On Western’s campus, two groups are waged in a tense debate about the lobbying future for graduate students.
On one side, some students have expressed dissatisfaction with the operations and lobbying efforts of the Canadian Federation of Students, of which Western’s Society of Graduate Students is a member. A petition to initiate a referendum on continuing membership with the CFS was circulated earlier in September.
CFS supporters comprise the opposite side, including the president of SOGS, Rick Telfer, who initiated a counter-petition in October.
The dispute comes at a time when 12 other university student unions across the country are engaged in petition campaigns to address their membership with the CFS.
For the average student, this is a perplexing debate to untangle. The CFS and its supporters attest to the organization’s diligent lobbying on behalf of students and its various successes throughout almost three decades, ranging from tuition freezes to initiatives on a range of social issues.
Its opponents, as cited in articles from various other campus newspapers, have alleged there is internal corruption within the CFS, alongside a lack of transparency.
The organization currently known as CFS has a long history stretching back to 1981. Since its beginnings, the organization has grown to encompass hundreds of thousands of students across the country.
Such growth has not been without limitations and controversies. In the early 1990s, several students’ unions departed from the organization, creating the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association and Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, of which Western’s undergraduates are a part.

Yet this year, in which students from 13 different campuses across Canada have put forward petitions to address their membership in CFS, stands as potentially a defining moment in the history of Canada’s largest student lobbying organization.

SOGS and the CFS

On Western’s campus, the question of SOGS’ involvement with the CFS started back in September, when former SOGS executive members Dan Dechene and Jonathan Meyer circulated a petition hoping to initiate a membership referendum.
As it stands, the national branch of the CFS indicated they have received the petition from Western, though representative David Molenhuis stressed the National Executive had yet to meet to review the petition.
At the same time as the original petition was being circulated, a separate petition, which involved current SOGS president Rick Telfer and several other graduate students, was passed around.
Telfer explained the second petition aimed to accumulate concrete evidence of graduate students’ interest in remaining in a united student movement.
He went on to outline further aims of the petition.
“A secondary aim of the counter-petition is to raise awareness about the secret agenda of the Conservative party activists who are leading the attack on the Federation,” Telfer said, adding another aim for the petition would be to allow an opportunity for students to remove themselves from the original petiton since some claimed to have been misled about its initiatives.
When questioned, Molenhuis explained he was not aware of a precedent for a counter-petition like the one held at Western.
“Within my knowledge of meetings, I haven’t seen [a counter-petition] transpire before so I would say no, I’m not aware of that having arisen either past or present.
“With my knowledge of the bylaws […] it’s ultimately the discretion of the National Executive to make whatever decision.”

Reforming the Federation

On Oct. 15, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society at McGill University, along with six other student unions released a 46-page reformation proposal, claiming there was a “wave of dissent” against some CFS practices.
The package included 43 motions to reform the organization, such as releasing the salaries of executives and separating the main body of CFS from CFS-Services, which operates discount cell phone and travel businesses.
Ladan Mahabadi, the vice-president of external and governmental affairs for the McGill PGSS, said each motion will be reviewed and discussed separately by CFS.
“I’m glad to see the motions were included in the annual general meeting for consideration,” she said of CFS’ reaction.
“But I’m also very disappointed in a response that was circulated by the CFS to other local members and supporters that they called the motions a series of false and malicious claims. That they labelled our reform as an internal matter is also disappointing.”
Geoff Bardwell, a PhD candidate at Concordia and a former graduate student at Western, said the student population at the university are united against CFS.
“The feeling here is not just with graduate students, but with all students, not just limited to the universities,” he said via e-mail. “While there are some people here who support the CFS, they are within the minority.”
Surrounding the issue of the motions was a claim widely reported by campus media, indicating the national office of CFS had sent “cease and desist” letters to CFS-Quebec.
Molenhuis explained there was a misunderstanding on behalf of CFS-Q with the whole issue.
“[CFS bylaws] call for an election process that wasn’t adhered to [with CFS-Q] and now there’s some individuals who are alleging that they represent the Quebec component of the federation as spelled out by [our bylaws],” Molenhuis said. “That’s not the case though, and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in right now.”
The reformation package arrived at CFS’ doorstep just days before Concordia’s student union submitted a petition to hold a referendum assessing their membership in the Federation.
According to Mahabadi, the two movements are independent of each other.

Partisan Politics and the CFS Debate

Since the first rumblings of petitions on various campuses began to circulate in the early fall, there have been accusations thrown back and forth by both those who would wish to stay with the CFS and those hoping to leave.
In many cases, supporters of the CFS have pointed to Conservative party involvement with many defederation movements. The website www.cfswatch.ca is a part of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Campus Association. This fact, coupled with numerous reports in the spring of this year regarding Conservative party involvement with campus conservative groups, have led many to criticize the defederation movement as a partisan attack.
In a personal blog post, SOGS president Rick Telfer alluded that the main supporters of the petition to create a referendum have strong Conservative party ties.
These views have drawn their own criticisms from individuals seeking to leave the Federation.
One such group, comprised mainly of Concordia University students, created a public “Open Letter from the Left,” in an attempt to argue criticism of the Federation does not necessarily require partisan support.
Beisan Zubi, one of the signers of the letter and former chief electoral officer at Concordia, explained her hope to see the organization change.
“I am extremely progressive,” Zubi said. “I do not identify with any Conservative Party ideological slant … I think it’s a diversionary tactic.
“Can we be critical of the student movement?” she added. “Can we ask about issues like transparency and accountability and open participation to every member?”
CFS representative Dave Molenhuis expressed his regret at the idea of the debate surrounding the CFS being “hijacked” by partisan arguing.
“I don’t like to see partisan politics taking place,” Molenhuis said. “This is a student movement and we should be working towards more accessible, affordable, high-quality post-secondary education at all times.
“That’s the conversation I’m interested in having — not levying accusations.”

— with files from Meagan Kashty, Lauren Pelley and Cheryl Stone