This spring, 78 per cent of Simon Fraser University students voted in a non-binding plebiscite to defederate from the Canadian Federation of Students-BC—at least, that’s what the Simon Fraser Student Society says.
SFSS issued a notice of withdrawal following that referendum, but CFS did not accept the plebiscite, which they claim was not conducted in accordance with the federation’s by-laws. However, the organizations have apparently agreed on a schedule to have the referendum by March 2008.
“The result of plebiscite means that students want to get out, and the SFSS is going ahead with the process under CFS by-laws,” said SFSS president Derrick Harder.
CFS alleged that the ballot was written in biased language.
Harder said that according to CFS bylaws, student societies are required to submit a petition signed by 10 per cent of the student body, after which a referendum providing enough time for student groups to respond with “yes” or “no” campaigns would be needed before a student union may quit the federation.
Harder said that he had not spoken to CFS President Amanda Aziz since March. “She is hard to get a hold of,” he said.
Harder said SFU students were dissatisfied with CFS-BC because it was “internally dysfunctional…ineffective as a lobby organization…and costing too much.”
Being federated with the CFS costs SFU students $400,000 a year, he explained, and said he believed that they were not getting any returns from it.
The current board of SFSS executives were elected after seven members of the last board were impeached in a court case involving a controversial fi ring.
SFSS has been part of CFS since 1981.
