Author: Jacques Gallant

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Anti-tuition hike protest draws record numbers

Students staged the largest protest in Quebec history March 22. Photo by Navneet Pall.

Over 200,000 people took to the streets in the historic March 22 protest against tuition increases, but as far as the provincial government is concerned, the hikes are here to stay.

The march began officially at Place du Canada, where buses full of students from outside the city started arriving earlier in the day. The approximate length of the route was five kilometres, with protesters marching down both Sherbrooke and Ste-Catherine Streets to their ultimate destination, Place Jacques-Cartier in the Old Port.

Protesters held signs denouncing Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government, the leadership of Education Minister Line Beauchamp, and the idea that accessible education is not a priority.

Despite the massive turnout, the protest was extremely peaceful and the SPVM reported no major incidents during or after the march. Police presence was very light in comparison with other demonstrations that have taken place over the past few weeks.

On the morning of March 22, Charest told reporters at the National Assembly in Quebec City that his government would “never stop listening to students.”

The next day, his education minister told the Canadian Press that students needed to get back to class or risk facing consequences. Beauchamp reiterated that the government would not back down from its decision, and said that should students continue to boycott classes, they risk having their classes scheduled at night and semesters extended. Concordia already indicated in a previous statement that it has no intention of prolonging the winter term.

“We called for a peaceful, but loud demonstration. It was the biggest demonstration in the history of Quebec,” said Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec.

She went on to say that “Beauchamp has no choice now but to answer to 200,000 people speaking with one voice demanding accessible education.”

“The mobilization exceeded all our expectations,” said Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec President Léo Bureau-Blouin. “This is a precedent in student mobilization and I’m sure it’s going to have a huge impact on the Liberal government.”

The Concordia delegation lead the way for the better part of the three-hour demonstration.

“This sends an incredibly strong message to the government,” said Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill of the protest. “If anything else, the Liberal party has lost 200,000 voters for life.”

The participation far exceeded the predictions made earlier in the day, proving that there is more public support for the student movement than estimated. Despite the success of the demonstration, Gill explained that protesters still have much work to do.

“The fight is not over,” she said. “There will be massive actions in the coming weeks until the government backs down.”

Participants in the March 22 protest represented every age demographic, from toddlers with their parents to cheering grandparents. Grade 10 student Terra Leger-Goodes of Paul-Gerin-Lajoie School in Outremont was at the march with a large group of students from her class.

“We heard that the cost of going to university is going up by a large amount, so we’re here to protest that. Society can only advance if people can go to school and gain knowledge,” she said, mentioning that by the time she enters university four to five years from now, the government’s tuition hikes will have almost reached their maximum. The Charest Liberals are planning to increase tuition by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017.

For grandmother Danielle Genereux, accessible education is an issue that affects everyone in Quebec, and should be at the top of the government’s priority list.

“Major investments in education should be an absolute priority. There should be no further discussion on that,” said Genereux, a grandmother of seven. “[The government] says opposition against tuition increases is not representative of the whole population. But today, they will see that it is representative.”

At the end of the march, Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told students to return to their schools and to keep the student movement going. By 6 p.m., most of the protesters had dispersed, crowding into the nearest metro stations.

CLASSE, one of the main organizers of the day’s march, is planning a series of protests next week in an effort to cause an “economic disturbance” in the city, which they say will only end when the government retracts its decision to up tuition.

Opposition parties lend their support

Earlier in the morning of March 22, a press conference was held at Palais des Congrès by the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec and the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, and included representatives from groups such as the Centrale des syndicats du Quebec and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, as well as opposition political parties, the Parti Québécois, Québec Solidaire and Option nationale.

At the conference, PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterated that a PQ-elected government would not proceed with the tuition hikes, and would call for a provincial summit on post-secondary education. “The Charest government must stop considering students as enemies of the state,” she said.

QS spokesperson Françoise David, for her part, emphasized that the government could increase taxes on larger corporations in order to bring in more revenue, rather than asking for more money from students.

After the conference, PQ post-secondary education critic Marie Malavoy spoke to The Concordian about the issue of mismanagement of public funds in Quebec universities that has often been brought up in the debate on tuition increases.

Referring to Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s recent decision to fine Concordia with $2 million for handing out six severance packages totalling $3.1 million, Malavoy said “there is no reason to have targeted one university. We must look at the salaries, the benefits and the severance packages at all universities. It’s foolish to think it’s just Concordia,” she said.

Malavoy mentioned that an idea has been floating among PQ ranks to institute a “commission” to look more closely at the management of public funds in Quebec universities.

With files from Joel Ashak.

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Hundreds of thousands flood the streets

The scene at Berri and Ontario at Thursday's tuition hike protest where an estimated 200,000 people took to Montreal's streets.

Check out a photo slide show from the march here.

Over 200,000 people took to the streets March 22 to protest tuition increases, many of whom were students from universities across Quebec.

The Concordia delegation, which led the way for the better part of the three-hour event, congregated near the Hall building around 12 p.m. Over 500 students then began to proceed down Ste-Catherine Street lead by Concordia Student Union VP external Chad Walcott, and President Lex Gill.

The scene at Berri and Ontario at Thursday’s tuition hike protest where an estimated 200,000 people took to Montreal’s streets.

The march began officially at Canada Place, where buses full of students from outside the city started arriving earlier in the day. The approximate length of the route was 5 km, with protesters marching down both Sherbrooke and Ste-Catherine Streets to their ultimate destination, Jacques-Cartier Place in the Old Port.

Protesters held signs denouncing Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government, the leadership of Education Minister Line Beauchamp, and the idea that accessible education is not a priority.

The historic nature of the march had some people in the Twittersphere saying that a “Printemps erable” (Maple Spring) — clearly a play on Arab Spring — had arrived in Quebec.

Despite the massive turnout, the protest was extremely peaceful and the SPVM reported no major incidents during or after the march. Police presence was very light in comparison with other demonstrations that have taken place over the past few weeks.

“This sends an incredibly strong message to the government,” said Gill of the protest. “If anything else, the Liberal party has lost 200,000 voters for life.”

She went on to say that the march was the “largest mass demonstration over a public issue […] in years. It’s twice what they had in 2005,” she said of the last major student strike in Quebec.

The participation far exceeded the predictions made earlier in the day, proving that there is more public support for the student movement than estimated. Despite the success of the demonstration, Gill explained that protesters still have much work to do.

“The fight is not over,” she said. “There will be massive actions in the coming weeks until the government backs down.”

Walcott agreed with her saying that “it’s not a done deal,” and student groups need to “keep the pressure on. He said that the organizers’ willingness to communicate with the SPVM really made a significant difference in the tone of the day’s activities.

Participants in the March 22 demonstration represented every age demographic, from toddlers with their parents to cheering grandparents. Grade 10 student Terra Leger-Goodes of Paul-Gerin-Lajoie School in Outremont was at the march with a large group of students from her class.

“We heard that the cost of going to university is going up by a large amount, so we’re here to protest that. Society can only advance if people can go to school and gain knowledge,” she said, mentioning that by the time she enters university four to five years from now, the government’s tuition hikes will have almost reached their maximum. The Charest Liberals are planning to increase tuition by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017.

For grandmother Danielle Genereux, accessible education is an issue that affects everyone in Quebec, and should be at the top of the government’s priority list.

“Major investments in education should be an absolute priority. There should be no further discussion on that,” said Genereux, a grandmother of seven. “[The government] says opposition against tuition increases is not representative of the whole population. But today, they will see that it is representative.”

At the end of the march, Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told students to return to their schools and to keep the student movement going. By 6 p.m., most of the protesters had dispersed, crowding into the nearest metro stations.

CLASSE, one of the main organizers of the day’s march, is planning a series of protests next week in an effort to cause an “economic disturbance” in the city, which they say will only end when the government retracts its decision to up tuition. The first “manif-action” takes place Monday, March 26 at 11 a.m. at Henri-Julien Park.

Concordia’s next general assembly where students will vote whether or not to remain on strike is scheduled for Monday, March 26 at 2 p.m. on the Reggie’s terrace. The university has already made clear that as of Monday, students who continue to block access to classrooms or buildings will face charges.

Opposition parties join students

Earlier in the morning, a press conference was held at Palais des Congres by the Federation etudiante universitaire du Quebec and the Federation etudiante collegiale du Quebec, and included representatives from groups such as the Centrale des syndicats du Quebec and the Confederation des syndicats nationaux, as well as opposition political parties, the Parti Quebecois, Quebec Solidaire and Option Nationale.

At the conference, PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterated that a PQ-elected government would not proceed with the tuition hikes, and would call for a provincial summit on post-secondary education. “The Charest government must stop considering students as enemies of the state,” she said.

QS spokesperson Francoise David, for her part, emphasized that the government could increase taxes on larger corporations in order to bring in more revenue, rather than asking for more money from students.

After the conference, PQ post-secondary education critic Marie Malavoy spoke to The Concordian about the issue of mismanagement of public funds in Quebec universities that has often been brought up in the debate on tuition increases.

Speaking on Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s recent decision to impose a $2 million fine on Concordia for handing out severance packages totalling $3.1 million, Malavoy said “there is no reason to have targeted one university. We must look at the salaries, the benefits and the severance packages at all universities. It’s foolish to think it’s just Concordia,” she said.

Malavoy mentioned that an idea has been floating among PQ ranks to institute a “commission” to look more closely at the management of public funds in Quebec universities.

Reaction from the government to the March 22 protest became more severe as the days passed. On the morning of March 22, Charest told reporters at the National Assembly in Quebec City that his government would “never stop listening to students.”

By Friday, his education minister was telling the Canadian Press that students needed to get back to class, or else they would face consequences. Line Beauchamp reiterated that the government would not back down from its decision, and said that should students continue to boycott classes, they risk having their semesters extended or classes scheduled at night. Concordia already indicated in a previous statement that it has no intention of prolonging the winter term.

 

Police officers on horses were at the tail end of the march.

 

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Fake email offers different ConU position on strike

Concordia’s media relations team was in damage control mode on Wednesday after a fake email was sent out indicating, among other things, that the university would be granting academic amnesty to all students who have been striking against tuition hikes over the past several weeks.

The university says it’s unclear how many people received the hoax message.

The email was sent around 8:30 a.m. by a person identifying themselves as Concordia media relations director “Christina Moto,” clearly a play on the name of Concordia’s actual spokesperson, Christine Mota. Three hours later, Concordia issued a statement saying that the email was fake, and that the university’s position on the strike and on the government’s planned tuition increases has not changed.

Mota herself said that the email was “unfortunate,” and said that the university had been fielding calls today from students who were confused with Concordia’s apparent change of heart. She said it was unclear how many people received the email. Asked on Wednesday if Concordia would conduct an investigation to find the source of the “Christina Moto” email, she said that the university’s first priority was to get the right information out to the public. In an email on Friday, Mota said that the university was “examining [its] options.”

In the fake email, the sender mentions an early-morning March 21 gala that was to be held at Concordia’s GM building, where the university would “celebrate the ongoing pursuit of accessible education in Quebec.”

The person then went on to describe ways that Concordia would “enhance its competitive position among world universities,” which would include: granting academic amnesty to student strikers, investing $3.1 million into student bursaries and scholarships (equivalent to the total sum of severance packages handed out to six former senior Concordia employees), calling on the government to pursue other methods of funding for universities, including progressive taxation, and finally, re-evaluating the composition of Concordia’s Board of Governors by having members of the Concordia community elect the community-at-large members.

Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill said that the CSU was not responsible for the email, and called it a “light-hearted” form of political satire.

“I feel that while this press release was cheeky, it drew attention to a lot of the things that are wrong with the university, things that students wish they would hear from the university,” she said, adding that she hoped no students were confused by the email. “It was publicized pretty early in the day that it was a hoax message.”

In the statement later sent out by the university, Concordia reminded members of the campus community that its position on the strike remains the same. It has already made clear that students who choose to strike must discuss their academic status with their professors, who may grant leniency if desired.

With regards to severance packages, Concordia announced in early March that it is hiring external auditors to review five severance packages totalling $2.4 million that were issued between 2009 and 2010. In terms of Board of Governors composition, the body will be reduced to 25 members as of July 1, with 15 members forming the community-at-large faction. The Shapiro Report, which looked into Concordia’s governance troubles last spring, called on Concordia to ensure that the incoming community-at-large members represent the diversity of the City of Montreal. The BoG has often faced criticism for the fact that many of its external members are from the corporate world.

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For sale: a presidential condo

Graphic by Katie Brioux

A luxurious condominium on Doctor Penfield Avenue is up for sale this morning, although it’s highly unlikely that its occupant is willing to vacate the premises.
A group of students and professors from post-secondary institutions throughout Montreal are holding a “sale” at 10:30 a.m. on March 20 in front of the Hall building, hoping to find a high bidder for Concordia President Frederick Lowy’s condo. The sale is not actually a sale, but rather “a symbolic, creative, fun event, that is more meant to get the dialogue going,” said School of Community and Public Affairs student Liz Colford, the event’s student spokesperson.
“The idea is anybody is invited to come and place a bid for the condo. We’re hoping for a big turnout,” she said.
The major source of frustration for the organizers is a controversial $1.4 million interest free loan that was issued by Concordia to Lowy last year upon his return to the university following the Board of Governors’ ousting of Judith Woodsworth. Lowy, who served as Concordia’s rector between 1995 and 2005, was on the verge of moving and had already made a commitment to purchase another residence outside of Montreal, and the loan was provided to cover that transaction.
Concordia has stated in the past that it has an agreement in place that would ensure that Lowy, who makes $350,000 a year, repay the loan once he sells his Montreal condo when his term ends this summer.
According to the event’s other spokesperson, Philippe Morin, an economics teacher at CEGEP Marie-Victorin, the idea for the home’s auction came about at a meeting of Profs contre la hausse, a group of professors who oppose the provincial government’s imminent tuition hikes.
“We wanted to bring under the spotlight the mismanagement of public funds at universities, part of which is the ridiculous pay of university principals, and Concordia’s principal quickly appeared on our shortlist,” he said. “Concordia has been kind of emblematic of mismanagement of funds over the past five or six years. […] Just the fact that Concordia lent [Lowy] $1.4 million interest free […] while thousands of students have to pay incredible debts and interests to banks, it just seemed too ironic for a university that actively promotes tuition hikes.”
Concordia has come under fire frequently over the past year for its management of public funds, not only related to Lowy’s loan, but also regarding severance packages totalling more than $3 million that were dolled out to several former senior administrators dating back to 2009.
The university recently raised the ire of Education Minister Line Beauchamp, who slapped Concordia with a $2 million fine for its handling of public money. The fine came shortly after the university announced that it would hire external auditors to review severance packages totalling $2.4 million handed out to five former senior employees.
“If Concordia is uncomfortable with what we’re planning, it’s because they know [the loan] makes no sense,” said Morin, a former Concordia student.
The university declined to comment on this morning’s sale.

Auction results

And the highest bid goes to: all Concordia students, who are paying for Lowy’s zero interest rate loan.

While the auction was set to take place in front of the Hall building, the 60 students who showed up for the “sale” decided to turn it into a march towards Lowy’s condo on Doctor Penfield Avenue and hold the bid directly in front of his condo.

Once there, they started hanging “on sale” signs on the walls of the building and pulling chairs on the street to hold an improvised “class” about universities’ mismanagement of public funds.

“It was really fun,” said Colford. “We learned a lot and came to the conclusion that, considering the money paid for Lowy’s loan comes from Concordia, and if we, students, consider ourselves to be Concordia, then this condo already belongs to us.”

The street-class was taught by School of Community and Public Affairs professor Anna Kruzynski and Eric Martin, philosophy professor at the Édouard-Montpetit CEGEP and co-author of the book University Inc. Kruzynski and Martin gave a speech about the “symptoms” of an education shifting from an institution supposed to teach knowledge and values, to a profit-making corporation.

“Universities’ administrators today live like they are rich corporate big wigs,” said Martin. “The problem is that they also behave like ones. The border between academics and corporations is slowly disappearing and this is our big problem. University is a sacred institution and corporations should not come and fuck it up.”

After the passionate speech, the “buyers” in the auction were invited to increase their bids by lifting signs reading what the condo’s value could buy for the university: “1,076 computers,” or “175 student meal plans.”

“The money used by universities in such transactions is taxpayers’ and students’ money,” said Martin Godon, coordinator of the action committee Profs contre la hausse. “In the Roman empire, people who used public money for personal usage could face a death penalty and an expropriation of all their goods by the state. I’m not saying we should do the same but this points out how scandalous and absurd all this is.”
With files from Sophia Loffreda
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The strike is on

Students vote to strike in H-110 March 7. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Students vote to strike in H-110 March 7. Photo by Navneet Pall.

Concordia undergraduate students are officially on strike as of this Thursday, following a general assembly vote last Wednesday organized by the Concordia Student Union.

But according to a statement sent to students on March 9 by Concordia Provost David Graham, the strike is not actually a “strike,” and no student can be forced to participate.

“The term ‘strike’ is specific to employees who have a collective agreement with an employer. Students are not bound by an employee collective agreement and, therefore, are not eligible to ‘strike’ and cannot be forced to do so by a student association,” he wrote.

He emphasized that it is up to the individual student to decide whether or not they wish to attend class. Graham also reminded students that by missing evaluations or handing in assignments late, they can still be subjected to academic sanctions. He said it is students’ responsibility to work out their academic standing with their professors.

Last Wednesday’s general assembly got off to a rough start, after it began an hour late due to slow registration and technical difficulties with the live stream. Students filed into the four designated areas, H-110, the 7th floor Hall lounge, the LB building and Loyola’s The Hive, making for an estimated 1,500 students in attendance, out of a possible 35,000 undergraduates.

“This is the largest general assembly that has ever happened in Concordia history by far,” said CSU President Lex Gill at the time.

After a moderated discussion, the final vote was announced as 1,152 in favour of the strike and 557 against.

Students also voted on two amendments from the floor, one to change the dates of the strike from March 22 to 29, to March 15 to 22, in order to present a more timely opposition to the provincial budget on March 20, and the other indicating that students would not be permitted to blockade building and classroom entrances. The last amendment is something that will be difficult, if not impossible, for the CSU to enforce, said VP external Chad Walcott.

At Loyola, the mood was visibly different than what was transpiring downtown. There were no accusations of bias hurled at CSU VPs Morgan Pudwell and Melissa Fuller, contrary to what happened with Walcott downtown.

During a question and answer period, one student complained that not enough advertising for the strike vote had been done at Loyola, something Fuller said she worked hard on.

“As a Loyola student and as VP Loyola, I always feel I could do better. I wish we could have gotten as many students as possible involved. I held an information session with all of Loyola’s member associations, and had them send the information out to their people,” she said. Posters had also been placed on walls around campus.

Confusion was prevalent during most of the meeting in all four rooms, as students were constantly asking what they were voting on, and if it was now time to vote in favour or against. Some students were also frustrated with the voting process.

“This process is undemocratic, because most students can’t come to vote,” said cellular and molecular biology student David De Longchamp, who also said he’s against the strike. “Having two to three days where people can just vote with ballots, that would be a lot more democratic.” The CSU’s bylaws stipulate that for general assemblies, a vote by show of placards is required.

The new strike period will be in direct conflict with polling for the CSU’s general election, happening March 20 to 22.

“At first I was very worried,” said Gill of the scheduling conflict. “It’s worded very clearly in the motion that people won’t be blocking access to buildings. It’s reassuring on the point of the elections that people will be able to get in and vote.”

Despite the overwhelming majority vote, not all students were pleased with the outcome. Bjorne Rodal, a political science student, said that though he understands where his peers are coming from, he doesn’t support the cause.

“Students should pay for the service they’re provided,” said Rodal.

The Graduate Students’ Association also voted for an unlimited general strike on March 6, which was set to begin this past Monday.

Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota explained that though the university has not announced plans to add additional security during the upcoming strike, they have been monitoring protest activity and will continue to do so.

“Each event is different and each poses different challenges. It’s impossible to speculate on how each will be handled,” she said.

There was no date in the actual motion to hold a vote to prolong the strike past March 22, but the resolution does state that students have the ability to call another GA if they so choose. Gill said that most likely the CSU will not hold another vote to renew the strike, unless called upon to do so by students.

A petition is set to begin circulating this week demanding that the Arts and Science Federation of Associations call a GA of its own to vote on the strike. In order for the petition to be accepted, it would require 2.5 per cent of the regular members, so approximately 375 signatures. A date for the proposed GA has not yet been set.

The petition has been endorsed by Cassie Smith, former CSU judicial board chair, and CSU councillor Irmak Bahar.

With files from Joel Ashak.

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Education minister fines Concordia $2 million

Education Minister Line Beauchamp has fined Concordia $2 million for approving millions of dollars in severance packages handed out to former senior employees over the past several years.

The decision was communicated to Board of Governors Chair Peter Kruyt in a letter dated March 8.

Although Concordia President Frederick Lowy has indicated that the university will “act in accordance with its responsibilities,” the minister’s decision to pull the $2 million from the university’s 2012-2013 provincial funding has sparked widespread condemnation from the campus community.

“It’s unfair to make the entire Concordia community pay for the actions of a few people,” said Concordia University Faculty Association President Lucie Lequin. “Maybe this will mean less services for students, or make it more difficult for employees to negotiate better salaries. For us, the minister’s letter is nothing more than a political and public relations move. In the face of student unrest and people citing Concordia as an example of mismanagement of funds, the minister felt she had to act.”

In her letter to Kruyt, Beauchamp wrote of past communications with Kruyt in January and February when she expressed her concern over the number of people leaving senior positions at Concordia, and ultimately over the university’s “management of public funds.”

She also criticized Concordia for rehiring and remunerating former Concordia President Judith Woodsworth, who left the university with a severance package worth $703, 500 in December 2010. Woodsworth, who returned in January, is currently a translation professor with tenure in the French department.

The letter, obtained by several media outlets including TVA, who posted it to their website, indicates that Beauchamp had urged Concordia in January to use “moderation” when making budgetary decisions, and that the university’s approval of severance packages worth millions of dollars had “given citizens cause for concern over the proper use of public funds by universities.”

In a press release issued on March 9, Beauchamp said that Concordia had shown “a lack of control,” and that the university must now face the consequences for its actions. By sending the letter to Concordia, Beauchamp said she was signalling to all Quebec universities that “healthy management is synonymous with transparency and efficiency. I insist that our universities be administered efficiently and rigorously.”

At Monday’s Board of Governors meeting, Kruyt indicated that “the letter from the minister does not really change the work that we do. Her choice of language is unfortunate. Concordia is one of the most financially responsible institutions in Quebec.”

Lowy told the BoG that “as far as we’re concerned, the events of the past do not necessarily reflect the current management,” and added that, with regards to the university’s reputation, “many alumni and donors will take note of the minister’s letter.”

For Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill, the letter validated what students had been saying all along about “mismanagement of funds,” but she also indicated that Beauchamp had not offered the proper response.

“By acknowledging that there’s a serious issue at Concordia, the ministry is only trying to save face. What the minister is doing is just a reaction, it’s not a solution,” she said.

At the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association, chair of communications and cinema professor Dave Douglas said that, if anything, Concordia has been making progress on governance and transparency since the BoG and Senate adopted most of the recommendations from the Shapiro Report, which came about in spring 2011 after the BoG ousted Woodsworth.

“When you think about it, $2 million is not a large amount when it comes to the government’s overall budget,” he said. “The loss of that $2 million will be dearly felt at Concordia, but I don’t know if it will really improve the government’s revenue. That money could have perhaps been used instead for financial aid for students.”

Graduate Students’ Association President Robert Sonin called Beauchamp’s decision “absurd,” saying that “it highlights how out of touch the ministry is, how poorly administered our higher education system is, and how completely unaccountable the people who make poor decisions are.”

Ministry of Education spokesperson Esther Chouinard said she could not confirm if Beauchamp had decided to send the letter now because of Concordia’s recent decision to hire external auditors to review severance packages worth $2.4 million that were given to five former senior employees who left Concordia between 2009 and 2010. The hiring of the auditors will come at a cost of $25,000, and was approved by the Board of Governors on March 2 after being proposed by Lowy. Chouinard said it would appear that the ministry was not informed of that decision.
Gill said she supports the hiring of auditors, but that the university and the ministry need to go even further and conduct an “investigation” into the issuing of severance packages and the management of public funds as a whole.

With files from Marilla Steuter-Martin.

The six severance packages that will be looked at by the ad hoc auditing committee:
$605,000 to former internal audit director Ted Nowak
$639,000 to former internal assistant audit director Saad Zubair
$700,000 to former vice-president of advancement and alumni affairs Kathy Assayag
$332,000 to former chief financial officer Larry English
$129,000 to former security director Jean Brisebois

Judith Woodsworth’s severance package of $703,500 and that of her predecessor’s, Claude Lajeunesse, who left halfway through his term with a $1.3 million severance package in 2007, will not be among those analyzed by the auditors.

Notable quotes:

“It’s unfair to make the entire Concordia community pay for the actions of a few people.” – Lucie Lequin, CUFA president

“Many alumni and donors will take note of the minister’s letter.” – Concordia President Frederick Lowy

“I insist that our universities be administered efficiently and rigorously.” – Education minister Line Beauchamp

“By acknowledging that there’s a serious issue at Concordia, the ministry is only trying to save face.” – Lex Gill, CSU president

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Concordia undergraduates declare strike

The long-awaited Concordia Student Union general assembly got off to a rough start, after it began an hour late due to the slow registration and technical difficulties with the live stream.

For over an hour, students continued to file in to the four designated areas, H-110, the 7th floor Hall lounge, the downtown library and Loyola’s The Hive, making for an estimated 1,500 students in attendance.

“This is the largest general assembly that has ever happened in Concordia history by far,” said CSU President Lex Gill.

After a moderated discussion, the final vote which took place around 6:15 p.m., was announced as1,152 in favour of the strike, and 557 against.

Gill explained that coordinating the strike will take a lot of hard work in the coming weeks. “There’s a huge challenge of communication coming and we have to make sure we do it right,” she said. “When 1,100 people tell us what to do, we listen.”

Early on in the discussion, students voted on an amendment from the floor to change the dates of the strike from March 22 to 29, to March 15 to 22, in order to present a more timely opposition to the provincial budget, which will be released March 20. The amendment passed with 821 votes for and 160 against, officially changing the dates of the strike.

The other amendment made to the motion was that students would not be permitted to blockade building and classroom entrances in protest, something that will be difficult, if not impossible, for the CSU to enforce, said VP external Chad Walcott.

“We’re adults let’s act that way, let’s have a student strike that is peaceful, constructive and creative,” he said.

The new strike period will be in direct conflict with polling for the CSU’s general election, happening March 20 to 22.

“At first I was very worried,” said Gill of the schedule conflict. “It’s worded very clearly in the motion that people won’t be bloking access to buildings. It’s reassuring on the point of the elections that people will be able to get in and vote.”

Gill told The Concordian that she was very pleased to see this vote “breaking the myth that anglophone students don’t want to be part of this movement.”

Despite the overwhelming majority vote, not all students were pleased with the outcome. Bjorne Rodal, a political science student, said that though he understands where his peers are coming from, he doesn’t support the cause.

“Students should pay for the service they’re provided,” said Rodal. “Most of all I’m against the strike because no one should take the right from people to go to class and finish their semesters.”

Walcott, who gave the initial presentation at the GA, said the strike will be a positive step.

“No matter how effective our strike is, it’s going to get a good discussion going at Concordia,” he said.

The results from the strike vote at Loyola’s The Hive was 113 in favour, 83 against and four abstentions.

The mood in the room was visibly different than what was transpiring at the downtown voting locations. There were no accusations of bias hurled at CSU VPs Morgan Pudwell and Melissa Fuller, contrary to what happened with Walcott downtown, and there was very little effort made by the members to discourage other people whose views differed from their own from speaking.

Fuller, who is the CSU’s VP Loyola and services, said she was pleased with the turnout and the result, indicating she thought it was going to be much closer. During a question and answer period prior to the vote, one student complained that not enough advertising for the strike vote had been done at Loyola, something Fuller said she worked hard on.

“As a Loyola student and as VP Loyola, I always feel I could do better. I wish we could have gotten as many students as possible involved. I held an information session with all of Loyola’s member associations, and had them send the information out to their people,” she said. Posters had also been placed on walls throughout the campus.

Although the general assembly was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., technical difficulties with the audiovisual equipment used to broadcast the discussions at the downtown locations pushed the GA’s start time closer to 4 p.m. Registration also slowed things down, with only three computers available for volunteers to check students’ ID cards at The Hive’s door. Some students left in frustration, while others headed to the downtown voting locations because they had class.

“Things are always difficult when technology is involved. I wish we could have had it run a lot smoother for students,” said Fuller.

Confusion was also prevalent during most of the meeting, as students were constantly asking what they were voting on, and if it was now time to vote in favour or against. Volunteers did their best to explain the situation. Some students were also frustrated with the voting process.

“This process is undemocratic, because most students can’t come to vote,” said cellular and molecular biology student David De Longchamp, who also said he’s against the strike. “Having two to three days where people can just vote with ballots, that would be a lot more democratic.” The CSU’s bylaws stipulate that for general assemblies, a vote by show of placards is required.

During the Q&A with VP Morgan Pudwell before the vote, students spoke about living with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and expressed concern that if students choose to prolong the strike after March 22, their exam period could be cancelled. Pudwell responded that it’s up to the university to reschedule exams if necessary.

Another general assembly will be held on March 22 to decide whether or not to continue the strike.

On Tuesday the Graduate Student’s Association voted for an unlimited general strike beginning March 12.

University response

In a letter forwarded to the entire student body on March 9, Provost David Graham gave the university’s official position on the upcoming strike, writing that though “the university fully respects the freedom of students to express their views on important issues […] Concordia has a responsibility to provide services that are part of its agreement with its students, even if some students choose not to attend class as a form of protest.”

Graham echoed the sentiments of his last official statement, saying that all university operations would continue as usual in spite of a student boycott. He went on to say that “the university has no intention of extending the winter 2012 term,” and that all academic expectations presented at the beginning of term would still apply to students.

With Files from Joel Ashak.

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Missing meetings, without consequences

The most recent Board of Governors meeting on Feb. 10, which ended abruptly when three student representatives left the room in protest, highlighted a serious issue when it comes to Concordia’s governing bodies: the difficulty at sometimes attaining quorum, or, the trouble at getting certain individuals to attend meetings at all.Board of Governors
The BoG meeting came to a halt because with the sudden departure of student governors AJ West, Cameron Monagle and Erik Chevrier, quorum, which is 21, was no longer met, effectively cancelling the meeting before it could go into open session. Keep in mind that the BoG is comprised of 42 members, so nearly half of the body’s governors were not in attendance that day.
Although the identities of those absent governors, as well as those who were missing at the January meeting, will not be revealed until the BoG approves its minutes at its next gathering on April 19, those members can at least rest assured that no form of discipline will be levelled against them.
Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota indicated that neither the BoG nor Senate have consequences in place for governors or senators who regularly miss meetings. There isn’t even a formal requirement for members to inform the secretary that they will be absent.
Mota explained that the “notice of the meetings always asks governors or senators to let the secretary know if they are unable to attend. Some do and some do not.”
According to the approved minutes from the BoG’s September, November and December meetings (October’s was cancelled due to “quorum issues”), five governors, all of whom are external members, missed two out of three meetings during the semester: Norman Hebert, Andrew Molson, Baljit Singh Chadha, Helene Fortin and Tony Meti.
According to student governor AJ West, who has yet to miss a BoG meeting, it isn’t just governors missing meetings that is problematic when it comes to attendance.
“I do notice that people leave the meetings too, which is also a problem because issues that we’ve [student governors] added to the agenda are often placed last,” he said.
West indicated that there should be a clear process in place for governors to submit their regrets for not attending.
“If you’re not showing up for one or two board meetings, I understand, but if you’re skipping more than half of them, perhaps governors should rethink their time commitments to the board, or their other commitments,” he said.Senate
At Senate, representatives tied for the top spot of senators who have missed the most meetings are both students.
Engineering and computer science representative Tina Salameh, who was elected by popular vote in last year’s general election, missed every single meeting this year except for September’s, and only officially resigned in late January. She said it appeared that Senate secretary Danielle Tessier wasn’t notified of her resignation, which is why she was marked absent at meetings when she had already considered herself as resigned. She listed school, work and health complications as reasons for leaving her position.
JMSB senator Daniel Shakibaian has so far only attended the September and November meetings. He said exams, case competition work and a job interview kept him away from Senate, and indicated that “it is disappointing that I have had other commitments that have coincided with Senate meetings: unfortunately, everyone seems to think that doing things on a Friday [the day Senate meetings are held] means that you’re available.”
After being contacted by The Concordian, Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill said she would ensure that a replacement for Tina Salameh on Senate be discussed at the next CSU council meeting. She also praised this year’s team of student representatives, saying “I want to point out how incredibly active undergraduate senators have been this year compared to previous years. I think if you look at committee minutes and meeting minutes from previous years you’ll see that too.”

CSU council
Out of the three governing bodies that likely affect Concordia students the most — the Board of Governors, Senate and CSU council — only the last of the three actually has consequences in place for representatives who regularly skip meetings, and the council chair has certainly had his fair share of councillors to discipline.
According to chair Nick Cuillerier, under the new bylaws that took effect March 1, councillors who miss three meetings or more are deemed to have resigned. Before March 1, the consequence would be that the councillor lose their voting privileges, but still be allowed to sit in on council meetings.
According to Cuillerier’s latest tally, four councillors have missed three meetings or more since last June: JMSB councillors Anthony D’Urbano and Ariel Dabora, and engineering and computer science councillors Fares Jandali Rifai and Emran Ghasemi. Only Ghasemi responded to The Concordian’s request for comment, saying that sports and his work with the SWARM, a group dedicated to building Concordia students’ support for the Stingers, has kept him very occupied over the past few months.
Although Cuillerier has kept a meticulous list of councillors’ attendance record, the same kind of organization cannot be said of the council’s meeting minutes. The minutes from several meetings have yet to be posted online, and were sent to The Concordian by council secretary Melissa Wheeler, who explained that with the recent departure of the CSU’ systems administrator, it has been difficult to find a “secure way” of uploading the minutes to the CSU’s website.
Nonetheless, some of the minutes don’t include a list of councillors present, while none of them indicate who was absent, even though both BoG and Senate meeting minutes do. Wheeler explained that her method of taking attendance is the same as past council secretaries.

SIDEBAR

Meetings missed 2011-2012

Board of Governors (all external members):

Norman Hebert – 2
Helene Fortin – 2
Baljit Singh Chadha – 2
Tony Meti – 2

Senate:

Tina Salameh (engineering and computer science student) – 4
Daniel Shakibaian (JMSB student) – 4
Prof. M. Reza Soleymani (engineering and computer science) – 2
Prof. William Sims (arts and science) – 2
Prof. Jason Lewis (fine arts) – 2
Prof. Michel Magnan (JMSB) – 2

CSU council:

Ariel Dabora (JMSB) – 4
Fares Jandali Rifai (engineering) – 4
Emran Ghasemi (engineering) – 4
Anthony D’Urbano (JMSB) – 3

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Lowy on the BoG

Interim Concordia University President Frederick Lowy adresses students' call for broadcasting Board of Governors meetings - Photo by Navneet Pall
Interim Concordia University President Frederick Lowy adresses students’ call for broadcasting Board of Governors meetings – Photo by Nazli Bozoglu

Last Friday’s Board of Governors meeting ended abruptly even before its open session began. The meeting came to a halt toward the end of its hour-long closed session, when three student governors, undergraduates AJ West and Cameron Monagle and graduate student Erik Chevrier, walked out in protest over a motion to discuss the presence of cameras in the meeting. The representatives said they felt the discussion should have been held in the open session, when members of the audience would have been able to observe. With the absence of the three student governors, the BoG did not have quorum to continue with the meeting.
While the majority of governors already voiced their disapproval of the idea in January when they voted down a motion put forward by Chevrier that would have mandated the BoG to offer live broadcasts, it remains unclear if individuals should be permitted to film the meetings with their own cameras.
The question will likely be brought up again at the board’s next meeting on April 19.
Concordia Student Union President and student governor Lex Gill has gone on record saying that allowing cameras in the boardroom would greatly contribute to upping transparency at the BoG, indicating that as it stands, “the board operates in a way that it’s accountable to no one.”

One person who disagrees with that statement, and who believes that the BoG is “as transparent as it should be,” is Concordia’s interim President Frederick Lowy, who was brought in last year to put out the political fires following the BoG’s ousting of Lowy’s predecessor, Judith Woodsworth. The Concordian recently sat down with Dr. Lowy to get his thoughts on cameras in the boardroom and on what can be done to bridge the disconnect between Concordia’s Board of Governors and the student population.

What was your reaction to the Feb. 10 board meeting ending the way it did? Could something have been done to bring about a different outcome?

Well I’m disappointed. The board is an important part of our operation. It has a job to do, and if it can’t do its job properly, things slow down. The outcome, as you know, was a lack of quorum forcing the meeting to stop. That lack of quorum was caused by three out of the four student representatives [Gill remained in the boardroom] walking out and thereby depriving the meeting of legitimacy. If the students had not walked out, the meeting would have continued, so ask them [about other potential outcomes].

Do you have a personal position on broadcasting board meetings live?

I do. Although cameras are appropriate in courts of law and in parliaments, they are not appropriate at universities. And I know that my opinion is not an opinion that is in the minority. Every single university in Canada, that we know of, does not permit filming or broadcasting of board meetings.

The issue of filming and broadcasting is also related to our ability to keep volunteer board members. Obviously they’re interested in the university to start with because they accept to be board members, but we have to persuade a number of people we want on the board to be on our board, because they have other boards to go on as well. So when there is a concern on the part of some of them that they’re not going to be able to speak freely in board meetings without their words being taken out of context, well, that’s an ongoing problem.

Most of the people who come to the board are not politicians, they don’t choose to be in a public forum. So there are two goods here of positive value: on the one hand, you have the good of transparency, and on the other hand, the good of free speech, so it’s a question of balancing both of them.

But some would argue that BoG meetings are already being recorded, such as by journalists who use tape recorders.

We count on members of the press to be responsible reporters. What they’re likely to do, as they’ve done in the past, is report decisions, but they don’t report who said what, and with what tone of voice, and so on. Those things are private. Unless somebody is actually being interviewed, reporters don’t pick up these kinds of nuances, people taking to each other in an unguarded fashion. Because what we want is for people to be able to talk in an unguarded fashion, rather than to measure all their words and be politically correct all the time.

Then in your opinion, is the board as transparent as it can be?

I don’t think it’s as transparent as it can be, but I think perhaps it’s as transparent as it should be. There’s more transparency than there has been before. And so long as there’s transparency that doesn’t at the same time inhibit people from doing what they’re there to do, then that’s a balance that I think is appropriate. Whether we’ve got the ultimate best, I don’t know. I’m not saying it can’t be improved, and if it can be improved, it should be, but we must find a way to improve without turning off people from becoming board members.

It’s become painfully clear that there is a disconnect between the student governors and most of the rest of the BoG. What can be done to bridge this gap?

We need to continue what we’re doing right now, namely talk to each other. I’m hoping, and other members of the board I’m sure are hoping as well, to talk with student governors and other students about this and work out a way of handling our different opinions. It is in nobody’s interest to see the board come to a halt.

CSU President Lex Gill has said that the “board operates in a way that it is accountable to no one.” What is your reaction to that statement?

I don’t agree with her statement. I agree with her on a lot of things, but that’s not one of them. First of all, board members are responsible to each other. The board is not a single monolithic bloc of people who all think the same. There are sufficient differences within the board to ensure this doesn’t happen. The board is ultimately responsible to the public through its representatives. The board issues reports on its activities each year, its open sessions are open to anybody and anyone who wishes has access to the board’s minutes online.

The board has developed quite a negative image in the eyes of students who have become increasingly frustrated with its operations. How can the board improve its standing among the student population?

I know they’re frustrated; it’s clear that many students don’t hold the board in high regard. That doesn’t mean that board members aren’t trying. In fact, a tremendous amount of them are graduates of our university and have an important stake in the university. The board is changing. The membership, the composition is changing. And I think the board is aware of the problem [negative image among students] and I think they’re trying to fix it. Certainly it’s in everyone’s best interest that not only the board do its job properly, but that it be seen to be doing its job.

This interview has been edited for length.

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BoG meeting ends abruptly

February’s Board of Governors meeting abruptly ended on Feb. 10 even before its open session began.

The meeting came to a halt toward the end of its hour-long closed session, when three student governors, undergrads AJ West and Cameron Monagle and grad student Erik Chevrier, walked out in protest over a motion to discuss allowing cameras in the meeting. All student representatives, including CSU President Lex Gill who remained in the boardroom, felt that this transparency-related motion should have been discussed during the meeting’s open session, when members of the audience would be able to observe.

With the absence of West, Monagle and Chevrier, quorum, which is 21 governors, was no longer met, effectively prohibiting the rest of the BoG members from voting on motions, and ultimately cancelling the meeting.

The majority of governors already voted down a motion in January put forward by Chevrier that mandated the board to offer live broadcasts of its meetings. The motion presented on Feb. 10 in closed session, according to West, dealt with transparency at the BoG level, including the potential use of cameras by individuals in the boardroom.

“This is still something that has yet to be clarified, and I imagine this is something that will be brought up again,” said West, who had implored students at a Concordia Student Union council meeting in January to bring their cameras to the BoG meeting. There were as many as fifteen to twenty students waiting outside the boardroom on Friday, some of them indeed carrying cameras.

“This was a discussion [during closed session] that the student representatives thought should have happened in open session, so we refused to take part,” added West.

Speaking to reporters outside the boardroom, Gill, who indicated that she could not touch on specific discussions held during closed session, spoke more broadly about the need for cameras during the BoG’s open session.

“The rationale for why people should be able to film and broadcast the open session is that first of all, we’ve always done it anyway,” she said, mentioning the fact that journalists, for example, are allowed in the boardroom with tape recorders. “I think everyone should have the right to film these meetings and have the right to see what’s going on. This university is publicly-funded, financed by your tuition fees and tax dollars. […] The reality, I think, of this situation is that [the BoG]  has to be accountable to someone. Right now they operate in a way that they’re accountable to no one.”

Gill spoke vaguely about the possibility of bringing forward a proposal regarding the use of cameras at the BoG’s next meeting on April 19. All other items that were on the agenda for the Feb. 10 meeting will, in all likelihood, also be discussed during that meeting.

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Reps to students: bring your cameras

Student representatives who sit on Concordia’s highest decision-making bodies are imploring students to bring their own cameras to offer live broadcasts of Board of Governors and Senate meetings.
At last Wednesday’s CSU council meeting, student governor AJ West and student senator Michaela Manson strongly urged students to bring their cameras despite the fact that the BoG has said no to live broadcasts, while Senate is still mulling over the idea.
“I don’t see why you couldn’t do this,” West said at the council meeting. “If they kick you out, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. If all else fails, I’ll bring in a camera myself.”
The BoG shot down a motion by a large majority at its January meeting to allow for live broadcasts of its deliberations. The motion had been on the table for quite some time, having first been added to the agenda at the September board meeting by Graduate Students’ Association governor Erik Chevrier, who could not be reached for comment by press time.
The motion had been part of a larger attempt by the GSA, and supported by the Concordia Student Union, to increase transparency at Concordia’s top decision-making body. Other measures that had been included in Chevrier’s motion, and that were ultimately voted down, included more seats for audience members, and a question-and-answer period between the audience and the governors at the end of each meeting.
According to Concordia’s VP institutional relations Bram Freedman, the vote taken by the BoG on live broadcasts also applies to audience members.
But West said that isn’t the case. “The motion voted down was mandating the BoG to film meetings. So if they don’t want to do it, then [students] should just do it themselves,” he said, indicating that he will definitely be bringing a camera to the next BoG meeting.
Freedman pointed out that members of the campus community who don’t manage to get their hands on one of the 20 coveted tickets for seats in the actual BoG meeting room still have access to an overflow room where the meeting is broadcast on a large screen.
But at the council meeting on Wednesday, CSU president Lex Gill mentioned that she has heard of several complaints from students that the audio and visual quality in the overflow room was often poor. In an interview with The Concordian, she said she found it difficult to imagine what would actually happen to a student who brought a camera into the BoG meeting. She also said she would definitely consider bringing one in herself.
“The question of having cameras was so vehemently opposed by the BoG, but we’ve never really had a frank discussion on this,” she said.
A motion for live broadcasts of Senate meetings was presented earlier this month, and is currently being analyzed by its steering committee, which will make a recommendation to Senate at its next meeting.
Freedman said that in the meantime, there is no policy that governs the use of cameras at Senate, but indicated that “should members of the Senate audience choose to bring in cameras to a Senate meeting before a decision has been made, one of the Senators could make a motion to deal with the issue immediately if he or she so wished.”
CSU council meetings have been broadcast live by CUTV since 2010, despite initial opposition by some councillors. CUTV station manager Laura Kneale said in an interview with The Concordian earlier this year that CUTV is definitely interested in also filming BoG and Senate meetings.
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More election reform in store for ASFA

Following a contentious and often times confusing byelection last fall, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations is promising that things will go much more smoothly in their general election later this semester.

The ASFA council is set to vote this Thursday on a joint committee recommendation to bring back affiliations in elections, a suggestion originally made following last year’s general election by then CEO Nick Cuillerier that got tabled by council.

“The definition of affiliations as it stands now is that candidates run individually, but they can be affiliated or in support of other candidates, without forming actual teams,” said ASFA president Alex Gordon. “I think having affiliations in this general election will be an improvement compared to last year’s general election, because there won’t be as much secrecy among the candidates. They will be able to openly endorse other candidates and ultimately, affiliations will bring more exposure to the elections.”

The affiliations proposal is the sole electoral recommendation that council will deliberate on this week, despite the fact that ASFA’s judicial committee has suggested that other parts of Annex A, the document used to run elections, should be clarified, especially in light of October’s tumultuous byelection.

The Concordian broke a story immediately after that byelection revealing certain electoral violations committed by then CEO Marvin Cidamon, such as the failure to have executive summaries at every polling station when the polls opened, as well as hiring a former ASFA VP as a polling clerk. Also, while Cidamon did release the byelection results to the candidates, he did not provide them to the student press until he was asked.

The case was brought before the JC and Cidamon ultimately resigned. In its written decision, the JC calls for, among other things, the rule regarding the announcement of election results to be clarified.

Gordon indicated that there is not enough time, according to procedure, to act on the JC’s recommendations before the general election, but said he has confidence that the new CEO, Christopher Webster, appointed at December’s council meeting, will do his job properly.

“He’s very critical-minded, having seen the last byelection and I think he’s learned from the mistakes that were made then,” Gordon said. “Also, we [the executive] are more hands on deck this time and have a better sense of what to do for the next elections.”

 

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