On September 22, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) held its monthly board of directors meeting.

During the meeting, board members approved allocating money into the Mental Health Support Fund, discussed funding for the U of T Food Coalition, and questioned U of T’s protest policies.

Mental Health Support Fund 

During the meeting, the board approved allocating $250,000 from the Health and Dental reserve fund into the Mental Health Support Fund.

Recently, the union changed their mental health plan to 80 per cent coverage for up to $400 per year. Once the standard mental health coverage expires, students can apply for an additional $1,100 per year — up to $100 per visit — covered by the Mental Health Support Fund. In order for students to access this fund, they must submit a Google form to prove they are eligible. 

Students noticed the changes before the union properly addressed them, and criticized the union’s lack of transparency and the changes made to the plan. 

UTSU Vice-President (VP) Finance & Operations Elizabeth Shechtman mentioned during the meeting that premiums — the amount one pays monthly or annually — for the old health and dental insurance policy were set to go up by about 10 per cent. The union had a meeting with StudentCare — a provider of student health and dental plans in Canada — on September 23 to go through other options for students but has not yet provided any updates as of reporting. 

Shechtman also addressed privacy concerns students had, which she felt were “completely fair.” According to Shechtman, applications for the fund will be approved by a non-student member of the UTSU.

She noted that the union has signed nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with the university to further address privacy concerns. 

The allocated funds allow approximately 227 students to be covered by the Mental Health Support Fund. However, the total amount in the fund is unclear, and so is the amount of students the entire fund will cover. 

U of T protest policies 

During the executive updates, one board member raised a question about the union’s stance on U of T’s protest policies. 

On September 6, UofT Occupy for Palestine organized a back-to-school rally at King’s College Circle, where organizations across U of T released a statement “condemning UofT’s latest restrictions on protests.” 

However, a U of T spokesperson has since noted that no changes were made to the university’s protest policies for the 2024 fall semester. 

The board member mentioned that UTSU did not sign the release, while other unions across U of T — including the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union, and the U of T Graduate Students’ Union — signed the release. 

UTSU President Shehab Mansour said that the union is “always supporting freedom of expression” and has an upcoming meeting with the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students (OVPS) in October to “learn more about the thought process on their end.”

“Once we do have a bit more information from OVPS, we’re going to cater our response surrounding that and see how the UTSU can support and then bring attention to the matter,” said Mansour. 

U of T Food Coalition 

The meeting also highlighted $10,500 in funding given to the U of T Food Coalition — a network of students, staff, faculty, and student organizations that aims to combat food insecurity and advance food justice. In January, the coalition announced that it is aiming to provide an ongoing meal program to students for free and to faculty members on a “pay-what-you-can-fee structure.”

A board member asked if the UTSU had any plans to introduce a student levy — a fee taken from student tuition per semester — for the U of T Food Coalition to have a permanent flow of income.

UTSU VP Equity Sakeena Mohammad mentioned there have been discussions about the levy, as the coalition is currently running out of the UTSU Student Commons on a weekly basis but hopes to have its own space at some time in the future. 

The UTSU did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment in time for publication.