Two student politicians at the University of British Columbia will keep their jobs after facing possible impeachment for filing a human rights complaint to the United Nations over unaffordable education. President Blake Frederick and VP external Tim Chu of the Alma Mater Society have instead had heavy restrictions placed on their powers.
An hour before the meeting to impeach the execs, an 18-page legal opinion from AMS’s law firm, Davis LLP, informed the council that a recall or an impeachment motion would be illegal. The firm advised instead to censure, or formally reprimand, the two executives.
Despite the lack of an impeachment motion, over 200 students attended the council meeting on Dec. 7. Council unanimously passed a motion to censor Frederick and Chu and then a subsequent motion requiring the execs to report their activities on an hourly basis. At the meeting, Frederick called the UN complaint a “media stunt that was meant to engage public discussion about tuition.”
Frederick’s first hourly report has already stirred up some discussion, with activities like “Bubble Tea Break (2pm-2:30pm at the UBC Village)” and “Facebook (2:15pm-2:30pm).”
The AMS has scheduled its annual general meeting two weeks earlier than usual, on Feb. 12, to further punish Frederick and Chu. The new executive is officially brought in at the AGM.
According to the Facebook group “We oppose the AMS impeachment of Blake Frederick and Tim Chu,” Chu is quoted as saying that filing the UN complaint cost around $6,000. Frederick said it cost another $6,000 to get the legal opinion on the removal of directors.
