Students in British Columbia want their own Society Act.
In a document obtained through Freedom of Information, the Graduate Student Society at UBC Vancouver stated that they have repeatedly requested a separate act. They believe that student societies are unique, and that the existing laws do not support their individual needs.
Student societies currently fall under the same act that governs more than 27,000 organizations in BC. The act outlines laws and regulations for these institutions.
“We feel that student societies are unique enough to merit a separate statute governing their composition and activities. This solution would more effectively address persistent issues facing student societies,” they said.
This statement, along with those of other student societies in BC, was submitted as part of a consultation process in 2014. The Ministry of Finance is making changes to the current act and wanted feedback on its draft from societies across the province.
Many student societies argued that the best option would be to establish a separate Student Society Act.
Pierre Cenerelli is a University and Government Relations Advisor at UBC Vancouver. He said that student societies are caught between sectors. They are like a public organization, but differ in the sense that their memberships are mandatory.
Any student attending a university is automatically considered a member of the society, unlike public societies that have the freedom to determine and control their memberships. This allows universities to collect membership fees upon student enrolment.
“The Society Act works well with organizations where membership is freely taken on, but ours is not. Anybody going to a school is a member of a society by obligation, so they have to pay fees,” he said.
The new Society Act would allow members the option to resign, putting student societies at risk of losing funds.
Cenerelli said that a Student Society Act would better serve the needs of universities.
“Both our members and us would be better served by a separate act,” he said. “We have mentioned this as something that we would like, but we don’t know if there’s any appetite in the government to do this.”
Other common feedback to the draft included changes to Section 99, which would allow members of the public to file formal complaints against societies. In response to this, the Canadian Federation of Students in British Columbia said, “Student societies are not designed to serve the ‘public interest,’ but rather, the interests of their members.”
If a separate Student Society Act is not possible, they hope to be exempt from this section of the act.
Although the ministry could not be reached for comment, Cenerelli is hoping for a positive outcome.
“We have no idea at this point, but you never know,” he said. “A Student Society Act would be a great solution.”
Access-to-Information Requests:
For informal request #1, click here.
For informal request #2, click here.
For informal request #3, click here.
For federal request, click here.
For municipal request, click here.
For provincial request, click here.