee (JRC), which was in charge of the referendum. This was confirmed by JRC member and SAC vice president education Emoline Thiruchelvam, who felt the referendum was not run fairly. Thiruchelvam would not discuss specifics, saying the JRC would “rather discuss it with the [SAC] board of directors first.”
In order for the referendum decision to be made official, it must first be approved by the SAC board of directors, as well as the University Affairs Board. Although the CFS now officially recognizes U of T as a member, these channels must still be negotiated, said Mohammed Hashim, university affairs commissioner for SAC. “In SAC’s eyes, we aren’t actually a part until we ratify the decision,” he added. When asked if the referendum result could be overturned, Thiruchelvam revealed that “the possibility is there.”
One of the potential issues is the makeup of the JRC itself, which was composed of two paid CFS members and two SAC members. The “No” campaign cried foul over this seemingly biased committee, but as “Yes” supporter and SAC member Alex Kerner pointed out, “the joint committee was agreed upon by SAC.” Kerner himself is involved in one of the potential investigations, over allegations that he, as a scrutineer, informed the SAC board of directors that some “No” members had attempted to vote on multiple occasions. Kerner maintains that he did not violate the secret ballot. “There was no revealing of how the person voted,” he said. Alex Artful-Dodger, another “Yes” supporter and SAC external commissioner, also noted that a “wall of shame” was created for “No” supporters who had tried to vote multiple times. When asked how she could have known the results of the secret ballot, she said she knew the students in question to be “No” supporters.
