During the provincial Canadian Federation of Students’ (CFS-NL) Annual General Meeting (AGM) last month, locals voted for 80% of the Graduate Students’ Union’s (GSU) debt to CFS-NL to be discharged back into the union and to its constituents.
The motion in the Budget Committee Report at the AGM read that “the Federation accept a settlement of the outstanding balance, with 20% remitted in cash and 80% discharged through a Member Services Reinvestment Fund,” according to the unofficial meeting minutes provided to The Muse by CFS-NL.
In March, the debt to CFS-NL was numbered at $177,680, with another $177,680 to CFS National for a total of $355,260. It was also said that the GSU had finalized a 10-year payment plan with CFS. Meeting minutes from the GSU’s meeting in September, prior to the AGM, list the current debt to CFS-NL at an uncertain amount.
In that same September meeting, Executive Director of Academics, Iyanu Joshua Gbiri, mentioned to the board that he has introduced a motion to CFS National to “redirect debt into direct services to the students,” which reads similarly to the Member Services Reinvestment Fund. CFS is currently having its National AGM in Toronto.
The Fund will potentially be used for:
- Restoring Field Hall Residences to replace the loss of Signal Hill Graduate Dedicated Residences
- Creating dedicated Graduate Food Insecurity Resources to address food insecurity & long term health impacts as documented in Blundell 2020 & Blundell 2022
- Supporting the Annual Aldrich Interdisciplinary Conference
- Academic & Professional Skill Building Workshops
- Establishing Barrier Free Physical Wellness & Recreation Programs
- Other uses found appropriate by the convened parties
The Financial Investigation Committee of the GSU will also have to submit a report at the 2027 CFS-NL AGM on the investigation’s status.
There was an attempt to pull the motion on the debt for further discussion, but the vote was defeated. The adoption of the report was then carried, with 3 in favour, 1 abstention, and 1 vote against from MUNSU, which was discussed during MUNSU’s Board of Directors meeting on November 4th.
During that MUNSU meeting, Executive Director of External Affairs, Taqi Yeasir, said in his work report that “every student local who is a part of CFS pays $4 to CFS-NL and $4 to the National. For some reason, the GSU didn’t pay $150,000 to the National and to the [CFS-NL] as well.” Yeasir was also surprised that the other unions accepted the motion.
He added that the money sent to CFS is not used for “any particular local.” With MUNSU having the highest number of students among the locals, he also mentioned that Memorial undergrads were contributing the most. Yeasir then asked the board to reconsider the relationship between CFS and MUNSU, demanding transparency in how they use funds.
Executive Director of Finances, Nathan Gillingham, said that he “appreciated” the initiative to rethink MUNSU’s relationship with CFS. He added that there is “not a whole lot” that CFS contributes to. Having been at the previous National AGM, he mentioned that “instantly everyone has a million issues, no one is happy, nationally, with the CFS.”
On the GSU’s debt repayment strategy, Gillingham explained to the board that the debt to CFS comes from the GSU collecting dues, and then not transferring those dues to CFS, later stating that MUNSU will pay “over $100,000 to CFS.”
Gillingham then mentioned that “if there is a conversation here of CFS-NL issuing locals money that is meant to be for them, but issuing these fat checks to student unions, I do recognise how that can be unfair. So I do support voting against that.
Ultimately, he questioned, “where’s our forgiveness? Genuinely. I’m sure many of you have seen some of the really hard decisions we had to make as a union. Where’s our money? I really don’t think this is equitable at all.”
The Muse has reached out to CFS-NL, the GSU, as well as MUNSU for further comment and we will update in a future article.