Gratitude.

I am just finishing packing up my office here in SU 180. Two years has a way of making personal effects accumulate in your workspace.

I am too tired right now to go into a long, philosophical (and emotional)  exploration of what the last two years has meant to me, and hopefully, the organization.

So, in it’s stead, I will offer this:

Thank you. In the deepest, truest, and most sincere form that those 2 words can be offered… Thank you.

My time here has meant more to me than you can know, and I could not have done it without you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you challenging me. Thank you for the arguments and the disagreements. Thank you for the life altering conversations and discussions. Thank you for the support, for the wisdom, and for the guidance. Thank you for the trust, and for making me work hard to earn it. Thank you for the criticism and for the encouragement. Thank you for being there to push me through the hard parts, and for sharing in the good ones. Thank you for everything you have done for me, especially the things that I don’t know about. Thank you for helping me to be better.

Sincerely,

Adam Vossepoel

(Former) ULSU President

Bring on the Little Kids!

Last week the U of L officially broke ground on the lastest addition to the campus – construction has begun on the new Daycare Facility here. This is a pretty big deal considering that this push for on campus daycare has taken nearly five full years to come to fruition.

Ground was broken by student leaders, senior level administrators, members of the Daycare Action Committee (DAC), and the outside service provider for the daycare facility. For many of the students present this opening was a large victory as the movement to bring daycare onto campus began as a grass roots movement. DAC was formed with the support of faculty and staff here at the U of L, but largely was made up of students. Their study on the need for daycare on campus was the prime spring board that got this issue moving along in the upper levels of administration. You can find many of their studies here.

All of those who worked so hard to bring this service to campus, congratulations – here’s to 2010, when the facility will officially open its doors for service.

Cheers,

Eric
VP Internal

Posting Problems

• ** WARNING! INCOMING RANT ***

Let me preface this by saying that this topic is not directed to any one person or department, it simply designed to spread awareness about an issue.

Okay. That is just about enough!

The ULSU ran into an issue this year. It was something that was never encountered in the past. And it was something that has caused considerable frustration to everyone that has ever suffered through it. I am talking about posting at the University of Lethbridge.

At first, we could ignore it. After all, it is just a couple of posters here and there. Maybe they fell down. Maybe the duct tape did not hold to concrete. Maybe a couple people did not agree with the content and tore them down. These things happen.

But then it got worse. Much worse. Soon, any poster that was trying to promote student life, whether it was from the Students’ Union, an on-campus group, or department was being ripped down. And it wasn’t just one or two posters here and there. It was systematic destruction of any and all posters on this campus.

The only “safe” place is on the sparse bulletin boards around campus. If you have seen the bulletin boards, you will see why I put safe in quotations. They are a cluttered mess, which are only cleaned off during convocations. Quite honestly, they so cluttered as to be useless. In addition, there is no set system as to which postings can go where, so anything and everything goes on all the boards that are not under glass. Rooms for rent, bands, Thailand trips, mushroom promotion, books for sale,  club events; it all becomes the same: unreadable and un-usable.

As an aside, this year, the ULSU, fed up with the clutter that infects boards in the SU Building, instituted a system: Grouping of posters by type. Was it effective? Yes. Was it expensive and complicated? No. All it involved was labeling the boards, and posting a guideline notice. Problem solved.

In addition to the bulletin boards, there is the matter of posting on concrete. Now, in the past, on-campus groups had been allowed to post on unfinished concrete surfaces. The postings typically had to be in the promotion of campus life, whether it was a special lecturer, or special event. This year, despite the new strategic plan outlining student engagement as a key priority, this is no longer the case.

Now, I am greatly in favor to the prohibition of posting on painted or finished surfaces. Duct tape, the typical material for affixing posters, can seriously damage drywall or laminate. But concrete?! Duct tape is strong, but I have yet to encounter a type that can compromise the structural, or even surface integrity of concrete.

So, what is the point of this rant? Well, something need to change. It seems like a fairly trivial issue to get worked up over. But it is not. As stupid as it sounds, posters are important at the University of Lethbridge.

So, a call to action:

The posting guidelines need to change. Rather than promoting the university community to be involved, it is hurting it. Posters, despite their weaknesses, are still a very simple, and very effective way to communicate. They show that there are people on this campus that are excited to be here, people that want to get others excited as well.  Posters demonstrate that there is life within these austere, concrete walls. Let’s make sure that that life can grow and flourish.

So, what are we doing to change these guidelines? First, we need your feedback. Email me (su.president@uleth.ca) with your comments and frustrations,  but also with your suggestions for improvement. We will take it from there.

I am admittedly biased, but in my mind, posters around the campus are a good thing. They are one of the things that make Universities unique. In what other environment can you find so much activity in such a small space? People; staff, students, and faculty, complain that there is nothing to do here. I vehemently disagree. The University of Lethbridge is a hive of activity and excitement. There are many people here who are passionate about promoting campus culture. Posters help them do that.

Adam Vossepoel

President

huzzah minister!!! part 3- Let’s talk about Tri Councils

And we are back. I like that Jenn posted about the VP Research because a big part of their job is to secure funding from the Tri-Councils for research. Conincidentally, we here at CASA are talking about Tri-Council funding as it pertains to students.

So, what the heck are the Tri-Councils? Well, they are the autonomous bodies that are charged with reviewing research projects throughout the country, and subsequently providing funding for said projects. The Tri-Councils are:

Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR)

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

So, why are we talking about the tri-councils. Well, research is important. We are biased, of course, but we fundamentally believe that education and innovation are the primary means of improving this country. That is why we are talking about Tri-Council funding and autonomy.

There are 2 things that we are talking to ministers, MPs, senators, and leaders about.

TRI-COUNCIL PAY EQUITY

A student should not need to take a vow of poverty if they want to do grad work in the Social Sciences and Humanities. But that is what we are requiring of them right now. Students who pursue graduate research through SSHRC get paid significantly less than those who are funded by NSERC and CIHR. Why?

Well, one of the things we hear is NSERC and CIHR need more funding to attract grad students, because of market forces. They could make a lot of money working, rather than researching or something like that. They also throw bunk excuses like “the Universities set the pay level of the degrees!”

But, we are having none of that!!! First off, the value of research is in-calculable. Who knows? The next big thing might come from the social sciences. So why is the government falsely perpetuating market forces? Also, universities don’t spend money on things that they don’t consider necessary, like student salaries (They are a business folks. If you weren’t forced to spend more money on someone’s salary, you would’nt).

So, our ask: Pay equity across the Tri-Councils. Whether this means that the government puts more funding into SSHRC, or simply rejigs the rules to ensure this equity are inconsequential to us, as long as it happens.

Research is valuable, whether is done in the social sciences, natural sciences, or health field. Let’s make sure that students who want to do this work are not disadvantaged.

TRI-COUNCIL AUTONOMY

In Budget 2009, there were some concerning mandates. One thing that the Government did was direct SSHRC to focus in on Business related grad projects. We have an issue with this one too!

The Tri-Councils are supposed to be arms length from the government. And here we have a case of direct interference. While we have no specific issue with differentially funding the tri-councils to reflect the government’s priorities, we believe that is where it should end.

DO NOT tell an independent agency that a management graduate project is more valuable than a history graduate project.

Again, it comes back to the intrinsic value of research across the board. I have been the using the R.I.M example (they are the folks who came up with the Blackberry). The work that RIM did to come up with that little tool needed input from across the disciplines; from computer science to linguistics, to user interface research. If any part of that was missing, the Blackberry would not exist. And that is just one example among many.

Research is important. It is not the government’s place to determine what research should be done. That is the responsibility of the Tri-Councils. That is why they were set up in the first place. Do not tinker with that.

Adam Vossepoel

President

“Huzzah Minister!” – Lobbying Day 1

As part of our ongoing news feed from Ottawa, we are officially concluding our first real day of lobbing. The membership has already conducted 34 individual meetings with Senators, MPs, and key staff. The ULSU got to meet with the following:

Myself

• Ed Komarnicki, MP: Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour 
• Rodger Cuzner, MP: Official Opposition Whip

 

From Left to Right: Rodger Cuzner: MP, Derek Krywvj: Red River College, Kyle Steele: Acadia University, Brodie Pattenden: ULSU

 

 

Jeremy

• Mike Savage, MP: Official Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Skills and the Chair of the Liberal Caucus Committee on Post-Secondary Education and Research
• Rick Norlock, MP

Adam

• Paul Calandra, MP
• Martha Hall Finley, MP: Platform Outreach Chair for the Liberal Party of Canada

These meetings so far have been incedibly exciting, with reception of CASA’s priorities, as outlined in Adam’s previous post, being quite positive. The pragmatic solutions we are proposing are not requiring huge capital injunctions (something that tends to be a hard sales pitch during a recession), but rather a more efficient and effect use of current funds. Also, initiatives such as the Removal of the Textbook Importation Tax and Fair and Balanced Copy-write Law, have little to do with funding to and from government coffers, but rather adjustment to policy that enhances innovation, affordability, and accessibility in the PSE environment. 

There are still three more days and ~120 lobby meetings to go, with highlight meetings such as Elections Canada and Stephane Dion for myself, and Michael Ignatieff for Voss. Meetings are being added daily, so stay tuned!

Brodie Pattenden

VP Admin, CASA Fanboy

Sweet Rhymes and Hard Times

Our goals this week,

As the Economy looks bleak:

Learn more about RAP and the CSGP,

And get big Commitments from every MP!

Gather together and collect Information,

To Spread PSE all over the Nation!

The above is courtesy of the great team at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. I am hunkered down in Ottawa at the Lord Elgin Hotel, with VP Admin Brodie Pattenden, and President Elect Jeremy Girard. We are in the process of briefing new and old members about how to effectively advocate PSE issues to the federal government.

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, CASA is a national lobby organization that focuses on issues related to post secondary education in Canada. Over the next week (3.5 days technically) over 70 student leaders will be meeting with ~150 MPs, Senators, and Policy staff of the government.

This event, called Lobby Con (Con is for conference, not some clever reference to government), and has become quite the event on the Hill. The priorities that CASA has can change from year to year, but it always focuses on improving Canada’s university system through non-partisan, rational, and intelligent policy recommendations.

This year, in the face of the “looming economic crisis” (I really hate that term actually. Sorry for perpetuating it), CASA has had a tough job. It is not easy to ask for funding when the government is staring down the wrong end of defecit budget for the first time in a decade. But CASA does not give up that easily. We are nothing if not persistent!

This year, the membership has decided to focus on the following priorities, in no particular order:

- Expand the Canada Student Grant Program

- Enhance the Repayment Assistance Plan

- Take a Balanced Approach to Copyright Law

- Reduce the Cost of Academic Materials

- Create Tri-Council Funding Autonomy

- Improve Tri-Council Salary Guideline

As the week goes on, I will post more on each of the above points.

Until the future,

Adam Vossepoel

President

GET OUT THE VOTE (Then come party)

All right everyone,

It is that time of year again. Thats right, it is time to vote in the ULSU Elections.

It is super easy. All you have to do is go to the website, log in, and VOTE!

WWW.ULSU.CA

There is literally no reason not to vote. Seriously, if you are reading this, then you can vote. Just open the site in another tab or something. Go. Do it. Now. VOTE!

Voting is open until March 5th at 3:00 pm.

Then, come on up to the Zoo for the Election Results and Big Rock Bash Party.

At 5:00 pm, the winners are announced. Then comes the music. With performances by The Record Holder and Chief Mountain, it promises the be quite the night. Also, there is no cover.

But it doesn’t stop there. At 7:00 pm, our friends at Big Rock Brewery are giving a little presentation on how you can enter to win $10,000, just by entering a contest. Also, you can go the Eddies (apparently these are a big deal in C-town).

All in all, looks to be quite the night. So, come on out, welcome in the new council, say goodbye to us old hacks, listen to some cool jams, and find out how you can win the big bucks.

Not too bad, for a Thursday in Lethbridge.

Check out the FB for more info:

ULSU Elections and Big Rock Bash

Adam Vossepoel

President

Introductions and Head to Head

Well Folks,

It’s that time of year again. If you hadn’t noticed, there are a whole bunch of posters plastered around this University, trying to get you to support candidates in their bid to rule the ULSU! Cue dramatic music!

Who will be the next crew? Guess what, it is all up to you ( Ha, that rhymes. (I wish I could do that all the time!)).

So come on out to the Atrium on Wednesday, February 25th, at Noon, and meet the candidates. This is our annual Town Hall, where all prospective candidates will tell you why they want to be on the next ULSU Council.

Then, it gets really exciting. Thursday, February 26th, again at Noon in the Atrium, come on out for the Executive Candidate Debates! Now, you may ask, “Who are 3/4 candidates going to debate, when they are acclaimed?”. Well, have no fear, except for the VP Internal position, all other candidates will be up against myself, and the current VP Admin, Brodie Pattenden. And my goodness, is Brodie a ferocious debater!

For more information about the ULSU Elections, or to find out about the candidates, visit WWW.ULSU.CA

Adam Vossepoel

President

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT: BRING ON THE PAIN

** Again, like yesterday’s post, I will try to keep the partisan stuff out of it***

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Well, after a 2.5 hour meeting today with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, her Excellency the Governor General has granted the request to prorogue, suspending Parliament until January 26th, 2009.

For those who don’t know, prorogue is simply a technical term that means to end a session of Parliament. It is a decision that is made by the Governor General, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

It is not undemocratic and is in fact allowed by the Constitution that Canada operates under. During prorogation, all formal business conducted by the Parliament, the House of Commons and the Senate, is stopped.

Members of Parliament still remain in their positions, however all orders of business, i.e bills, motions, etc, are expunged.

In practice, the prorogation is simply a delay. Until January 26th, nothing on Parliament Hill will officially be changing.

BREAKING IT DOWN

Let’s review how the Westminster system works, and clear up some the rhetoric that is being tossed around so wantonly.

No one in Canada voted for a government. Every person that voted, (which was not many; lowest in our history), voted for Members of Parliament. Those MP are affiliated with specific parties, simply as a means of easy categorization. Parties do not exist in the Canadian constitution.

Now, it is standard practice that the party with the most number of MPs, who were voted into into the House of Commons, is allowed to form government. But it is not the people of Canada who directly decide the government, it is Parliament.

In the recent election, the Conservative government did not win enough seats to form a majority (50% of seats plus 1), thereby forming a minority government.

Minority governments, because they do not have the necessary number to pass bills or motions alone, require the support of other MPs from other parties. Otherwise business on the Hill stalls.

So, leaders in a minority government must have the “confidence” of the House of Commons in order to govern. Simply put, this means that a majority of the MPs must feel secure in the Prime Minister. They tacitly agree with this through the support of confidence motions.

On Monday, December 8th, there was to be a confidence motion introduced into the House of Commons by the minority Conservative government: The federal budget.

In addition to outlining the strategies to deal with the pending economic downturn, the federal budget initially included some proposals that would limit the public financing of political parties. These have since been withdrawn. However, it made the opposition parties (NDP, Liberal, and Bloc) cautious.

Talks of a coalition began, sparking an incredible polarization that we have not recently seen in Canadian politics. The coalition MPs, who collectively form a majority, stated that they would not support a confidence motion (budget) that the Prime Minister was to bring forward.

Faced with this, the Prime Minister requested that the Governor General prorogue, preventing the confidence motion from occurring. This is not illegal in our Canadian system, though it is does not have precedent.

On January 26th, the Parliament will move back in session, with the budget to be brought forward again. Cue political circus.

It is safe to say that MPs from all sides will not be getting much rest over the Christmas season, in preparation for the end of January.

As with all rumblings on from the Hill, we will be watching with keen interest. At the very least, politics are sexy again.

Adam Vossepoel

President

“The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNMENT!!!” (Source: Most Canadian headlines over the last couple of days.)

*** I have tried to keep this as non-partisan as possible. I am intrigued, to say the least. We live in very interesting times. Share and Enjoy**

So, you may of heard rumors of something big going on with our federal government. Rumblings of a coalition, charges claiming it is not democratic, and the horrors that another election will be called, seem to be the “talk of the town”.

Since, as usual, there is a lot of rhetoric being thrown around like this little number, let’s clear some things up about the issues on Parliament Hill.

HERE IS WHAT IS HAPPENING:

- Canada uses the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy. Read this first, it is very important! Key points to remember are the difference between the Head of State (The Governor General, through the Queen) and the Head of Government (The Prime Minister). This is an important distinction in our democratic system.

- The recently formed government does not hold a majority (50% +1) of seats in the House of Commons, forming what is called a minority government.

- The Conservative minority government recently announced their economic statement. In addition to outlining some strategies that the government will take to combat the economic downturn, there were some points about public financing of political parties, limiting government employee’s ability to strike, and preventing the use of tribunals on matters of salary equity.

- The other three parties (Liberal, NDP, and Bloc) saw these plans, were unsatisfied, and began making plans to draft a coalition. Officially, only the Liberals and NDP are a part of it, with the Bloc tacitly agreeing, as long as the coalition keeps the interests of Quebec in mind.

- On Monday, December 8th, the coalition plans to bring forward a confidence motion to defeat the Conservative minority government, and replace it with a government made up by members from all three parties.

- The Governor General of Canada now comes into play. Michealle Jean, legally the leader of the country (according to our Constitution), is responsible for ensuring that the government functions. If the vote of no-confidence passes, it is up to her to decide to call another election, or allow the coalition to rule.

Canadian people, perhaps confusing our form of government with the American one, what with all the attention it has gotten recently, are in an uproar, and the politcal blogs and commentators are going wild!

BREAKING IT DOWN:

Although it hasn’t happened since 1941 in Canadian federal politics, coalition governments are fairly common in parliamentary democracies. See any of the Nordic countries by way of example.

Actually, coalitions are usually preferred over a minority government, simply because they force parties to”play nice” with one another. They are, of course, not as stable as majority governments, but they can work.

From the way people are reacting, you would think that it was the end of the world!

Right now, the coalition government is not necessarily a forgone conclusion, though it does have some serious implications for our country’s future.

You see, when we in Canada voted back in October, we weren’t voting for a Prime Minister (except for the people that lived in the home ridings of the party leaders). We were voting for members of the House of Commons, not members of government.

The Prime Minister is actually selected by the Queen, through her representative the Governor General, from those politicians elected to the House of Commons from each riding.

The person to be selected for this position is not the person who leads the party with the most seats. This is because political parties are not part of the Constitution.

Rather, the person to be selected as Prime Minister is the person who can best form government, the person who has the most influence over the House of Commons. Stephen Harper has apparently lost that. We shall see if that is still the case on December 8th.

Suffice it to say, we will be watching the federal games with much interest over the coming week. And who said Canadian politics were boring!?

Adam Vossepoel

President