Coalition Of CSA Staff And Directors Call For Internal Bylaw Reform

To improve accountability, group proposes recommendations that curtail Executive power

Members of the permanent staff of the Central Student Association, with the support of several members of the CSA Board of Directors, are calling for reform at the highest levels of CSA governance.

Citing the right of students to “hold their union accountable for its action and inaction,” the coalition has authored a series of recommendations aimed at addressing an “imbalance of power” on the Board of Directors and the potential for conflicts of interest.

At the top of the list of reforms, the coalition recommends that the five-person CSA Executive no longer be allowed to vote on the Board of Directors.

The Board is responsible for ensuring the Executive is doing its job, says a member of the coalition, who asked not to be identified and spoke to The Ontarion on behalf of the group, “but how are they supposed to hold the full-time paid Executive accountable when they are on equal footing?”

The Executive’s political clout on the Board of Directors presents further difficulties for maintaining equity, says the coalition, who are choosing to remain anonymous out of concern for their job security. The coalition’s subsequent recommendations tackle issues it claims contribute to that power imbalance.

For example, the coalition recommends that every seat on the Board of Directors be elected, that no individual can sit on the Board of Directors for more than two consecutive years, that a roster of experts be on-call to attend Board meetings to provide professional advice, and that first-time Directors be better trained so they feel empowered to “make the tough decisions needed to hold people accountable.”

“These are interesting proposals,” said the CSA Executive, responding to the recommendations, “but it is disappointing that individuals have chosen to present them anonymously and without context, making it difficult to have a fruitful discussion. We hope that moving forward these individuals let us know who they are so we can have a productive discussion together.”

While the coalition says it has harboured these concerns for some time, it says events at an April 2 Board of Directors meeting catalyzed the current call for reform. At that meeting, Mathew Brown, who was narrowly defeated by Sonia Chwalek in the race for Communications and Corporate Affairs Commissioner in last month’s CSA general election, was planning to challenge Chwalek’s ratification, but his motion was pre-empted by a member of the Executive who successfully moved to approve Chwalek’s ratification before Brown could speak.

Brown, who is also a CSA Events Coordinator and Human Rights Educator with the Student Help and Advocacy Centre, had seven motions to present at the Board meeting and says “guests left very upset with the obvious systematic oppression that occurred.”

“The CSA office is now a toxic workplace,” said Brown, “where many people who support me on this feel like they are walking on eggshells.”

Says the coalition spokesperson: “If a student comes forward and is shut down, it doesn’t encourage others to come forward with their concerns.”

The coalition adds that their intention is not to single out this year’s Executive in particular, but to amend the bylaws that currently permit manipulations of the system.

“If there are loopholes, it opens the CSA up to accusations of abuse of power,” said the coalition spokesperson.

The group is now hoping the student body takes it upon themselves to press for these reforms – hence the reason for making their recommendations public.

“I think it’s very obvious to the general university community that something is wrong at the CSA,” said the coalition spokesperson, “and I think it’s time for us to all acknowledge it and come together to work towards a positive situation.”