SOGS to vote on CFS membership

The Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) of the University of Western Ontario has finalized the dates for its referendum on continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). See the "Notice of Referendum" bellow. 
Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) of the University of Western Ontario - Notice of Referendum on continue...

UPDATE #2 - WTF: URSU referendum results

I decided to take a few minutes this morning to update everyone on just WTF is going on with the University of Regina Student Union's (URSU) referendum results. In case some of the people reading this are unaware of the situation, here's a a brief backgrounder:

1) The URSU held a referendum on continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) from Wednesday 26 October to Friday 28 October 2010.

2) On Friday 29 October 2010, the Referendum Oversight Committee (ROC) released, as you can see on one of my earlier blog postings, this statement on its website.

3) On Saturday 30 October 2010, the URSU tweeted that the referendum results would be released "on Monday (1 November 2010) at the earliest."

4) On Wednesday 24 November, after a long period of silence, the URSU released a statement which can be seen below:

URSU media release: http://ursu.ca/ursu_media?n=967

 5) On 2 December 2010, the URSU released another press release which states that it "will seek a court injunction against the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), in an effort to push forward the CFS referendum ballot counting process."



URSU media release: http://ursu.ca/ursu_media?n=1001

 6) On the same day, The Carillon, the University of Regina student newspaper, reported that little mention of the URSU's referendum was made in the CFS National executive's report. That report was handed out to the delegates attending the recent CFS annual general meeting which took place from Wednesday 24 November 2010 to Sunday 28 November 2010 in Gatineau, QC.


7) In Brief, a podcast by two students, John Cameron and Mason Pitzel, interviewed Mike Burton, one of four members of the Referendum Oversight Committee that overseen the CFS referendum process at the University of Regina (fast-forward to 9:50 to get to the segment pertaining to the CFS referendum). There's one part, at the beginning of the interview, that really bothers me and that I wish to highlight. After being introduced by one of the hosts, Mike Burton says:

I am a member of the Referendum Oversight Committee but, um, just so we're clear, this is not an approved or sanctioned, um, discussion. I've... just come to the conclusion that students deserve to know more than they've been given as of now and so, I'm willing answer questions on that basis.

NOTE: In Brief podcasts © The Carillon - All Rights Reserved - Please visit In Brief under the "Podcasts" section on The Carillon's website.




Here are some other media attention this whole referendum fiasco has been receiving...

The Leader Post: December 3 & December 4

CTV News Regina

Global News Toronto

There will surely be more in the days to come...

Request to be an observer at CFS AGM = IGNORED!

Dave Molenhuis has all the time in the world to protest at the G20 Summit, to post CFS news releases on Twitter but no time to answer my emails

Exactly one month ago today, I sent this email to the Chair of the Canadian Federation of Students Dave Molenhuis. It was a simple, polite request: I asked to be given accreditation as an official observer at the upcoming CFS annual general assembly (November 24th-27th in Gatineau, QC).

It seems to be becoming more and more common that, when individual members of the CFS demand transparency and accountability from their representatives (both national and provincial), they are either ignored or turned away from AGMs. Gregory Kay is only one example...



Instead of denying the media, the general public and its OWN MEMBERS from attending important forums such as the CFS AGM (where all policy decisions are taken, the national executive is elected, the budget is approved, etc.), maybe the Canadian Federation of Students should in fact open up and embrace those very members who are showing an interest in the organization. Isn't that what "SOLIDARITY" is all about? Oh, I also sent this email to Dave Molenhuis and CFS Treasurer Roxanne Dubois on October 28th 2010 politely asking if they would be so kind as to provide me with a copy of the CFS AGM agenda. Well, I'm sure glad I kept searching for it myself because I have yet to receive any sort of acknowledgement of that message.

Canadian Federation of Students' National AGM Agenda - November 2010

On another note, when legitimate questions about the organization are raised (legal fees incurred from all the lawsuits either initiated by or brought against the CFS, sending numerous CFS employees to to join the "YES" campaigns during referendums on continued membership, simply trying to get a copy of the CFS's budget) are either ignored (which they are much of the time) or answered with unnecessarily aggressive rhetoric, dismissal, changing of the subject and/or unwarranted personal attacks, it's no wonder student unions all across the country are lining up to defederate from the organization.

Voici comment créer une bonne relation avec l'administration

"Remember, Remember, the 5th of November!"

The Cannon - http://www.thecannon.ca/whats_on/activism/2009_10_15/drop_fees_for_a_poverty_free_ontario_organizing_meeting

Aucune manifestation "À bas les frais!" a eu lieu cette année à l'Université d'Ottawa. Pourquoi? Selon Amalia Savva, l'organisatrice des campagnes à la FÉUO, qui parlait avec Isabelle Larose, une journaliste de La Rotonde, « [c]e n’était pas nécessairement le moyen le plus efficace et le nombre de manifestants diminuait depuis les dernières années. »

Une semaine plus tard...



Mayank Bhatnagar Graphic Reflections.org

 C'est une situation qui, encore une fois, met en question la transparence et la responsabilité de la Fédération Canadienne des Étudiant(e)s (FCÉÉ). Entre les 26 et 28 octobre 2010 dernier, l'Université de Régina a eu un référendum portant sur son adhésion au sein de la FCÉÉ. Les bureaux de scrutin ont fermé vers environ 21h le jeudi 28 octobre 2010.
Nous sommes maintenant le vendredi 5 novembre 2010. Les résultats n'ont encore pas été annoncés et les étudiantes et les étudiants de l'Université de Régina attendent toujours impatiemment. Il m'a été dit, par une source très impliquée dans le référendum, qu'il y a avait des questions concernant l'éligibilité de plusieurs étudiants et qu'ils devaient vérifier l'éligibilité de ces derniers avant d'annoncer les résultats. Le mercredi 3 novembre le Comité de surveillance du référendum avait en main cette liste et attendait pour les deux autres membres du comité du côté de la FCÉÉ, soit Lucy Watson et Ben Lewis, de revenir à Régina pour effectuer le compte.

Pourquoi ce manque d'organisation de la part du FCÉÉ. Ce n'est pourtant pas la première fois que cette dernière entreprend un référendum et cela ne sera pas le dernier non plus...

UPDATE - WTF: URSU referendum results

Alright, so there still hasn't been any results released as of 3:00 pm Monday afternoon, November 1st 2010. Furthermore, I checked the URSU Referendum Oversight Committee's website this morning and I was still able to access it. Well, between now and then, the site has been disabled.

Key words added to the URSU's Twitter message: AT THE EARLIEST. This definitely brings up many questions. Let's hope for some answers.

UPDATE: An article published by Leader-Post which explains the situation

UPDATE: For the benefit of the reader, here's a picture of the the ROC's website page; It seems to go off and on the air sporadically.

Did Dave Molenhuis mislead the Standing Committee of Finance?

When Dave Molenhuis appeared before the Commons Standing Committee of Finance on October 20th 2010 as part of the Government's pre-budget consultations, he was asked this question by Bloc Quebecois MP Daniel Paillé:

Mr. Chair, my question is for the Canadian Federation of Students. First of all, I would like to know why your Association only has four universities and one CEGEP from Quebec, and no French-speaking association, whether it be from Université du Québec, Université de Montréal, HEC, École Polytechnique de Montréal or CEGEPs.

Molenhuis promptly (and strategically) played the independence card:

I thank the member for the question.Very briefly, it's part of the founding principle of the student movement in Canada to respect the right of students in Quebec to self-organize. There are student unions that have been formed in the province that we certainly work in partnership with. It was only a recent development actually that students in Quebec had expressed an interest in joining the national student movement. We still do work with La Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec as well as the CEGEP organization, La Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec.

Really? "It was only a recent development actually that students in Quebec had expressed an interest in joining the national student movement."

That's odd? I was sure that, at one point not too long ago, there was a wing of the Canadian Federation of Students in Québec. Ohhhh! Right! I guess Mr. Molenhuis wouldn't want to bring up this little hiccup with its former CFS-Q. Furthermore, I would assume that it would be slightly embarrassing to have to admit that a number of institutions, including three from the province of Quebec, are involved in lawsuits with the CFS.

WTF: U of R referendum results?

So, as I wrote in my last post, the polls in the University of Regina's referendum on continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students closed on Thursday night (October 28th). The next day, when the results still hadn't been released, this message appeared on the Referendum Oversight Committee's website.

Then, today, Saturday October 30th 2010, the University of Regina Student Union (URSU) post this message on their Twitter account:

UPDATE: The CFS Referendum results will be released on Monday [November 1st 2010]. If results are provided earlier, we will make sure...

I can only assume that the rest of the sentence goes... This does seem to be quite irregular and may possibly demonstrate a lack of preparedness on the Referendum Oversight Committee. One can only speculate at this moment. I would hope that the ROC's report to be released after the whole referendum process has concluded.

University of Regina's Referendum on Continued Membership in the CFS ends today

Students at the University of Regina will soon find out the fate of their continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students. Today was the last day for the University of Regina Student Union's (URSU) members to cast their ballots in the referendum on continued membership if the CFS.

More to come...

Is education really a right?

Well, well, well! What do we have here?!? A new "Education is a Right!" spin-off website highly critical of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). Some people think that it's a pretty funny site. However, many CFS supporters have already cried foul and say that the people behind this site are hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet. The Excalibur reported on this yesterday. As many of you may not know, the CFS recently launched their new "Education is a Right!" site promoting its campaigns.

Let the war of words and websites begin!

Rencontre publique du Conseil d'Administration de la FÉUO aujourd'hui

Après une réunion remplie de tension entre les spectateurs et les membres du Conseil d'Administration de la FÉUO, Tyler Steeves, le président de la FÉUO, a annoncé une réunion publique. Cette dernière aura lieu au Café Alt entre 14h et 7h afin de discuter des inquiétudes soulignées hier par plusieurs spectateurs lors de la réunion.

Il sera intéressant de voir quels membres du CA décideront de se montrer la face durant cette réunion.

Bottle water free campus?

Isn't it funny how this truck was seen parked on uOttawa campus (beside Tabaret Hall) delivering numerous jugs of water on Thursday September 2 2010. So much for a "bottle water free" campus!

Board of Administration of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa - Sunday July 25th 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More meeting

Open publication - Free publishing - More structure

SFUO Services make a financial "contribution"

At the last Board of Administration meeting, that took place on Sunday June 20 2010, some interesting information was divulged during question period. Board members were made aware that 5 SFUO funded services, including the Pride Centre, Foot Patrol, the Student Appeal Centre, the Women's Resource Centre and one other service, pooled funds together to cover the cost of buses that transported student protesters from in and around the Ottawa area to Toronto to participate in the G20 protests.

Unfortunately, not all students who possibly would have wanted to attend the protests were made aware that such student-funded transportation was available to them. Why? Well, I sent this message to Amy Hammett, the SFUO Vice-President of Student Affairs and have yet to receive a response (but I will gladly add her response when she does reply):

Hello Amy,

First of all, I hope that you have settled in as the SFUO's new V.P. Student Affairs.

I am writing you concerning information that came to light at the last BOA meeting. Particularly, I am referring to student's money having been spent on buses that transported G20 protesters from Ottawa to Toronto. It has been said that this money came from student services: Foot Patrol, Pride Centre, Women's Resource Centre, Student Appeal Centre, and one other.

I would like for you to confirm that this is in fact true. Furthermore, if it is, I would like to know if this is a normal practice for student-funded SFUO services to donate money to such initiatives. I would also like to know how much money each specific service donated towards the cost of the buses and who would have had to approve such an expenditure I would also like to know if in fact these buses were publicized so that all students would have had the chance to take advantage of this transportation to Toronto. If not, why?


I am hoping that you will be able to answer these questions and clear up any discrepancies.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Cheers,

Brandon Clim

This message was sent on July 12th 2010 at approximately 9:05 am. It is now 9:16 am on July 21st 2010. I hope to be able to follow up soon on this issue.

UPDATE (July 23rd 2010): This article has been published in latest The Fulcrum.
Furthermore, this open letter to V.P. Student Affairs, Amy Hammett, also appeared in The Fulcrum.

Communiqué de presse - la FCÉÉ concernant le G-8/G-20

N.B. la Fédération Canadienne des Étudiantes et des Étudiants ne me répresente pas.

L'Assemblée générale annuelle du Regroupement Étudiant Franco-Ontarien

lundi 14 juin 2010 - Ottawa, ON

Durant la fin de semaine du 12 juin 2010, l'Assemblée générale annuelle du Regroupement Étudiant Franco-Ontarien (RÉFO) a eu lieu à l'Université d'Ottawa. Environ 25 participantes et participants, représentant 11 institutions postsecondaires au sein de l'Ontario, se sont présentés au Pavillon Fauteux pour le deuxième AGA depuis l'assemblée constituante du RÉFO en septembre 2009.

Samedi avant-midi, les délégués participants à l'AGA ont accueilli l'Honorable Sénateur Marie-Paule Poulin comme conférencière. La discussion dont elle a menée a put soulever des débats intéressants concernant la pertinence des nouvelles diffusées, à la télévision, par Radio-Canada. Plusieurs délégués ont relevé le manque de contenu ontarien et une concentration, en grande partie, sur les nouvelles québécoises. Plus spécifiquement, une Semaine 101 ("Frosh week") entièrement en Français a été soulevé par le Conseil exécutif sortant et cette initiative

Dimanche matin, les délégués ont élu le nouveau comité exécutif de la RÉFO dont Véronique Boily, Sylvie Samson et Marie-France Belle-Isle. Félicitation à ces trois demoiselles! De plus, il y a eu des tables rondes ayant des thèmes tels que la rétention/recrutement, les communications, les élections municipales, etc.

Il est aussi à noter que M. Raymond Day, représentant le Ministère de la Formation et des Collèges et Universités, s'est présenté pour assister aux tables rondes et, par la suite, a adressé les délégués. Il a traité, entres-autres, de la Politique d'Aménagement Linguistique et de son application future au niveau postsecondaire. Voici la communiqué de presse résumant davantages les activités de l'AGA du RÉFO.

Le RÉFO représente les intérêts politiques des 22 000 étudiantes et étudiants inscrits à des cours en français dans les 11 institutions postsecondaires offrant des programmes en français en Ontario. Sa mission est de défendre le droit des étudiantes et étudiants en Ontario français d’étudier en français dans le programme et la région de leur choix, dans un contexte où elles et ils gèrent les leviers de leur éducation afin qu’ils et elles puissent s’épanouir dans l’ensemble de la communauté franco-ontarienne et puissent y contribuer.

Finally, something I can (somewhat) agree with!

Although it has been awhile, I hope my readership doesn't think I've completely abandoned my blog! Anyhow, I'm back and have much to talk about and many issues to address.

I will start with something that I have never done before on this blog: I will be speaking in favour (although not entirely) of a recent Canadian Federation of Students' campaign on Copyright reform.

Here's a new campaign video posted to CFS's YouTube page concerning the issue of Copyright legislation:



I must point out that the demonizing of big corporations is (not surprisingly) exaggerated and overblown and the concluding statement of the video "But, the battle has just begun! Students know the importance of fair copyright and it's up to us to lead the fight!" uses inciting language that is typical of most CFS campaigns use.

However, although the tactics are the same, I have to admit that I can finally agree with the THIS ISSUE.

In a document submitted to the government entitled Striking the Balance - Submission to the Copyright Consultations (September 2009), the CFS proposed 6 key recommendations:

1. Expand the definition of fair-dealing to be more flexible and inclusive.
2. Regulate the use of technological protection measures so that they do not interfere with users’ legitimate attempts to use copyrighted works.
3. Eliminate Crown copyright.
4. Strictly limit statutory damages.
5. Enhance moral rights to protect creators.
6. Establish a “notice and notice” system of Internet copyright enforcement.

To conclude, it's ISSUES SUCH AS THIS ONE THAT ACTUALLY AFFECT STUDENTS ON A DAILY BASIS THAT THE CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS SHOULD BE WORKING ON. On the other hand, it is unacceptable for the CFS to claim to represent OVER 600 000 STUDENTS ACROSS CANADA when it chooses to take a stance on such divisive issues as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3) and abortion (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4). It's also quite obvious the CFS is VERY FAR FROM BEING A DEMOCRATIC BODY (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4) and APT AT WASTING STUDENTS' MONEY ON RIDICULOUS LEGAL FEES AGAINST ITS OWN MEMBER STUDENT UNIONS (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4).

To the possibility of some sort of positive change of the CFS, I won't be holding my breath.

A (final..?) message from Marc Kelly (Yes, that's right)

I appologize in advance! I just couldn't help but post this email I received this morning from Marc Kelly:

dear friends, new friends, old friends, unknown friends, close friends, distant friends, potential friends, an everyone else

this is marc kelly (hi)

(if at any point you want me to stop talking, the delete button located either near the top or at the bottom)

i hope it's okay i found my way into your inbox again

today is April 7th, 2010, and i am sending this message out to you and to everyone because, after tomorrow, i may not be able to speak to anyone on campus again because the University is sending me to prison

<> note before reading further: i never payed attention in english class very much and i always got my friends to tell me what happened in the books we were suppose to read and instead of writing essays i doodled funny pictures on the pages and got bad grades and i never really learned how to write properly so sorry for all the the language inconsistency i hope there is not too much grammatical non-conformity for easy readability this is an emergency and i am writing with urgency so please don't hate on me for speaking to the whole community simultaneously without a university degree <>

what i am trying to say is: this message could be the last you ever hear from me

the last
i have
never met
you

never

talked
laughed
pondered
or explored campus with you (the only thing what else are we here to do?)

the last of our separately diverging paths
decided for by neither me nor you

so most of you don't know me, though it is possible a few of you may have heard a thing or two about me already, most likely through stories and tales passed along from mouth to ear, spread wide and near, printed on newspaper always never clear, facts changing with each iteration by those who can't help not knowing how they participated to create a world of false fear and mass stupidity

This Thursday @ 1pm, inside Tabaret Hall, I will speak publicly.

Then: I will be taken to jail by the University.

See how they threaten me?

From: Claude J. Giroux
Subject: RE: Urgent (Medical), Request to Rescind No-Trespass Notice
To: Marc Kelly

Mr. Kelly,

Please provide me with the time and date of your appointment so that I can notify my staff and let me know on which floor your doctor’s office is located at the Health Services clinic. This is only considered a temporary access for medical reasons. Access will only be allowed to this specific building (100 Marie Curie) and you will be requested to leave campus once your appointment with your doctor is over with. If you are seen anywhere else on campus, you will be subject to arrest for breach of trespass, and other police action.

Claude Giroux
Director, Protectron Services

but if this message fails to reach all of you, probably intercepted and censored by the University, I could stay stuck in a prison cell until early next year after the court case is all cleared. so this is my last chance to explain, in as much detail as i can, why I need each and every one of you to come out and stand by me on thursday

i need each and every one of you to help protect me from the bizzaro university!
if you came out tomorrow, i'd listen to everything you have to say to me too!

i love this world.
i love our society.
i love you if you are my friend.
i love you if you are my enemy
(but I do not love this country)

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X

X X X

On May 14th, 2009, three Ottawa Police Officers were sent to my home apartment by the University. They entered without a warrant, and they arrested me while I was sleeping. I was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada for "speaking directly to" the President of the University, because I asked him a question on March 4th, 2009, during the Q & A of his inaugural lecture series.

YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO OF ME ASKING AN ILLEGAL QUESTION HERE:
fast forward the video, my question starts at 1:11:35

Responsibility to Protect: a Doctrine of Humanity
http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com/uottawa/030409/index.php

X X X

X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

I DO NOT THINK IT IS OKAY THAT IN THIS COUNTRY A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA CAN BE ARRESTED BY THE POLICE AND PUT IN JAIL FOR ASKING A QUESTION

aren't we not always taught by our professors, "there are no stupid questions" ?
if illegal questions exist, does that mean there are indeed stupid questions too?
if that's true, then what's the difference between an illegal question and a stupid question?
is a stupid question also an illegal question, and is an illegal question always a stupid question?
in the year 2013, could the President of the University be a student?

well thatz all I have to say until the police come to arrest me for talking publicly on campus this thursday (that's tomorrow!)

have a nice wednesday everybody :)

<> - Chomsky-Foucault debate on human nature, 1971.

Sincerely,

Marc Kelly
student since 2003

The Canadian Federation of Students has learnt from the SFUO

Photo source: http://www.lincolnstationers.com/images/LittleBlackBook.jpg

According to this post on the Daily Exchange, a magazine for business/economic development/entrepreneurs, it seems that the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has taken a page right out of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa's (SFUO) play book:

A referendum on continued membership in the CFS is taking place at the University of Guelph (Central Student Association or CSA) this week (April 7th-9th) for its undergraduate students. Here's a snippet of the post linked from the Daily Exchange:

The referendum will be held April 7 to 9, WITH VOTING TAKING PLACE ONLINE. (...) STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL NEXT WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION DATE DIRECTING THEM TO A SECURE VOTING WEBSITE. (Obviously emphasis added)

Sound familiar...? This is exactly why I follow other University/College student newspapers. If I read how another student association's elections failed miserably with an online voting system and then the SFUO decided that it was going use a similar system in its upcoming elections, I would head straight to the SFUO office, present them with that particular article pertaining to the problems another student association had with "e-voting" and ask them if they're still confident that using an electronic vote was a safe, legitimate way to run its elections.

If you visit the Central Student Association's (CSA) website, it is quite clear that the executive has taken a very strong stance of being IN FAVOUR OF DEFEDERATION (and no, I don't care if it's not a word; you get the point). I don't think that I've ever come across another referendum where a student association was actually strongly anti-CFS in all the literature that I have read on this subject. Of course, I couldn't resist linking this pretty funny post from the Campus Conservative Watch which is a blog that responds directly to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Campus Association blog entitled (obviously) CFS Watch (Sorry for being unclear: Campus Conservative Watch was created BEFORE CFS Watch) That is all.

Un nouveau rapport concernant la Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et des étudiants (FCÉÉ)

Voici un nouveau rapport, composé par Titus Gregory, intitulé « Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students. » Je vais passer à travers celui-ci et je vais ressortir les points importants dans les semaines à venir. Vous pouvez consulter le rapport directement ci-dessous!

Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students

An open letter to all those who "hate" on "free speech"

Welcome to the University of Ottawa, an institution of higher-learning that welcomes international students from all over the world! Its beautiful campus is situated in the heart of downtown Ottawa just minutes from Canada's highest governing institution: the Parliament of Canada. In a country that takes pride in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms which promotes, among other things, the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression" and the "freedom of conscience and religion", something quite strange took place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The U of O's campus, which was thought to be accepting of all walks of life... some might even characterise it as a "safe space" (whatever that's supposed to mean), was supposed to be host to the American Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter. What in fact took place our campus was quite frankly shocking. After a group of "campus activists" showed up to Marion Hall to protest the event, Ms. Coulter's security team decided that it would be in fact "physically dangerous" if the lecture was in fact allowed to proceed (these of course are the words of Canadian Conservative extraordinaire Ezra Levant).

That's right folks! What started out as an event largely targeted at an audience of possibly a couple hundred Conservatives was deemed unacceptable to the "lefties" of our campus. Let me also point out: some of the same people who wanted Ann Coulter banned from the University of Ottawa campus on Facebook denounced the Conservative government's apparent decision to ban George Galloway from entering the country. Hypocrites!

Sadly, some people only support the right to free speech when it advances THEIR own ideologies. Just goes to show how closed-minded, ignorant and ideologically-driven they all are. To protest is one thing... but to embarrass our renowned, diverse campus on an international scale is something on a whole different level. Our very own SFUO president Seamus Wolfe even made a point to appear on Canada AM and, oddly enough, showed solidarité with the Mr. Houle in calling his letter "fair". I'm disappointed in the continuous ideological stances taken by Mr. Wolfe. This story has garnered up some pretty interesting reactions in Canadian and American media.
Here, don't take my word for it; Many professor from across Canada have weighed in on the embarrassment. Joseph A. Novak, acting chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo had this to say in a National Post opinion piece.

In another National Post "Full Comment", University of Toronto professor Ed Morgan goes through the whole legal aspect of so called "free speech" in Canada and past cases where "tarnishing the image of a group" has been considered "fair game".

Don't worry, I won't be biased; here's what University of Toronto law professor Brenda Cossman was quoted as saying in an article that appeared in the Toronto Star:

"I think her views are completely beyond the pale, offensive, obnoxious, uninformed, provocative, all of those things – except she should be allowed to say them and she shouldn't face criminal prosecution,"

Convinced yet? Of course you aren't because that radical ideology that you try so hard to keep alive has blinded you from accepting the truth. When asked to weigh in on the cancellation of Coulter's lecture, University of Ottawa law professor Errol Mendes told Ottawa Citizen's Matthew Pearson that "while he disagreed with Coulter, her many writings and public statements didn't meet the definition of hate speech under Canadian law."

Robert Fisk, who obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1985, is a British foreign correspondent for The Independent. He had this to say about the whole debacle.

In a Boston Globe op-ed piece entitled Canada's clampdown on free speech, Jordan Michael Smith argues that "Canada’s treatment of the right-wing instigator is only the latest in a disturbing line of clampdowns on offensive and unpopular ideas. Though in some ways the left-wing utopia many American liberals imagine it to be, Canada is, on matters of free speech,deeply wrong."

Another pertinent opinion piece in this case appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, penned by Mark Mercer, a professor of philosophy at Saint-Mary's University.

Rex Murphy, a Canadian author and weekly commentator in the National Post, argues, in his always thought provoking pieces, that the fiasco that took place on our campus surrounding the Ann Coulter speech "was another vivid illustration of how elastic and feeble, at least in certain quarters, the Canadian understanding of free speech has become. The idea, evidently held by certain of the protesters, that merely to call something “hate speech” licenses an attempt to halt that speech is depressing because it has become so common."

Finally, the biggest slap in the face has came from media mogul Conrad Black in his regular Saturday opinion piece in 3 April National Post. At the end of his piece, Mr. Black quotes Ms. Coulter:

"I demand that on my next visit, I be heckled in French, as is my right, and am looking forward to testifying at the Human Rights Commission against [University of Ottawa provost] Francois A. Houle, but request it be at the time of the Calgary Stampede," she says. "And I want a framed and formally printed copy of the resolution of the Ottawa students' federation against my violation 'of the unwritten code of positive space.' "

Needless to say that not only has this opened up an important, long overdue free speech debate all across Canada, but it has unleashed an international media feeding frenzy that is quick to characterize our well-respected institution as a radical, oppressive university where free speech is only valued when it is self-serving. Let's hope this serves as a lesson for all those who enjoy protesting pretty much anything and everything that has the slightest scent of politicalness. By all means, get out and protest things that you believe in; it's your right! But to protest "hate speech" with more "hate speech" definitely defeats the purpose. If you're going to reserve YOUR right to protest, then allow other people to reserve THEIR right to hold an event on our campus that some may not agree with. That is all... for now.

Think before you act... or you'll be made fun of on Fox News

Do you think the student protesters who caused for Ann Coulter's security team to cancel her speech on our campus thought that their actions would lead to our university being ridiculed on Fox News?

CFS ALERT - Trying to defend what is already outdated

On Sunday March 27th 2010, CBC's The National filed this report regarding the Canadian Federation of Students.

Shortly after, I stumbled upon this interesting report, authored by Titus Gregory, entitled "Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students". This is definitely a must read! It reveils many things that I personnally already knew but I'm sure it will get some awkward reactions from the "radical lefties" on campus.

THAT'S RIGHT, I SAID IT!

By the way, when does Katherine Giroux-Bougard (pictured above) finish her term. Whenever it is, I'm sure whoever has been chosen to replace her will have already been studying their outdated talking points and know them by heart.

UPDATE: A must read from a University of Victoria student regarding many disputes within the CFS, between the national body and its provincial counterparts:
http://eyeontheuvss.blogspot.com/2010/03/twilight-of-cfs.html

La Fédération Canadienne des étudiantes et des étudiants-Ontario (FCÉÉ-O) publie un nouveau rapport

Le lundi 22 mars, la Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et des étudiants — Ontario (FCÉÉ-O) a publié un rapport s'intitulant « The Final Report of the Task Force on Campus Racism ». Je n'ai pas encore eu la chance de le lire, mais je vais prendre le temps, dans les jours à venir, car c'est un sujet de débat intéressant.
Par contre, lorsque j'ai tenté d'ouvrir ce même rapport en français, il n'y en a pas un. Le rapport le plus récent du site français s'intitule « Rapport final du Groupe d'étude sur les besoins des étudiantes et des étudiants musulmans » qui fut publié le mercredi 21 mars 2007.

Est-ce que ce rapport est censé être la version française du nouveau rapport publié en anglais cette semaine? Sinon, est-ce la FCÉÉ a l'intention de publier la version française de ce nouveau rapport?

Will you "Vote Fail"?

My fellow blogger, Ken Joly, has began an interesting campaign via Facebook called "Votez Fail /Vote Fail". This campaign is directly geared towards Social Science students who will be asked, for a second time, to vote for who will represent them on the SFUO Board of Administration (BOA) during the 2010-2011 academic year. According to Joly, this campaign was spearheaded because of "the gross inconsistencies in the management of recent SFUO Elections and the seemingly autocratic and unprofessional behaviour of current-SFUO President Seamus Wolfe..."

He goes on to encourage all Social Science students who "are not happy with the way “democracy” exists at the SFUO..." to place a "Vote Fail" sticker on their ballot instead of spoiling it. I have thought this whole process over for a couple days now and am left with a few questions which I will put forward in this blog posting:

1. If students in fact place a "Vote Fail" sticker on their ballots, thus demonstrating their disapproval of the SFUO's failed "democratic" process, how will the student body then find out how many of the "spoiled" ballots actually contained one of these stickers?

2. As of March 16th at 8:20 pm, this Facebook group has 195 members; Assuming it continues to grow at the same pace until voting days, will this campaign gain enough steam to force realistic changes in the way the SFUO manages its elections?

I also feel the need to condemn the disqualification of three Social Sciences' candidates who ran in the original elections (Amanda Iarusso, Amanda Marochko and Matika Lauzon) due to the fact that they had "invalid" signatures (meaning one or more students having signed their nomination forms were not recognized as being apart of the Faculty of Social Sciences). I personally think that it's ridiculous that they weren't given an extra 24 hours to get the required number of valid signatures. Who could possibly argue against that? When you're trying to encourage a diversity of students to participate in student politics (more specifically the "Amandas" being women and Matika being a francophone), I think it's quite counter-productive to take such drastic measures as to disqualify these individuals. Let me be clear though in saying that regardless of the categories that these specific individuals fall under, ANY candidate being disqualified on such a pitiful technicality is frankly preposterous.

(Not a very) Bottled Water Free Day at the University of Ottawa

I'll personally start by saying that I stopped drinking bottled water awhile back after having read many different sources stating that the composition of the plastic, in the long-term, is harmful to your health (but what isn't these day, right?). I am also personally in favour of the winding down of bottled water as a commercialized product.

What I'd be curious to know is who exactly paid for the posters that are plastered everywhere on campus. I wouldn't be too impressed if I were to find out that the SFUO spent (our money) on useless posters that promotes the day. Whoevers money was spent, it didn't seem to have much of an impact because I can tell you that it certainly didn't stop people from being spotted all over the U of O campus drinking water from those clear plastic bottles that were supposed to be boycotted for the day. It'd be interesting to see how much money was spent on promoting today's symbolic boycott.

I visisted the Canadian Federation of Student's (CFS) website to see what efforts were put into promoting Bottled Water Free Day. Possibly some information, some suggestions on encouraging students to participate, etc. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any such information on the website (other than 2 press releases).

This is an interesting campaign... but the publicity shouldn't be funded (if it in fact is) with student's money!