UofG CSA Press Release

STATEMENT FROM THE CENTRAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION IN SUPPORT OF CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

June 24th, 2019

GUELPH, ON - The Central Student Association (CSA) is the undergraduate student association at the University of Guelph, representing 22,000 students full-time and part-time students. As Local 54 of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), CSA is in full support of the CFS and the York Federation of Students (YFS) for filing a legal challenge against the Ontario government’s Student Choice Initiative (SCI). The Ontario government claims that the SCI will “make postsecondary education more affordable”. In reality, the SCI acts to defund democratically enacted fees for essential services that students depend on and benefit from for the betterment of their post-secondary experience. Reductions in funding will significantly impact the operations of these essential services, driving students to seek more costly, external alternatives.

The current Ontario government has failed to consult with students, universities, and colleges before implementing a policy that threatens the existence of student unions, campus newspapers, campus clubs, campus radio stations, and other campus groups. In short, the SCI is nothing but an attack on student rights and student democracy. The Ontario government lacked the authority to impose such a substantive change upon autonomous public post-secondary institutions and acted with improper purpose.

In the words of Kayla Weiler, the National Executive Representative for the CFS, “Despite its claim, the Ford government is not for the people and it is certainly not for the students. Students’ unions have been democratically voted in place by students and should remain free of government interference.”

A part of the CSA’s mandate is to represent and amplify the voice of undergraduate students at the University of Guelph, particularly to decision-makers. We are the students who are working towards a more affordable, accessible and public education system for future students in Ontario. The Central Student Association is in solidarity with the Canadian Federation of Students, the York Federation of Students and students across the province.

In Solidarity,

Dena Van de Coevering, Lindsey Fletcher,
President Vice President Academic
Claudia Idzik, Horeen Hassan,
Vice President Student Experience Vice President External

For more information contact:
Dena Van de Coevering,
President, Central Student Association
519-824-4120 (x54408), csapresident@uoguelph.ca