At the Commerce Students’ Association’s (CSA’s) January 16th General Council Meeting, it was resolved that the following statement would be released with regards to the University of Manitoba Students’ Union’s (UMSU’s) mandate to decertify from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS):
The CSA supports UMSU’s resolution to take required measures to decertify from the CFS. CSA’s membership pays over $27,000 in membership fees to the CFS, a significant portion of the total membership fee of $344,000 that UMSU members paid to the CFS this year.
We understand the significance of representing student voices to all levels of government, in addition to providing students with quality programming and services. However, the CFS has not made a sufficient effort to interact with and represent the needs of the students of the I.H. Asper School of Business. Their lobbying efforts have been largely ineffective, and the majority of programming, materials and services our students utilize, including health and dental coverage, are provided by the CSA or UMSU respectively.
It is the resolution of the CSA Council that our members, undergraduate students of the I.H. Asper School of Business, do not receive adequate services to justify their contribution, and we believe our students deserve to have their voices heard in a binding referendum on whether or not they wish to remain members of the CFS.
Therefore, the CSA supports UMSU’s efforts to generate signatures from 15% of its membership on a petition demanding a referendum on continued membership in the CFS. We will provide our support in circulating this petition and encourage CSA members to sign.
Throughout this process, the CSA’s UMSU Representatives will be active participants in an evaluation of alternative national organizations to the CFS. The CSA will continue efforts in providing our students with the high quality level of programming, services and representation our students deserve and are accustomed to receiving from our organization.