The Peak

SFSS execs dish on the coming semester in student politics

By Sam Norris, News Editor

The health plan, the Canadian Federation of Students, and a couple of elections.

Those are the issues the Simon Fraser Student Society will likely concern itself with this semester, according to interviews conducted this week with directors.

“For the first month, it’s all about the health plan,” said Member Services Officer Earl Tapia.

Directors expect to spend significant amounts of time up until January 28 — the deadline for opt-outs — informing students how they can leave the plan. The SFSS has also hired four temporary project workers to help with the process.

Students can opt out of the health plan, which costs no more than $198 annually, only if they can provide proof of alternate coverage.

In 1997, the SFSS’s last attempt at a health plan was rejected in a referendum by students four months after what many considered to be a botched implementation process.

“Some of [the directors] campaigned on this,” said Internal Relations Officer Andrew Fergusson, emphasizing the importance the Board is placing on a smooth implementation.

The SFSS also expects a decision on its petition to validate last year’s CFS referendum by the end of January.

Since last year’s referendum did not fully comply with CFS regulations, the SFSS petitioned the courts to rule it binding.

“We’ve asked the court, essentially, ‘We had a referendum. Please tell the world that it was done in a kosher fashion,’” wrote Treasurer Anna Belkine in an email exchange.

If the court does not recognize the referendum, the implication is that SFU is still a member of the CFS. According to SFSS directors, the CFS would then likely launch a lawsuit to reclaim last year’s frozen membership fees from the SFSS.

That scenario would likely see this year’s SFSS elections again fought on the grounds of support for the CFS.

The SFSS will also be involved in advocacy work in the months before May’s provincial election.

“Although it won’t happen until the semester is over, a lot of the work will happen to raise awareness . . . this semester,” said External Relations Officer Natalie Bocking. “Just voting is obviously the thing that makes the biggest difference in the direction of the government, so trying to raise that in the student consciousness is I think going to be the biggest issue this semester.”

The other election is the SFSS’s own. Currently slated for March, barring a court decision overturning the CFS referendum, it is likely to be a more staid affair than last year’s edition.

“The [SFSS President] Joe Paling ‘camp’ is not running again — the bright-eyed lefties are,” said Belkine.

Of the six executive members of the Board of Directors, Paling, Tapia, Belkine, and University Relations Officer Ali Godson have confirmed they will not run again, leaving only Fergusson and Bocking as potential incumbents.

Both have refused to commit to running.

The election may also feature referendum questions. Proposed bylaw changes rejected in the November referendum, which would have eliminated faculty representatives on Board and increased election spending limits, will likely be repackaged and proposed to students.

Treasurer Belkine is also proposing that the SFSS stop collecting money — currently a $0.75 per student levy — into the Accessibility Fund, which would require a referendum.

The fund, which currently contains $150,000 and sits virtually untapped, would be turned into a permanent endowment for the SFSS.