François Picard moves on

Francois Picard taking part in the Canadian Federation of Students' AGM Rally on Parliament Hill - November 2010

It's official: Francois Picard, the former SFUO VP Communications, has vacated the position of SFUO Executive Coordinator. The following job posting advertising the SFUO Executive Coordinator position recently appeared on a slightly unconventional website (if/when the job posting is taken down, see the image below). However, it seems as though the SFUO couldn't even be bothered to post this job opening on their own website. Who's left out of the current executives' friends who hasn't been hired to work somewhere in the SFUO? Well, sadly, it looks as though that insider culture will continue: where the SFUO hiring process isn't based on experience, competency or merit but on who you know and what your political beliefs are (in other words, if you're a member/supporter of the New Democratic Party - NDP, that's half the battle).

Rumour has it that he has been hired by the recently elected NDP MP Mylène Freeman. She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Political Science from the McGill University. Picard has been working behind the scenes at the SFUO since his mandate as VP Communication ended in May 2008. For example, he has been the Secretary at a number of SFUO BOA meetings at the beginning of the 2008/2009 academic year. He has also frequently present at numerous conferences to which the SFUO executive has participated: many Canadian Federation of Students' AGMs and workshops (see the images below). He was also present at a City of Ottawa Interim Transit Commission meeting, that took place during the February 2011 reading week, which I in fact attended. That meeting was dealing with the cost of the U-Pass pilot program. For most of the meeting, he simply stood at one side of the meeting room and observed.

All in all, nobody really ever clearly understood exactly what he did during his tenure as the SFUO Executive Coordinator. It's apparent that he wasn't much help to the 2010/2011 executive when the internal unrest broke out which placed Tyler Steeves, Ted Horton and Alex Chaput on one side and Amy Hammett, Sarah Jayne King and Paige Galette on the other. In fact, some whispered that it was Picard's overly active participation during executive meetings that was the root cause of the executive infighting. A former LaRotonde journalist, Antoine Trépanier, published this article back in February 2011. The article title's English translation: An employee taking up a lot of space. The article outlines Picard's involvement in everything from attending executive meetings, alleged election interference, and more. Well, now we wait and see who will be hired to replace ol' Franky.