CSU’s RCM talks transitional housing and healthcare
The CSU still has an issue with the number of councillors joining committees.
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) held its regular council meeting (RCM) on Oct. 4.
The meeting lasted under three hours and had 12 points on the agenda, including appointments to seats on committees, funding approval for the Transitional Housing Project and a few informational points on student healthcare.
CSU committee appointments
Similar to the union’s previous two meetings, the CSU is still appointing councillors to committees. The CSU has 12 committees that have at least one empty seat. Sona Sadio joined the Loyola committee, Michael Lecchino joined the sustainability committee and Riley Cooke joined the mental health committee. By the end of RCM however, the majority of seats still needed at least one more councillor, and the BIPOC and Mental Health committees still needed at least one more councillor to become functional.
Funding for Transitional Housing Project
Since her election as Sustainability Coordinator at the CSU, Maria Chitoroaga has led CSU’s transitional housing project. During the RCM, she motioned for approval for funding through the Student Space, Accessible Education and Legal Contingency Fund (SSAELC) for $30,000. The majority of the money will be used for the salary of the Housing Fund Director, as well as furniture for each apartment. According to Chitoroaga, the current budget, which is supplied through the Sustainability Initiatives budget, will not last past November 2023.
The motion passed unanimously.
Rescheduling of events
Each year, the CSU hosts a retreat for councillors to get to know each other, as well as a mandatory consent training program to ensure a better working environment. Due to this year’s lack of union councillors, Christian Taboada, the internal affairs coordinator motioned to reschedule the events for a later date. According to him, having only one-third of the councillors will not be productive enough for both events.
The motion passed unanimously.
Transfer of Student Data
During an informational point on the agenda, Harley Martin, the general coordinator at the union, informed the council of new updates concerning student healthcare plans. All necessary information for negotiations is relayed by the university administration to the health insurers to ensure smooth service. However, due to new privacy legislation in the province, the university informed the CSU that the relay of data to health providers will not be functional moving forward. In addition, Martin suggested that the union will write a letter to the provincial government for clarification on the bill when it comes to defining the margins of what institutions are allowed to do with student data.
