The Simon Fraser Student Society ( SFSS ) is the students' union of Simon Fraser University in Metro Vancouver , Canada. It was founded after the opening of Simon Fraser University in 1967.
77-401: SFSS may refer to: Simon Fraser Student Society , a student group at Simon Fraser University Semaphore Flag Signaling System , a fictional internet standard for transmitting Internet Protocol packets Effluent sewer , also called a solids-free sewer system (SFSS), a sewer system that treats waste in septic tanks before pumping the effluent to
154-596: A quorum of 500 members was required to make any changes to the Student Society's bylaws and constitution at the Society's annual general meeting (AGM). As the university had approximately 28,000 students, this meant that only 2% of student population was needed to make wide-reaching changes with regards to the SFSS. Despite the seemingly low requirement, quorum had been unattainable most years. In 2005, this led
231-821: A Women's Centre and a LGBTQ+ Centre on the Burnaby campus run by the SFSS constituency groups known as the Women's Center Collective and the Out on Campus collective. Newer equity-serving services are the DNA Resource Center , the SOCA Black Student Support Center and the FNMISA Center which are run by their respective constituency groups and have a seat at Council. The Simon Fraser Student Society's Board of Directors produces
308-469: A campaign to dissolve the student society, drastically reduce the student society membership fees, withdraw from the Canadian Federation of Students , and eliminate the health plan. A student petition resulted in having three referendum questions decided in the 1997 general election. Of the three referendum questions, only the referendum question on axing the health plan passed. Until 2007,
385-444: A central plant Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title SFSS . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SFSS&oldid=544098763 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
462-527: A drinking water experiment in Wiarton, Ontario was not accurately reported in scholarly journals, posing a serious health risk to Canadians. The NGC is supporting a judicial review of NSERC's decision not to press for an investigation at the University of Toronto. The NGC has an active campaign to reduce fees charged to graduate students after their residency period. Graduate student unions affiliated to
539-603: A five-year deferral if, during those five years, men do not have sex with men. In the spring of 2016, Canadian Blood Services changed the deferral to one year. The United for Equity campaign "aims to challenge all forms of discrimination and oppression on our campuses, in our communities, and in our student organizing spaces." The CFS produces a number of materials on challenging racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, islamaphobia and anti-semitism. The organization also helps student unions educate their members about these issues through workshops and awareness-raising. In 2006,
616-553: A general arts degree in Canada; an amount close to four times more than domestic students. In March 2018, the CFS held a lobby week for international students, where students met with MPs and senators to lobby on the three pillars of the campaign: eliminating all differential tuition fees, providing universal public healthcare, and ensuring clear pathways to permanent residency. The Circle of First Nations, Metis and Inuit Students "Circle"
693-905: A graduate health and dental plan. The Student Society began providing health and dental plan services to graduate students in September 2005. In 2007, graduate students voted to separate from the SFSS and establish the Graduate Student Society at Simon Fraser University, which now provides these services. Over the years 2020-2022, there have been a myriad of issues based policies adopted by the SFSS Board of Directors. Some of which are based on issues of equity and justice,, Reproductive Rights, Black History Month, Accessibility, Living Wage, Climate Justice, Indigenous Inclusion and Reconciliation, Disability justice, Anti-Racism, Policing and Militiarization and many more . SFU has witnessed
770-572: A lengthy conflict between the CFS and the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS) over unpaid membership dues, the CFS voted to expel all member unions belonging to the CFS and the BCFS. The CFS actively lobbies on tuition-related issues, including meeting with MPs and organizing "days of action" to address such issues as eliminating tuition fees and reductions in interest rates on student loans. In Newfoundland and Labrador,
847-454: A membership of 440,000 students from 65 member students' unions in 1993–1994. Overall, 20 membership votes were held in 1994–1995, with the net result that 59 member students' unions formed the CFS in September 1996. Between 1995 and 2007, over twenty students' unions joined the CFS, including many graduate students' associations and part-time students' associations. Several large undergraduate students' associations voted to join CFS during
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#1732800901463924-538: A public inquiry into the future of post-secondary education . The campaign also called for alliance building with community groups and public sector workers to gain support and fight against cutbacks to social programs . The campaign was named after a research report of the same name, by Bruce Tate . The report focused on effects of the Government of Canada's cutback to education and highlighted issues such as access and tuition fee levels. The conference ended with
1001-628: A recognized provincial affiliate of the CFS. The CFS was officially formed on October 18, 1981, from the merger of two national organizations - the National Union of Students in Canada and the Association of Student Councils - and student federations from five Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan). The goal of the merger was to create a united student movement in Canada that could provide student-oriented services and political representation at
1078-460: A result of the investigation. Directors outlined in Board meetings on July 26, August 9, and August 23 that they were bound by confidentiality in their collective agreement with CUPE 5396, and could not disclose the justifications for terminating the employee. However, they iterated that they had just cause and that they were prepared to go to arbitration . These Directors later illegally disclosed
1155-527: A result, no voting was done, and an outcry ensued from students for allegedly wasting student fees. The 2006 special general meeting (see #Impeachment ) marked the first time quorum had been effectively reached in 10 years. On 10 October 2007, members of the SFSS achieved the quorum of over 500 at the annual general meeting; three major by-laws changes occurred. Graduate students, who had previously voted for full independence in March, would no longer be members of
1232-559: A series of consultations and events, all groups initially believing they would be allocated space in the new Student Union Building (SUB). However, due to miscommunications and inconsistencies in the process, these groups were left without dedicated spaces. This led to much media coverage and campus outcry . The affected groups (CJSF, SOCA, FNMISA, SFPIRG), argue that the eviction is an example of institutional racism, as it disproportionately impacts racialized and marginalized student communities. Despite exhausting all internal avenues to address
1309-635: A student presence in Question Period in the House of Commons of Canada , a meeting with Secretary of State Gerald Regan , and a one-on-one debate between Chairperson Mike McNeil and Member of Parliament John Evans (parliamentary secretary to Finance Minister Allan MacEachen ) in the Snake Lounge at Carleton University . Delegates attending Question Period were denied entry by security guards. Mike McNeil and delegates were not satisfied with
1386-499: A termination of their agreement. In October 2009, students at Carleton, Guelph, and Concordia organized a drive to leave CFS, resulting in petitions meeting the threshold necessary to initiate decertification votes. Students at the University of Victoria Students' Society, and the Graduate Student Association at the University of Calgary collected enough signatures to initiate a decertification vote. In
1463-573: A wave of student activism over the last couple of years that was inspired in 2018 by an interconnected combination of movements on campus. This includes women’s rights advocacy sparked by the impeachment of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) president, calls for equity within our student society over the Rotunda Space issue, and the ongoing battle against yearly tuition increases. SFSS has successfully lobbied for
1540-466: A website that declares the Board, as Council (formerly "Forum" ) and a variety of committees as advisory bodies., the Society's sole decision-making body. Historically, Council/Forum has been the Society's decision-making body, then the Board split off from Forum in 2000. The Board then recently became the Council again, as the highest decision making body in between meetings of the membership as voted at
1617-567: Is considered to be the most direct financial benefit associated with CFS membership. A large part of the CFS' mandate is to lobby the federal government from its national office in Ottawa. Over the years, CFS representatives have testified to dozens of House of Commons committees, including the Standing Committee on Finance and the Standing Committee on Humans Resources Development and Persons with Disabilities (student loans). In 2009,
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#17328009014631694-448: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Simon Fraser Student Society The SFSS consists of over 26,000 students with an annual budget of over one million dollars. Membership is mandatory and all SFU undergraduate students members are charged fees collected by the university on behalf of the SFSS. The organization employs both permanent and student staff at their location on
1771-635: Is invalid. The President of the University itself, Michael Stevenson, stated that until the Supreme Court of BC made a decision, students, as well as the impeached directors, should respect the SGM. In December 2006, the BC Supreme Court ruled that the special general meeting and impeachment were legitimate and there was no issue with the Forum. The court also stated that in the event that there
1848-688: Is the mechanism with the CFS by which Indigenous students can organize campaigns. The Caucus has its own budget and runs campaigns such as Where's the Justice, Not Your Stereotype, No More Stolen Sisters, and ReconciliAction. One of ReconciliAction's, the Circle's most recent campaign, main goal's is to fulfill the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 16th recommendation by increasing support for indigenous language education at post-secondary institutions. After extensive lobby by CFS members on increased funding for
1925-739: The Canadian Student Assembly , and the Student Christian Movement of Canada (SCM). CFS is composed of member local student unions. All members of the Canadian Federation of Students pay membership dues as a part of their membership. In Canadian student politics, the decision of whether a student union should be a member of the Federation is a contentious issue, and the organization's processes for joining or leaving its membership has been
2002-556: The student loan bankruptcy prohibition. The legally separate but closely related affiliate, the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC), in participation with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and British Columbia Teachers' Federation , won a case against Translink for refusing to put CFS-BC Vote Education advertising on buses that Translink deemed to be partisan advertising during an election. The case
2079-475: The 5% required to call a meeting, per an SFSS bylaw. Despite this, the directors up for impeachment insisted the petition was insufficient, quoting the Society Act, which said a call for a meeting required 10% to sign a petition. A special general meeting (called by Forum) of the SFSS was held on October 25, 2006 in the school's Convocation Mall. 1028 students attended overall (up to 760 at the same time) at
2156-731: The AOSC, including Travel CUTS, to itself at a 1987 meeting". A settlement was reached in 2006 through which the plaintiffs acquired 24 per cent of Travel CUTS and two seats on its board of directors. The CFS is the Canadian issuing agent for the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), an internationally recognized student identification that provides access to discounts on travel and other products. Only CFS members can obtain an ISIC at no charge. The ISIC sells for $ 20 to students who are not CFS members. The ISIC
2233-461: The BC Supreme Court to postpone the Kwantlen referendum after Kwantlen Students Association representatives hired Schiffner Consultants to run the vote (contrary to CFS bylaws but in accordance with KSA standard operating procedures). Then-KSA chairperson Laura Anderson claimed that the Federation was attempting to stall the vote, but the court granted the CFS the injunction and the vote to leave CFS
2310-406: The Board of Directors directed seven full-time SFSS staff members to go on leave with pay and benefits while an investigation into internal issues was carried out. The investigation lasted a total of 5 working days. SFSS keys and email passwords were confiscated and computers were searched. Staff were directed not to enter SFSS property until directed otherwise. In August, a staff member was fired as
2387-603: The CFS as reasons for invalidating the decertification votes. In March 2011, undergraduate students at the University of Victoria voted to leave the CFS. In January 2012, students of Laurentian University at Georgian College in Barrie joined the CFS as the Laurentian Students' Union (Local 111). In a February 7, 2012 article that appeared in The Concordian, it was reported that the CFS was alleging that
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2464-657: The CFS completed a Taskforce on the Needs of Muslim Students. The Canadian Federation of Students is the only student organization in Canada with a distinct graduate caucus that elects its own executive and operates with its own budget. Known as the National Graduate Caucus (NGC), it consists of 90,000 graduate students at 29 campuses across Canada. The NGC campaigns to oppose commercialization of university research because its research shows that pressures from industry partners can threaten academic freedom and
2541-406: The CFS holds an annual Lobby Week that brings together dozens of students from across Canada to meet with their local Members of Parliament and Senators. In 2017, over 150 meetings were held to lobby for eliminating domestic & international student tuition fees, student debt relief, investing in indigenous learners, and more graduate research funding. In 1999, the CFS challenged the legality of
2618-653: The CFS national chairperson was invited to deliver a workshop on lobbying policy-makers at a conference hosted by the Federated Press. The 2016 federal budget included several of the CFS' lobbying recommendations, including a 50% increase to the Canada Student Grants program, a $ 165 million investment in the Youth Employment Strategy, and additional public research funding. In addition to the ongoing testimonies and meetings,
2695-985: The CFS's longest-standing campaigns is the 'No Means No' campaign, now called 'Consent is Mandatory.' The CFS works closely with on-campus sexual assault centres to challenge rape culture, educate students about sexual consent and combat gender-based violence. In 2018 the federal government announced a National framework to address gender based violence in post-secondary education sector. In 2016, governments in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia passed legislation requiring post-secondary institutions to have stand-alone sexual assault and harassment policies. The CFS campaigns for increased support for on-campus mental health services and overall access to medication and counselling. The campaign saw early success. In 2017 colleges and universities received an additional $ 6 million of federal funding annually (promised for three years) to provide mental health services and supports for students, bringing
2772-699: The CFS. The negative media coverage of the CFS was one of the reasons listed by the Kwantlen Student Association representatives for calling the votes. Members at CBU, the SFU and the UVic (graduate students) voted to leave. CFS representatives did not participate in the Cape Breton referendum, noting that the CBUSU failed to give proper notice. Fellow CFS members from other campuses participated in
2849-530: The COVID-19 pandemic. A motion was proposed and passed at the AGM to condemn SFU tuition increases as a student body. This represents the first vote of members to condemn SFU in recent years. In 1996, the organization imposed a mandatory health plan to the student population after passing a referendum question during an earlier election. The health plan sparked much controversy on campus. A group of students started
2926-630: The Concordia Students' Union owed $ 1.8 million in unpaid membership dues going back as far as the 1990s. Lex Gill, then-president of the CSU firmly denied the CFS' claim, while congratulating the SFSS for "setting the tone" with regards to legal proceedings. After challenging the legitimacy of SFU's 2008 referendum, the CFS ultimately settled out of court, leading Simon Fraser University’s student union to officially leave in 2012. In June 2018, after
3003-649: The NGC urge graduate students to sign pledges that they will not make alumni donations until their university reduces post-residency fees. The NGC has been lobbying the federal government in partnership with several organizations over current reform of the Canadian Copyright Act . This involves a letter writing campaign to MPs and participation in developing the Creative Commons project. The NGC advocates for increased graduate student funding in
3080-550: The Post-Secondary Student Support Program, the federal government announced in 2017 an increase of $ 90 million to the program for indigenous learners. After serving as the chair of circle for two years, Coty Downey Zacheriah became the first Indigenous National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of students, and is currently serving his second term. Prior to 2017, the caucus was named National Aboriginal Caucus, abbreviated as NAC. One of
3157-534: The SFSS 2020 AGM . The current Council is composed of 7 Executives who are elected directly by the students, as well as composed of seats representing Faculty Student Unions, Departmental Student Unions, Constituency groups and Affiliated Student Groups. Since the creation of the SFSS in 1967, it has represented graduate and undergraduate students with one Society. However, during the Spring 2007 election, Graduate Students voted to form their own society separate from
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3234-419: The SFSS maintaining it was no longer a member of the CFS and the CFS maintaining that it was. Both the CFS and SFSS petitioned the courts to have their arguments legally upheld. SFSS then recommended to other student governments that they avoid membership within the Canadian Federation of Students. As of December 2011, the Simon Fraser Student Society and the CFS had reached an out of court resolution. As part of
3311-483: The SFSS. This is the Graduate Students Society (GSS) at Simon Fraser University. Since its founding in 1967, the organization has been highly politicized. After a long and highly publicized legal battle, the students voted at referendum in 2011 to leave the CFS and re-allocate the mandatory fees back into the SFSS to provide students with more services. In 2005, members voted in favour of
3388-406: The Simon Fraser Student Society as of September 2008. Graduate students were the majority of attendees and had an interest in the above amendment, shown by their unusually high turnout. A motion to lower quorum from 500 to 250 passed with 77%, and another resolution passed giving members of SFSS the ability to vote on future by-law changes by referendums as well as at general meetings. In July 2006,
3465-507: The Simon Fraser vote to leave CFS, but then national chairperson Amanda Aziz stated that problems with the voting process could result in the outcome not being recognized by the CFS. The SFU referendum, overseen by J.J. McCullough , saw a successful turnout with 67% of students voting to leave the CFS; though contested, it was finalized in 2012. The UVGSS result was not contested by the CFS. The Canadian Federation of Students petitioned
3542-421: The Society to propose a change to the bylaw, lowering quorum from 500 to 100, which ultimately failed. The issue had gained attention in the fall 2003 semester, after the Society spent $ 15,000 hosting a free dinner for students to encourage turnout at the annual general meeting to achieve quorum. Although the quorum of 500 was met, students left part-way through the meeting, causing the meeting to lose quorum. As
3619-571: The Special General Meeting, and voted in favour of motions to impeach the seven directors and to two amendments to the bylaws of the society. In response, the seven directors claimed that the special general meeting was invalid by claiming the Forum meeting used to call the special general meeting itself was invalid, and issued guidelines to the staff of the SFSS. They asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to declare
3696-682: The construction of the Burnaby Mountain Gondola, mobilized students across North America to take action for climate justice and Indigenous rights, and supported the Don’t Forget Students campaign leading to the Canadian Emergency Student Benefit amidst COVID-19. After refusing to join students’ calls to lobby the BC government together for increased educational funding, SFU raised tuition during
3773-532: The early 1980s as the successor organization to the Association of Students' Councils Canada (AOSC). Services made available to individual student members or member students' unions of the CFS include: Travel CUTS (Canadian Universities Travel Service) is a travel agency that was majority-owned and operated by CFS-Services (CFS-S), which operates in Canada and the United States . In 2009, Travel CUTS
3850-480: The federal and provincial levels of government. Part of the impetus to organize came from the federal government's announcement of $ 2 billion of cuts from Established Program Financing (including cuts to federal transfer payments for health and education). Another impetus was raising tuition fees, which had been a major issue for CFS' precursor organization. the NUS, starting in the late 1970s. The founding conference
3927-537: The form of scholarships and training programmes. In the 2016 federal budget, the Government of Canada allocated an additional $ 95 million towards public research through the Tri-Council granting agencies. Although BDS is controversial, the union officially endorsed the campaign in November 2018. The Canadian Federation of Students-Services (CFS-Services) is a legally separate branch of the Federation, founded in
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#17328009014634004-437: The impeachments invalid. The bank account of the SFSS was frozen due to the controversy over who were the legitimate directors of the SFSS. This issue was resolved on November 23, 2006, with a court order enforcing an agreement between the impeached directors and the remaining directors. While President Shawn Hunsdale has resigned after his impeachment, he maintained his claim that the special general meeting that impeached him
4081-624: The issue, the SFSS did not provide the groups with adequate solutions. Timeline: - Groups in the Rotunda faced losing space due to the SFSS's lease for the Rotunda going back to SFU. - While building the SUB, groups believed they would move into the SUB under the SFSS lease-lessee agreement. - The SFSS reneged on this and issued eviction notices without alternative spaces in the SUB as agreed. - A two-year battle for space on campus ensued, ending in 2020 with all groups securing space and lease agreements after
4158-401: The only province where all public college and university students' are members of the CFS, students pay the lowest average undergraduate tuition fees in Canada. There, tuition fees were reduced by 25% in the 1990s and have remained frozen. The current Progressive Conservative government has pledged to keep the freeze in place until the end of their mandate, and recently eliminated the interest on
4235-753: The outcome of the meeting with Gerald Regan . In 1992, the CFS resolved that it would be a "partner in the International Student Trade, Environment and Development Program." Member locals were urged "to consider hosting international guests from the US.A and Mexico during the fall of 1992 to contribute to the national dialogue of the effects on the education system of the North American Free Trade Agreement." (CFS Minutes, May 24-3th Centre Universitaire Saint-Louis Maillet, Edmundston, New Brunswick). The CFS reached
4312-419: The plenary. After hearing speeches by Salvadoran and Chilean students, delegates passed motions condemning human rights violations and anti-student policies in those countries. A campaign strategy was also launched to oppose the federal government's planned cut to Established Program Financing (EPF). The slogan for the campaign was "Access not axe us" and it called for an establishment of an all-grant system and
4389-459: The provincial portion of student loans. In 2015, the provincial government in Alberta froze tuition fees. In British Columbia , the CFS successfully lobbied the former New Democratic Party (NDP) government to introduce tuition fee freezes and reductions. In 2017, the CFS launched a campaign in support of international students. On average, international students pay $ 25,589.00 per year for
4466-567: The public interest. It points to cases such as those of Nancy Olivieri and David Healy as examples of commercialization run amok. In 2006, the NGC began working with Christopher Radziminski , alumnus from the University of Toronto , to support his battle with the University of Toronto and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) over research conducted with ERCO Worldwide. The former student alleges that
4543-977: The resolution, it was agreed that the SFSS membership in the CFS had ended. In 2018, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) gave eviction notices to several student groups from the Rotunda Community at Simon Fraser University (SFU), including the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, the CJSF Campus Public Radio, the Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA), First Nations Metis and Inuit Student Association (FNMISA). SOCA and FNMISA are equity-seeking groups advocating for reconciliation, redressing of wrongs, social and racial equity, inclusivity, representation, and community-building and Indigenous sovereignty. The eviction notices followed
4620-407: The same period. In 2002, the University of Toronto Students' Administrative Council, which had never been part of a national students' union before, voted to join the CFS. At the November 2005 Annual General Meeting of the Federation, the positive result of the votes at both University of Manitoba Students' Union and the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union were ratified. The latter vote result
4697-640: The second level of the Maggie Benston Centre on SFU's Burnaby Campus. The student society also has an office and provides services at the satellite campus of SFU Surrey with Efua Bhavnani as the sole staff operating there. The SFSS has completed the construction of the Student Union Building and Stadium project on the Burnaby campus in August 2020. Together, the two structures are called Build SFU. The SFSS offers services such as
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#17328009014634774-418: The size of their local membership, and an executive, which includes representatives of each provincial affiliate. In provinces where a significant number of students' unions are members of the CFS, the affiliated component (e.g. CFS-Ontario, CFS-NS) has its own general meetings and executive, the latter being formed by representatives of the local students' unions. In October 2009 CFS-Quebec ceased to operate as
4851-408: The spring of 2010, undergraduate students at the University of Guelph and the Alberta College of Art and Design and graduate students at the University of Calgary and McGill University attempted to hold decertification votes. Only the Alberta College of Art and Design vote followed the applicable CFS bylaws. Several irregularities in the conduct of the students' unions at McGill and Calgary were cited by
4928-424: The stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian students and work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education. The CFS has its roots in Canada's long tradition of having national student organizations, such as formerly the National Union of Students (Canada) , the Canadian Union of Students , the National Federation of Canadian University Students ,
5005-429: The subject of much debate. The name "Canadian Federation of Students" is generally used to designate three legally distinct organizations: the national CFS, one of the provincial components of the Federation, and/or CFS-Services. CFS and CFS-Services share the same bylaws and decision-making structures. These structures include biannual general meetings, where every member students' union receives one vote regardless of
5082-481: The support of the SFSS advisory Council and many campus groups. - Save Our Spaces was started by supportive students, leading to the Save Student Spaces campaign by the groups, covered extensively by the Peak the campus newspaper . - By the end of 2020, SOCA, FNMISA, CJSF, SFPIRG, and The Peak secured spaces where an compromise agreement was reached, offering space in the new Student Union Building for Rotunda groups after much protest from students . - A new agreement
5159-431: The supposed reason during classroom speaking sessions which were recorded as part of a regular lecture recording. A 2007 article in 'Upping the Anti' quoted "an elected officer of the SFSS" as having stated to a colleague that "[w]e don’t trust her" because "[s]he attempted to bring speculation upon the CFS at the CFS conference in May by publicly asking inappropriate questions during some of the meetings." The fired employee
5236-435: The total amount of mental health funding to $ 15 million a year. In 2018, the Ontario government announced a $ 2.1 billion investment in mental health services. In 1998, the CFS launched a campaign to change Canadian Blood Services' policy of prohibiting any man who has had sex with a man from donating blood. The campaign garnered significant media attention. In May 2013, Canadian Blood Services changed their lifetime ban to
5313-405: Was a problem with the Forum, the petition was sufficient and should have been followed, and assigned all costs to the individual impeached directors. In December 2019, another SFSS President was impeached . In March 2007 the Simon Fraser Student Society conducted a non-binding plebiscite where over 75% of voting members voted to leave the CFS. The power of this plebiscite to give a clear mandate
5390-431: Was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada , where it ruled that Translink's actions violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , and in doing so, the Court set the precedent that "arms-length" government agencies such as Translink do come under Charter scrutiny. In 2014, The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students launched a challenge against the Fair Elections Act , which
5467-587: Was challenged by former USSU director, and in 2007, the courts ruled the vote to be of no force or effect. The CFS website continues to list the USSU as Local 17. In October 2007, USSU voted to keep prospective membership in the CFS and hold a referendum in the next two years; however, in September 2009 the USSU voted to rescind that motion and claims that its affiliation with CFS is void. In March 2008, students at four campuses (Cape Breton University, Simon Fraser University, Kwantlen University-College, and Graduate students at University of Victoria) held votes to leave
5544-493: Was held at Carleton University between October 14–19, 1981. Mike McNeil was elected as the organization's first Chairperson , along with Mike Walker (Treasurer), former NUS treasurer Kirk Falconer (International Affairs Commissioner), Kathie Cram (Women's Commissioner), Brian Robinson (Graduate Student Representative), Ben Freedman (Member at Large), and Leslie Neilson (Member at Large). The Federation's bylaws and constitution were finalized and over 50 motions were passed during
5621-463: Was later reinstated and arbitration results included full retroactive pay. An organisation called Students for a Democratic University instigated a petition for a special general meeting under the SFSS's bylaws and the Society Act of British Columbia that called for the impeachment of seven directors and two bylaw changes that would alter funding and decision-making authority within the SFSS. The petition had signatures from 9.8% of all students, exceeding
5698-538: Was questioned by some. The referendum was held in conjunction with the general election of 2007. After this plebiscite the SFSS engaged in the regular defederation process, collecting over 3000 signatures during the summer semester for a defederation vote six months hence. In the vote, which was held in March 2008, students again voted to leave by a 67% majority. The status of the 2008 referendum, overseen by then-student and Independent Electoral Commission CEO J.J. McCullough , remained in dispute by both parties, with
5775-674: Was rescheduled for April 2008. Three weeks after the referendums at SFU and UVic (graduate students), Kwantlen students voted to remain members of the CFS. In the fall of 2008, the largest bilingual student association in Canada, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, re-joined the CFS. However, in December 2018 the SFUO will no longer be recognized as a student union by the Universities governing bodies, following
5852-471: Was signed after a pro-space and pro-equity student party entered the SFSS in 2020, ensuring long-term space agreements for SOCA, DNA, SFPIRG, CJSF, FNMISA, The Peak, WC, and OOC. Canadian Federation of Students Jawad Chowdhury (Deputy Chairperson) The Canadian Federation of Students ( CFS ) is a student organization in Canada , representing over 530,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981,
5929-552: Was sold to Merit Travel Group. In 1996, the University Students' Council at the University of Western Ontario initiated a lawsuit against CFS-Services, to be later joined by three other student societies ( Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia , Queen's Alma Mater Society and University of Alberta Students' Union ). The plaintiffs "alleged the CFS-Services illegally transferred assets from
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