The Center for Research Action on Race Relations says Studentcare’s Legal Care Plan will limit students’ access to legal help if the fee-levy is passed this November.
The Center for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR) Executive Director Fo Niemi urges students to vote against Studentcare’s Legal Care Plan’s fee-levy in the Concordia Student Union’s (CSU) upcoming byelections.
A CRARR press release published on Oct. 3 claims the new plan will threaten the existence of Concordia University’s current CSU services and deprive thousands of students of valued support when it comes to legal aid and representation, especially for English speakers.
“Adopting this insurance plan could limit services and support for students facing barriers in dealing with immigration and the [French] language,” said Niemi.
The Legal Care Plan trial period was adopted after a CSU special council meeting last July and put into effect in September. Legal help regarding immigration law and issues concerning non-lease housing are not included in the coverage. Likewise, if a student is accused of sexual misconduct or criminal offenses, a lawyer provided by Studentcare could not represent the individual in front of the university’s tribunal since lawyers are forbidden.
These situations are covered under the Legal Information Clinic (LIC), Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO), and Advocacy Centre.
Niemi highlighted that Bill 96 has put non-French speakers into situations where they require help to navigate the Quebec government’s now almost exclusive French system.
For example, individuals who require aid from the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) will only be offered help in French unless they qualify otherwise. These services are not covered by Studentcare’s plan, but CRARR works with the LIC to help students with these issues.
“It seems that the CSU has really not looked into [the consequences of Bill 96] in terms of graduating, internship, [and] eventually looking for work in the labour market. There’s a lot of unexpected consequences,” said Niemi. “We assume the Concordia student population could be seriously and adversely impacted by these changes, and [it] will require many students to use a lot of these support services of the CSU.”
The CSU declined to comment on the CRARR press release.
Niemi says that many international and out-of-province students turn to the LIC and the HOJO for help with issues regarding housing and immigration law, not only while they are studying but also to help plan for their futures beyond university to be able to stay in Quebec.
The Legal Care Plan is currently in a four-month trial period and, if fully adopted, will last until 2028. If this were to happen, CRARR claims it would put students also facing cases regarding gender, race, immigration status, disability, language, and social conditions at a disadvantage.
“The CSU must immediately scrutinize every element of this private plan by keeping the rights, needs and interests of students in mind,” stated CRARR’s Oct. 3 press release following reporting by the Concordian and the Link regarding Studentcare’s Legal Care Plan. “With its decision, the CSU voted to effectively curtail students’ access to justice and protection by outsourcing community-oriented student services to external corporate interests.”
CRARR’s press release also criticized the CSU for not being well-versed in the terms and conditions of the contract before the council voted the trial period into effect.
“If the CSU had indeed properly studied this Program before adopting it in July 2024 for a four-month trial period, then one can conclude that it has taken a most socially insensitive and regressive position more often associated with right-wing administrations,” the organization stated in its press release.
Studentcare disagrees with CRARR’s claims, saying that legal clinics often refer matters they cannot handle themselves to Studentcare because they are prohibited by law from providing legal advice. Studentcare stated that the 2023-2024 academic year saw over 300,000 Canadian students accessing the Legal Care Plan, with Quebec alone performing 17,000 cases of legal work valued at $3.4M to $6.2M.
“Obviously, we’re not going to answer any unfounded allegations,” said Studentcare’s spokesperson Marc-André Ross in an email. “This program by no means limits access to justice for students in need.”
