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Canadian Federation of Students

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The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the CFS claims to work for high quality, accessible post-secondary education at the federal level and provincial levels. It represents over 500,000 full-time and part-time students from eighty college and university students' unions across the country.

History

The Federation was formed in the early 1980s from two organizations NUS and AOSC in an effort to create a united student movement in Canada that was both national and provincial and that provided political representation and student-oriented services.

Several student governments left the CFS in the early 1990s expressing displeasure over the organization's political stances, particularly its opposition to the Gulf War, and its involvement in other issues, which some argued were outside the purview of student politics. As well, several of the student governments who left argued that the CFS's advocacy of "zero tuition" was unrealistic, and its emphasis on organizing political demonstrations rather than lobbying governments was detrimental.

In 1995, the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations was formed by several student governments dissatisfied with CFS. CASA today has 18 member organizations. They also claimed the CFS was too busy promoting other campaigns, instead of fighting rising tuition, and felt that CFS was an ineffective organization, not serving the needs of students.[1] Since then, the CASA and CFS have not been on the best of terms, splitting student representation in Canada effectively in two. [2] In addition, CFS has been accused of being too close to the New Democratic Party (NDP). [3] Conversely, CASA has been accused of being too close to the Liberal Party of Canada.[4]

Some of the students' unions have since rejoined the CFS, resulting in an increase of membership by 100,000 students. Returning members included the undergraduate student unions at Carleton University and the University of Windsor, and the graduate students at Queen's University. In 2002, the University of Toronto Students Administrative Council, Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students and Scarborough Campus Students Union joined the organization. At the November 2005 Annual General Meeting of the Federation, the results of the positive-result referenda at both University of Manitoba Students' Union and the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union were ratified. In 2005, students the Edmundston Campus of Universite de Moncton, Thompson Rivers University, part-time students at Laurentian University, graduate students at the University of New Brunswick and more also became prospective members.

In the past ten years, the CFS has organized a series of actions to complement its lobbying of provincial and federal governments. In 1995, over 100,000 students came out to oppose the Liberal federal government's plan to introduce "Income Contingent Loan Repayment" Schemes. In Ontario, the CFS organized a series of demonstrations to protest the former Progressive Conservative government's deregulation of tuition fees and reduction of provincial funding. In British Columbia, it played an active role in convincing the former NDP government to introduce tuition fee freezes and reductions. They have been accused of being too close to the Glen Clark government in BC, and harassment of any union that tries to leave CFS.[5]

Services

Although essentially the same organization, CFS-Services is a separate branch of the Federation, responsible for the numerous services it offers. One of the main operations of CFS-Services is Travel CUTS (Canadian University Travel Service), through which the CFS offers students and others discounted flights, and issues the International Student Identity Card, which members receive for free. Other services include the Student Work Abroad Program and Homes4Students, an online housing service. The organization also produces the Studentsaver Discount Card for members, and operates the National Student Health Network, a non-profit health insurance provider operated through Green Shield.

Current issues

In 1999, the University Students' Council at the University of Western Ontario filed suit against a subsidiary of the CFS called CFS-Services over Travel Cuts. [6] The lawsuit has since been resolved out of court.

In 2002, three students' unions at the University of Toronto voted to join the Federation. The University of Toronto Students' Administrative Council and the Scarborough Campus Students' Union represent over 48,000 students and had never been part of a national students' union before. The Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students had previously left the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.

In 2003, the graduate students at Memorial University of Newfoundland voted to join the Federation, making Newfoundland the only province where all public college and university students' are members of the CFS. Newfoundland has the lowest tuition fees in English-speaking Canada. Tuition fees were reduced by 25% in the 1990s and have been frozen ever since. The current Progressive Conservative government has pledged to keep the freeze in place until the end of their mandate in 2008.

The Ryerson Students' Union considered holding a referendum to leave the CFS. A motion was served to the council of the students' union in summer 2004 by former President Dave MacLean, despite his election promises to work with the CFS. It narrowly passed by one vote, without any representatives of the Federation being allowed to be present. The RSU never served notice to hold a referendum, and the decision of council was overturned at the union's Semi-Annual General Meeting in autumn 2004. The vote to overturn was carried 122 in favour to 22 opposed.[7]

During the winter term of 2005 The Lakehead University Student Union also considered hold a referendum to leave the CFS. A motion by then Vice President Student Issues Alex Stuart was served to the Board of Directors of the Student Union. A letter of the Unions intention to leave was also served to the CFS. But with the change of the executive and pressure from the CFS Lakehead University Student Union never held the vote on whether to stay or leave.

In 2004-05, CFS-Ontario led a lobbying campaign designed to convinced the provincial commission on higher education, chaired by former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae, to recommend a complete tuition fee freeze. The Rae commission did not take CFS's advice, but the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty established a two-year tuition fee freeze for all domestic students in college and university.

In 2005, CFS-British Columbia, the Langara Students' Union and the Corus Entertainment owned radio station C-FOX led a "non-partisan" campaign registering young voters in BC called Rock the Vote BC, based on campaign drives used by the Republican and Democratic parties in the 2004 US Election to register young voters. Elections BC did not endorse the initiative because of concerns of partisanship.[8]

In 2006 CFS-Services recently settled with three student societies (including the Alma Mater Society of UBC and the University Students' Council at the University of Western Ontario) for an amount of under 3 million dollars including over 250 000$ of legal fees. The case that has been undergoing since the mid nineties alleged that the CFS and/or CFS-Services innapropriately transferred Travel Cuts from a former student organisation.

Current members

New Brunswick

  • University of New Brunswick Graduate Student Association

British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Québec

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

  • Holland College Student Union
  • University of Prince Edward Island Graduate Student Union
  • University of Prince Edward Island Student Union (UPEISU dispute that they are, or ever were, members of the Federation)

Newfoundland and Labrador

Student Unions that have left CFS

Controversy

A 1998 article in the Simon Fraser University student newspaper The Peak accused CFS of being corrupt, bloated, Ontario-centred, and a form of clique, with their people getting jobs in the NDP or Liberal governments.[10] A BC provincial government decision in 2001 to include CASA as well as CFS representatives (who had previously had exclusive access) on the government's education committee was challenged on the floor of the legislature by an unsuspecting government backbench MLA who had been fed misleading information suggesting that CFS was somehow losing access [11].

Controversy has emerged repeatedly over the referendum tactics employed in CFS affiliation/deaffiliation referenda, particularly as regards the pro-CFS side [12], as well as regarding the tactics used to implement and maintain CFS-run programs on campuses [13].

In 1998 Current executive director of CFS-Services Philip Link (former National Director 1990) was previously charged for assaulting (but acquitted) a female CFS executive member in 1998 after she allegedly criticised the CFS for not doing enough to aid aboriginal students [14]. Mr Link was charged with and convicted of assault in December of 1989 for choking a student with a camera strap. The CFS has investigated charges of racism against Mr Link[15]. Although only a briefly a university student himself, Link's colourful and controversial career as a professional organizer in the Canadian student movement dates back a quarter century and has included stops at Okanagan College, Langara College, CFS-BC and the national offices [16].

The longtime involvement in CFS of Link (and of other professional staffers whose students status has long since diminished or lapsed but whose longevity and age affords them great influence), when contrasted with the passive or even unwitting participation of most of the fee paying membership of CFS, has suggested to some that while Canadian, the Canadian student movement as articulated by CFS is neither much of a movement nor primarily comprised of students [17] [18] [19], instead being a student-funded vehicle which has in the past been easily captured by a small number of national players. The presumption that the mass of post-secondary students in Canada with their disparate economic and social circumstances could or would ever coalesce around any issue more important (and less self-interested) than tuition is according to some opinion a fiction, a fiction which is nevertheless necessary as a founding myth of CFS [20] [21].

A 2005 article in The Peak suggests that the CFS provided a $100,000 bailout to the Douglas Students' Union after its bank accounts were nearly empty and questions raised in regards to potential mismanagement. They had not done a financial audit for three years and failed their most recent one because the auditor could not verify records. At press time the CFS had not commented. [22]

Recently Global Television in British Columbia has investigated these allegations of corruption further and broadcast a three-part series[23] on corruption within the Douglas Student Union and the CFS. It is alleged that $500,000 in total was given to the union in unsecured loans from CFS-BC and CFS national. The reports also detail Philip Link's criminal past and include an interview with a CFS insider who chose to disguise his face and voice.

In recent years the CFS has also been accused of being overly litigious and attempting to suppress criticism. Some student newspapers, most recently The Eyeopener at Ryerson, have been served with letters from the Federation's lawyers. A few bloggers have received cease and desist letters. Most recently, the blogger Titus Gregory received a letter related to the same story as the The Eyeopener. [24]

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