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Student Federation of the University of Ottawa

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Student Federation of the University of Ottawa
InstitutionUniversity of Ottawa
LocationOttawa, Ontario
Established1969
Abolished2018 (de jure)
2019 (de facto)
PresidentRizki Rachiq[a]
Members36,000 (2018)
AffiliationsCFS
Websitewww.sfuo.ca

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (French: Fédération étudiante de l'Université d'Ottawa; also known as the SFUO) was the official students' union representing undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa from 1969 to 2018.

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa was a bilingual entity, and its French-language name and acronym (FÉUO) had equal standing. It was a not-for-profit organization, incorporated under the Corporations' Act of Ontario.

On August 9, 2018, La Rotonde, the university's French-language newspaper, reported that the Ottawa Police Service was investigating members of the SFUO and its executive for fraud. Subsequently, on August 10, the university announced it was withholding their funding until an audit into the allegations could be completed.

On September 25, 2018, the University of Ottawa provided the Federation with a 90-day notice of termination of their contract, citing insufficient progress and further allegations of workplace misconduct, internal conflict, and improper governance. The announcement noted that, as of December 24th, 2018, the Federation would no longer be recognized as the official representative of students, and invited students who wished to establish successor organizations to come forward.

A referendum was held in February 2019 to determine whether the SFUO would be reinstated as the official undergraduate student union, or whether a new organization - the University of Ottawa Students' Union (UOSU) would take its place. On February 11, 2019, the University of Ottawa announced that the University of Ottawa Students' Union had won the referendum to become the official undergraduate student union.[1]

The SFUO offices closed on April 10, 2019. An equitable court receiver was appointed to officially dissolve the federation.[2]

Finances

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According to auditors Deloitte, the Student Federation collected $5,103,066 from all 36,068 registered students during the 2015 session.[3] A breakdown of the SFUO levies (services, initiatives and more) can be found on the University of Ottawa's Registrar Page.[4] The executives have a salary of $35,500,[5] and also covers the cost of up to 2 courses per semester as well as cell phone costs.[3]

Businesses

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At the time of its dissolution, the SFUO owned four student-run businesses:

PIVIK

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A convenience store located in the University Centre, which sold groceries and some school supplies. It also sold some hot food.[citation needed]

The Agora Bookstore

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The Agora Bookstore was created in 1999[6] with the goal of providing cheaper textbooks. In 2006, students voted in a referendum to maintain a levy $9 per full-time student per semester to subsidize the Agora. The Agora, however, was not allowed to sell textbooks on campus,[7] and as such is located on Besserer Street.[8]

1848

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From 1984 to 2002, the SFUO owned and operated a bar located within the University Centre called "The Equinox", later shortened to just "The Nox". It was closed after having lost around $500,000 in its final 5 years of operation.[9] The SFUO briefly opened a bar called The Universe City Lounge above the Agora Bookstore, but it was closed after one year of operation.[citation needed] In 2006, the SFUO opened a new bar called 1848 in the University Centre.[citation needed]

Café Alt

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Located in the basement of Simard Hall, Café Alt opened in October 2008 as a green and fair-trade student café with a deli sandwich bar, as well as a variety of fair trade coffees, after being abandoned by Chartwells, the university's food provider, in 2007. Café Alt's basement was also home to three smaller student associations; GAIA, the Geography students' association, AÉDF (Association des Étudiants du Département de français), and the Students' Association of the Faculty of Arts, which manages event booking in the space.[citation needed]

Clubs

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The SFUO is home to over 250 cultural, religious, political/social justice, philanthropic/humanitarian, recreational and academic clubs on campus. The SFUO had subsidised clubs up to $1000 each year.[10] This was increased to $2000 during the 2015-16 school year.[11] During the 2016–17 school year, clubs had their funding cut entirely due to the SFUO's austerity measures.[11] To receive benefits, each club was required to register at the beginning of each academic year to be recognized as a SFUO club.[12]

Past presidents

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Past presidents of the organization have included Marcel Prud'homme (1958–59), André Ouellet (1959–60), Allan Rock (1969–70), Hugh Segal (1970–71), Denis Paradis (1974–75), Mauril Bélanger (1977–79), Anne McGrath (1979–80), Bernard Drainville (1984–85), Gilles Marchildon (1987–88), Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin (1990–91) and Guy Caron (1992–94).[citation needed]

Controversies

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"In My Skin" scandal

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The Executives of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa planned an event called "In My Skin" to be held on March 4, 2014. The event sought to foster two conversations, according to its organizers: each group was to discuss the benefits and disadvantages that racialized and non-racialized students face in dealing with institutional racism.[13] It was planned that students would be split into "breakout groups", where they would discuss discrimination and white privilege and then would regroup to discuss the issues as a whole.[14]

There was a major backlash from students who saw this event as segregation and "reverse racism" because it would split students into different rooms based on skin colours.[13] The Facebook event and debate were shut down.[14]

Fireworks scandal

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In summer 2014, the SFUO purchased 10,000 dollars worth of fireworks to celebrate closing ceremony of that year's 101 Week.[15] SFUO was then notified by the City of Ottawa that they wouldn't be able to use the fireworks due to safety concerns. Several of the Federated Bodies VP Socials accused Hamoud of failing to work with the Social Round Table. This, as well as concerns about the VP Social's job performance, led to an attempt at launching an impeachment referendum.[16][17][18] In part because of its vocal criticism of the purchase, the Facebook group SFUO Does Not Represent Me gained substantial popularity.[19][20] The 2014 101 Week finished with a budget deficit of almost $80,000.[21]

Crashing of ARC opening ceremony

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A group of students, led by several members of the executive, crashed the opening ceremony of the Advanced Research Complex (ARC) in September 2014. The group stood behind the podium with a banner calling for lower tuition fees, and the VP University Affairs interrupted [Reza Moridi]'s speech to read a statement.[22][23] This protest drew criticism from many students,[24] including several executive members of the Science Students' Association, who wrote a letter to the Fulcrum stating that: "The fact that the 'student representative' felt it necessary to protest rising tuition fees on the opening of (Dr. André Lalonde's) building is offensive to many of us. We feel that it is not only disrespectful to his memory and his legacy as a student-oriented dean, but also because this building should be celebrated for what it is, instead of criticised for what it is not."[25]

Yoga as cultural appropriation

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In November 2015, the SFUO cancelled the free yoga classes being put on by the Centre for Students with Disabilities over concerns of cultural appropriation. The news provoked a large backlash from students, and received coverage by international media. The free class was subsequently reinstated with the hiring of an Indian-Canadian instructor. "Cultural issues" were the primary concern cited in an email from the University of Ottawa's Centre for Students with Disabilities, run by the SFUO, to the Ottawa Sun.[citation needed]

"While yoga is a really great idea and accessible and great for students ... there are cultural issues of implication involved in the practice. [Some cultures] have experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy ... we need to be mindful of this and how we express ourselves while practising yoga."[citation needed]

Less than a week later, the Sun reported that the SFUO had changed course and issued a statement attributing declining attendance and a need to "ensure that students' money and resources was being used in a responsible and efficient way," as the reason for the cancellation.[26]

Allegations of executives illegally obtaining U-Passes

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U-Passes are Ottawa-Gatineau area public transportation passes that students are required to buy into as part of their membership of the SFUO if they qualify. To be eligible, a uOttawa student must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student.[27] Students are able to opt out under certain criteria, such as living outside of the public transit service area.[28] In early 2017 allegations were made that the SFUO executives, who cannot qualify for the U-Passes because they must be part-time students, had obtained and were using U-Passes. Complaints were made against VP social Hadi Wess, VP university affairs Vanessa Dorimain, VP finance Rizki Rachiq, and VP equity Morissa Ellis. They were investigated by the BoA Disciplinary Committee,[29] which found that indeed Wess, Dorimain, and Ellis had obtained U-Passes. Ellis had obtained the U-Pass by registering for five classes, which contravened with the SFUO constitution on the maximum course load for executives. She later dropped the excess classes to become a part-time student, but did not return the U-Pass as required. Dorimain was found to not qualify for a U-Pass, but as part of her role she worked on the U-Pass portfolio and had access to U-Passes that were not distributed due to "errors".[citation needed] Wess was found to be "qualified" for the U-Pass but the disciplinary committee did not disclose how.[30] He was a part-time student and part-time students do not qualify. During the BoA meeting at the Roger Guindon Campus on April 2, 2017, the Faculty of Medicine representative Lukas Hashem asked for clarification as to how Wess could qualify but no answer was given. The disciplinary committee did not recommend sanctions against those involved.[31]

18% exec pay raise, stripping of General Assembly legislative power

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In February 2017, the SFUO began discussion about raising executive salaries from $33500 to $39700, an increase of 18%, despite the poor financial condition and bankruptcy of the student union in 2016.[32][33] Students criticized continual lack of funding to clubs, the low wages of other SFUO employees, and accused SFUO executives of conflict of interest.[34] Despite widespread online controversy of the proposal, it was passed, with SFUO executives citing making less than other university student federation executives and dependent children as reasons for the raise.[32][33] On March 14, the Winter 2017 general assembly met quorum for the first time since 1980, with over 280 students showing up to repeal the executives' pay raise.[35]

After the motion passed, with the added condition that execs not be allowed to raise their own salaries any more than what other SFUO workers' salaries have been raised, some members of the executive claimed that the legislative power of the GA had been stripped previously and any motion passed would still have to be passed by the Board of Administration. Students argued that they could not trust the BoA to make decisions for them that reflected what had happened during the GA, and expressed worry that BoA meetings are not recorded or made available to the public. After further review, it was clarified that since the decision to repeal the pay raise did not affect bylaws or constitution, the decision of the GA was final.[32][34]

At the BoA meeting on April 2, 2017, the executive aimed to strip of the GA of its remaining powers, but several BoA members led by engineering representative Jeffrey Colin, special student representative David Gakwerere, and medicine representative Lukas Hashem managed to amend it so that the BoA would require a two thirds super majority to repeal motions passed at the GA.[36]

Fraud allegations

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In August 2018, allegations of fraud committed by SFUO executives and an SFUO employee surfaced with the online circulation of a police report filed by outgoing SFUO president, Hadi Wess. The police report outlines the discovery of purchases carried out by the president and the executive manager.[37] As of August 10, 2018, the University of Ottawa issued a formal statement, announcing that it would take over the management of student levies until the results of a forensic audit were released.[38]

After learning of allegations of financial mismanagement involving members of the SFUO executive and a SFUO staff member, the university requested that the Federation conduct a forensic audit. At the same time, the university notified the SFUO that uOttawa would withhold the fees that it collects from students on behalf of the Federation, pending the outcome of the forensic audit and restored University confidence in the proper financial management of student fees. Measures have been put in place to ensure the continuity of financial operations until the results of the audit become available. Since then, the university has learned of additional allegations of improper governance, mismanagement, internal conflict and workplace misconduct within the SFUO. University representatives expressed the institution's growing concerns about these allegations in letters to, and in two meetings with, the SFUO executive. The university made it clear to the SFUO executive that it would be required to take steps to restore the university's confidence in the Federation's ability to responsibly conduct its internal affairs. the university has not been satisfied with the Federation's progress.[39]

The agreement between the university and the SFUO stipulates that either party may terminate the agreement by giving the other party three months' written notice. Therefore, on December 24, 2018, following termination of the agreement, the university will no longer recognize the SFUO as the exclusive association representing undergraduate students and will no longer collect fees from students on behalf of the Federation.[39]

On November 7, 2018, the SFUO released the completed audit from PwC to the public. On November 8, 2018, the University of Ottawa responded by sending an email to students indicating the report "has not restored the university's confidence in the SFUO's ability to practice sound financial management."[citation needed] They reiterated their intention to terminate the University of Ottawa-SFUO agreement.[citation needed]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ At time of dissolution.

References

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  1. ^ Graham, David (February 12, 2019). "A statement by the University on the student referendum results" (Press release). University of Ottawa. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "SFUO officially closes its doors". April 11, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Student Federation of the University of Ottawa Inc" (PDF). Sfuo.ca. April 30, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ^ "Incidental Fees 2010-2011". Registrar.uottawa.ca. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  5. ^ Davidson, Eric (May 20, 2017). "SFUO executive salaries raised by $2,000 at April 26 BOA meeting - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  6. ^ "David vs. David vs. Goliath | The Fulcrum". Archived from the original on December 15, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. ^ "Policy 50 - University of Ottawa Bookstore (Under Revision) | Administration and Governance | University of Ottawa". Uottawa.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Agora | Student Bookstore". Agorabookstore.ca. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Grachnik, Adam. The Nox: 1984 – 2002. The Fulcrum. Published 14 March 2002
  10. ^ "SFUO Clubs About Us". SFUO. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Cuts to funding for campus clubs this year - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  12. ^ "Student Federation University of Ottawa Clubs". Clubs.sfuo.ca. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Lytvynenko, Jane (March 3, 2014). "Ottawa students tried to segregate whites from non-whites". Macleans. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  14. ^ a b Desnoyers, Nicole. "In My Skin Campaign". SFUO. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  15. ^ "Student fed sitting on $10,000 pile of fireworks - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. November 13, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  16. ^ "Ikram Hamoud: anti-social vp social". Thefulcrum.ca. February 5, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  17. ^ "Students petition for impeachment of Ikram Hamoud - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. January 15, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  18. ^ "SFUO exec crowd-sources her job - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. January 15, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  19. ^ "Editorial: Minority impact - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. February 26, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  21. ^ "101 Week budget in the red for second year running - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. November 27, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  22. ^ "Students crash ARC opening party with 'drop fees' protest - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. September 30, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  23. ^ "CUP NewswireUniversity of Ottawa students crash building opening ceremony with 'drop fees' protest - CUP Newswire". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  24. ^ "Misrepresenting student interests - The Fulcrum". Thefulcrum.ca. October 9, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  25. ^ "Letter to the editor" The Fulcrum. Volume 75, issue 8. 9 October 2014.
  26. ^ Wm, Justin (November 23, 2015). "University yoga class canceled because of 'oppression, cultural genocide'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  27. ^ "U-Pass - A service of the SFUO". sfuo.ca. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  28. ^ "Exemptions". sfuo.ca. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  29. ^ "BOA ratifies 2017 SFUO general election results - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. March 14, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  30. ^ "Saga U-Pass : L'exécutif blanchi par le rapport du Comité disciplinaire, mais des questions subsistent - La Rotonde". La Rotonde (in French). March 15, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  31. ^ "The SFUO U-Pass controversy continues - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. March 21, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  32. ^ a b c "SFUO exec salary raise reversed at historic GA - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. March 17, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  33. ^ a b "SFUO tension reaches fever pitch - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. March 13, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  34. ^ a b "Le quorum finalement atteint lors de l'Assemblée générale - La Rotonde". La Rotonde (in French). March 20, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  35. ^ Rick Janson, The Fulcrum Vol 41, no 1, Sept. 2 1980.
  36. ^ "Executive overtime pay discussed at April 2 BOA meeting - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  37. ^ "SFUO president, executive director, face allegations of fraud - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  38. ^ "uOttawa halts transfer payments to student union, demands audit after misuse claims". Ottawa Citizen. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  39. ^ a b "University of Ottawa Terminates Agreement with SFUO".
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