Student activists at the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) have collected over 3,000 signatures requesting that the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario (CFS-O) hold a referendum on decertification this March according to petition leader Ashleigh Ingle. On the morning of September 19, a petition asking the CFS-O to hold the referendum was received at the federation’s offices. According to a receipt provided to The Varsity, the package was signed for at 11:53 am by Ashkon Hashemi. Ashleigh Ingle, a former GSU executive mailed the provincial petition and is calling for a decertification vote that is expected to take place March 2014.
According to CFS-O bylaws, had to be received by the provincial office by September 24. Another petition must be sent separately to the CFS’ national office, where it must be received before the next national Annual General Meeting. Ingle, a graduate student at U of T who has been spearheading the petition drive, stated that the petition has surpassed the 20 per cent threshold required to trigger a referendum this year. This includes the signatures of over 3,000 GSU members.“There has been a huge amount of support from GSU members in response to this petition,” says Ingle, “This is the largest mandate provided by this membership to date, so the message is clear.”
Ingle is working with student organizers across Canada, who are engaged with similar movements to leave the CFS. Brendan Lehman, a graduate student leading the effort at Laurentian, said he had also sent a petition to CFS-O via Canada Post. “Many were shocked at how out of touch the CFS is, considering the amount they pay them every year. Personally, I am optimistic about eventual decertification,” he said. Alastair Woods, chairperson of CFS-O confirmed that the package from Ingle had been received but stated that, to his knowledge, Lehman’s package had not. According to the CFS bylaws, after a petition is received there is a period of validation where it is confirmed that it meets the specified 20 per cent threshold. At this point, the national executive is presented with the petition and is responsible for striking a committee to set a date for the referendum. The chief returning officer, appointed by the CFS, is responsible for executing the vote.
According to Ingle, 15 student unions are organizing to leave the CFS. Brent Farrington, CFS internal coordinator, cast doubt on that claim, stating that: “The people who are making the allegations are still not saying where this is alleged to be happening.” Unconfirmed reports from Laurentian allege that Anna Goldfinch, national executive representative of CFS-O, as well as other CFS executives, were present at Laurentian this week to work against decertification efforts. On allegations of counter-campaigns by the CFS, Farrington would only say: “The national executive does not have a motive to discuss these things until we have received an initiative from the membership.” In the coming months students will be engaged in conversation on the type of organization they would prefer to participate in, says Ingle, “We’ve followed the bylaws, we’ve collected the thousands of signatures, and it’s time for the CFS to allow democracy to occur.”
