A feud between combative factions of the Canadian Federation of Students- Quebec has blown into a full-scale legal battle, resulting in impeachment, political scandal, jealousy, and thousands of dollars in legal fees, paid with students’ money.
The dispute began over the summer, when the Dawson Student Union and the Students’ Society of McGill University were allowed to run candidates in the June elections. Both are prospective members of CFS-Q, whose bylaws are unclear as to whether prospective members are allowed to elect executives.
The Concordia Students’ Union initially accepted Mehdi Al-Talibi from the DSU and Nina Amrov from the SSMU as executives on CFS-Q. A few weeks later, however, CSU execs realized that Al-Talibi and Amrov’s undergraduate unions don’t pay fees to the CFS-Q, which disqualifies them from holding office, and called for their removal from office.
In an interview, Al-Talibi expressed suspicions that CSU was simply upset because one of their candidates for CFS-Q failed to win a position in June.
“They had a candidate who didn’t get his position in the end, and it took them a couple of weeks after that to find a flaw and point it out.”
A meeting between McGill, Concordia, and Dawson on Aug. 3 reportedly exploded into a shouting match full of racial slurs, dividing the DSU. Emma Boma-Savas, VP external of the DSU, was sent to defend Amrov and Al-Talibi, while other representatives demanded their impeachment. Brent Farrington went on to chair an ad hoc special general meeting of the remaining unions, and the leadership of the CFS-Q was subsequently impeached.
“There was nothing legitimate about it,” said Al-Talibi regarding the SMG. Al-Talibi questioned Farrington’s right to chair a CFS-Q meeting, as Farrington is a member of the national CFS caucus, not the Quebecois.
Over the next few weeks, the locks to CFS-Q’s office were changed multiple times as the two sides battled for control over the group’s bank account. The CFS-Q account was then frozen and an injunction was sent to the bank, prompting the Quebec Superior Court to take notice. Lack of access to their office and money has been a serious blow to the general day-to-day operations of CFS-Q. “For now the organization is really crippled and we’re working from outside the office, trying to get as much as we can done” Al-Talibi said.
Amanda Aziz, chairperson of CFS-National, informed DSU and SSMU that they could run for CFSQ executive positions even though they were prospective members. Justice Mark Peacock, however, suggested that the opposite was the case and that prospective members are not allowed to run for office, a recommendation Aziz will not challenge.
Will CFS-Q get its act together to challenge the lifting of the tuition fee freeze?
“In my opinion, it’s already too ate,” said Farrington. “The real victory would’ve been to prevent this implementation.” Farrington estimated that by September of next year, it will be impossible to do anything about the defreeze of Quebec tuition without 80% public support. “There’s a lot of divide, my hope is that students will remain united,” Farrington added.
In addition to leaving students without a representative voice, the feud is also costing students thousands of dollars. A trial will be held in Quebec Superior Court on Dec. 14 to decide the legitimate executives of CFS-Q. Patrice Blais, lawyer and executive director for the Concordia Graduate Students’ Association, estimated that the combined legal fees for both sides will top $100,000.
