CSU consent agenda modified following injunction

The StartUp Nation filed an injunction against the student union following a decision to revoke its club status

NewsBriefGeneviève Sylvestre — Published December 13, 2024 4 minutes

A majority of councillors were present at the meeting, which lasted a little over 30 minutes. Due to exam conflicts, two councillors and two executive members had sent their notice of absence to the chairperson prior to the start of the RCM. 

Council motioned to accept all of the absences and the motion passed unanimously. 

Consent agenda 

External affairs and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne read out a statement on behalf of the executive team to remove two items from the consent agenda: The ratification of the minutes of the Clubs and Spaces Committee meeting held on Dec. 4, and of the minutes of the CSU policy committee meeting held on Dec. 5. 

She also motioned not to present to council the ratification of either item before the RCM scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025. 

On Dec. 4, at the Clubs and Spaces Committee meeting, councillors unanimously voted in favour of a motion to revoke The StartUp Nation’s club status. 

This decision came following the club’s violation of Concordia’s Policy on the Temporary Use of University Space; CSU policies on space usage; and section 2.2.4 of their own constitution, which states that “the club shall be subjected to both the [CSU] Code of Conduct and Concordia’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities.”

As per the meeting minutes, 12 complaints were filed to the CSU against The StartUp Nation due to tabling events held on Nov. 8 and Dec. 3. During the latter, the club had invited a non-approved community member—former Israel Defense Forces soldier Yoseph Haddad—onto campus, leading to a counter-protest by pro-Palestine students. 

According to point 3.1 of the CSU policy on clubs, the Clubs and Space Committee can make a recommendation to council to remove an official club’s status when it has not acted in accordance with its constitution or CSU by-laws, regulation and policy. 

During the policy committee meeting on Dec. 5, councillors motioned to modify point 3.1 of the policy so that the internal affairs coordinator may also recommend to council to revoke a club’s official status. 

For motions passed during committee meetings to be ratified by the student union, they must first be approved by council. Minutes from previous committee meetings are sent to councillors prior to the start of every RCM and they are able to debate on their ratification when voting on the approval of the consent agenda. 

According to the executives’ statement, the decision to remove the two items from the consent agenda was made following legal proceedings brought by The StartUp Nation. 

“This has required us to redirect extensive amounts of student money towards legal fees where an internal resolution could’ve been made between both parties,” Ballantyne said. 

The Israeli club believes that the motion issued by the Clubs and Spaces Committee on Dec. 4 is invalid. According to an Instagram post made the day after the RCM, The StartUp Nation called the fact that both items were originally added to the consent agenda “unlawful and undemocratic,” claiming that the CSU had violated point 3.1 of the policy on clubs.  

The motion to amend the consent agenda passed unanimously. 

Meeting disruption 

Following the amendment, an unknown individual disrupted the Zoom meeting by sharing their screen and playing a video of a man spewing transphobic rhetoric. The chairperson removed the individual from the meeting.

A councillor later requested that the chairperson remove another individual from the meeting as the councillor claimed that they were showing inappropriate things on their screen. This individual was also removed. 

Request for clarification 

Councillor Aron Kessel asked for the executive team to elaborate on the statement read by Ballantyne, mainly regarding the reallocation of funds towards legal fees. 

Academic and advocacy coordinator Vanessa Massot clarified that relocation of funds is associated with the legal fees incurred in dealing with  an impending application for an injunction. 

Following Kessel’s request for further elaboration, Massot said that the CSU’s lawyers had advised members of the executive team not to discuss the matter further and that the specific legal document had already been sent to all councillors. 

This is a developing story.