A message from PGSS that concerns all graduate students:
There will be a Special General Meeting held on Thursday, January 15th at 5:00pm in Stewart Bio S1/3 to discuss the agenda item below. All graduate students are invited. Please consider dedicating a few hours to participate in this very important democratic process.
WHEREAS a vote will be held on January 15-16, 2015 to determine whether the Post Graduate Students Society of McGill (PGSS) should be a member of the CFS.
WHEREAS CFS refused to hold this referendum until they were ordered to do so by the Quebec Superior Court.
WHEREAS the CFS is a federal corporation that claims PGSS owes it over $100,000 per year in membership dues.
WHEREAS CFS’ purpose is “to represent Canadian students in the federal level of decision making…” but according to the Canadian constitution, education is an exclusively provincial matter.
WHEREAS in the past three years, CFS has not met with the Quebec Education Minister or appeared before the Quebec National Assembly to advocate on behalf of Quebec students.
WHEREAS the CFS National Executive originally tried to schedule this vote during December exams.
WHEREAS In 2009, CFS subsidiary Travel CUTS was put into receivership after losing $4.3 million the previous year.
WHEREAS the rules for this referendum state that the CFS-appointed Chief Returning Officer “will not approve materials that…refer to legal or quasi legal action/s before the courts that relate to the Referendum, or to other legal or quasi legal actions…”
WHEREAS the CFS-appointed Chief Returning Officer established the following rule: “There shall be no campaigning at any time in a business or service owned or operated by the Student’s Union”
WHEREAS the Quebec Superior court ruled that some of the referendum rules established by the CFS CRO violate the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
WHEREAS according to CFS bylaws, if McGill students do not vote to leave CFS in this referendum, they will not be permitted to vote again for another five years.
BIRT PGSS endorse a “NO” vote in the CFS referendum of PGSS members
Education Graduate Students' Society 