The CFS Saga

Posted by Pierre Chauvin in From the Archives on January 23, 2013

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The current legal fight between the Concordia Student Union and the Canadian Federation of Students reflects their rocky relationship since the CSU joined the CFS.

Immediately following the victory of the 1998 referendum to join, CSU councillor Al Feldman alleged that ineligible students voted in the referendum and that the CFS violated the election regulations by “providing the “Yes” committee with campaign workers who were not actually electors.”

In February 2010, as the CSU was preparing a defederation campaign from the CSF, the federation claimed the CSU owed them more than $1 million in outstanding fees.

In March 2010, the CFS bought a full-page ad in The Link lobbying a “No” vote in the defederation referendum. So on the next page, then Editor-in-Chief Terrine Friday argued in favour of defederation, pointing out the lack of services by the CFS, high fees ($1.23 per class) and a bylaw passed by the CFS before the referendum preventing more than two member-associations from holding a defederation referendum within a three-month period.

At the time, she noted that “defederation petitions and lawsuits have been filled […] There are 13 schools in all.”

“Is the $700 of your money that the CFS spent on this ad enough to buy your vote?” concluded Friday.

For more on the rocky relationship between the CSU and CFS, read the story in our News section with a timeline of major events.