The results of the CSA’s winter general election have been released, and the proposed alternative health coverage plan will not be enacted due to unmet quorum requirements
After the 2021 Winter General Election, the Central Student Association (CSA) has gained a new board of executives and directors, and referendum results show some students leaning towards an updated university health plan.
Following a total submission of 2,317 ballots, the CSA Elections Office ratified the results of the election on Feb. 24, introducing Nicole Walker as its new president with 945 votes in favour. Her opposition, Alex Charette, received 729 votes in favour while the remaining 626 submitted ballots declined a vote.
Other executive members elected for the upcoming semesters include Sara Kuwatly, who returns as VP student experience, Lisa Kazuhara as VP academic, and Shilik Hamad as VP external. Each candidate received an overwhelming vote in favour of them with over 1,500 submitted “yes” votes.
Meanwhile, elected college representatives include Bella Harris for the college of arts, Leilani Rocha and Maya Persram for the college of biological sciences, Leila Stevens and Joshua Vito for the Lang business school, and Alyssa Ahmed and Laura Wilson for the college of social and applied human sciences.
This semester’s election also included a referendum on the Universal Group Health Insurance Program.
The program, currently in place for students at U of G, contains no opt-out option, is priced at an annual $140 per policy year, and has “the potential to increase annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).” According to the CSA’s website, CPI for the 2020 to 2021 school year has been just over two per cent.
The referendum asked students if they wanted to switch to a new proposed plan priced at $186 annually which could increase by a maximum of four per cent every year. This plan would offer an opt-out option, but only to students with alternative health coverage.
Despite proposing this alternative plan, the CSA supported the “no vote,” stating on their website that an opt-out option could cost students significantly more. This reasoning is based on the results of the opt-out option for the 2020-2021 dental plan in which 81 per cent of students decided not to opt out.
The CSA also supports the current plan because they want to “ensure affordability and accessibility for all students, making it easier for on-campus providers to serve students and avoid delays associated with opt-out enrollment periods.”
They also state that students can coordinate their student benefits with other health plans to increase coverage up to 100 per cent.
However, students who submitted their ballots for the referendum primarily voted “yes” for the proposed health plan with 1,223 votes in favour. 722 ballots were cast against it, and 372 declined a vote.
While the quorum for candidate elections was met, the quorum for the referendum was not. It required at least 20 per cent of the total undergraduate student population to participate but only received close to nine per cent.
As a result, the proposed health plan will not be taking effect, and the current health plan will remain in place.
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