Canadian Alliance of Student Associations

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The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) was formed in 1995, by several post-secondary institutions students' unions who had withdrawn from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) in a dispute over its policies and organizational structure.

Today CASA boasts of a membership of 18 student associations representing nearly 275,000 students.

Contents

1 History
2 Founding Principles
3 Attempted Reform
4 People
5 Members

5.1 Founding Members
5.2 Current members of CASA
5.3 Past Members of CASA

6 External links

History

CASA's origins can be traced to the first Winds of Change conference hosted by the University of Alberta in 1990. In what would become an annual meeting, student leaders from across the country were invited to come together to discuss challenges facing post-secondary education students in Canada.

In 1993 the federal government announced that all of Canada's social programs would be reviewed with sweeping and significant changes likely to come which prompted several student unions not affiliated with the CFS to try to organize efforts to lobby the federal government on education issues.

In 1994, as the result of a conference held at Carleton University, a number of student leaders decided to form a new Canadian post-secondary student organization. The foundations for the new organization were laid down, and the framework for a constitution was built upon it.

The final step to a new national organization was made in Fredericton, N.B., in January 1995. The constitutional framework set up in Alberta was filled out and ratified. CASA was officially incorporated on June 27, 1995.

Founding Principles

The Association set down a number of founding principles:

First, CASA would be member-driven in that the members of the Association would set the organization's policy agenda and define its goals.
Second, CASA would focus on issues specific to post-secondary education, establishing a strong orientation toward policy development rather than social development.
Third, CASA would ensure that membership within the alliance would not unfairly burden member associations. Joining CASA would be made easy through clear and flexible by-laws. Membership fees would be capped and kept to the lowest possible level.
Lastly, CASA would focus its attention on those challenges facing post- secondary education students within federal jurisdiction only. Provincial advocacy would be best left to member associations. In effect, CASA established principles and practices that would promote a strong, grassroots, pragmatic alliance focusing exclusively on the problems facing post- secondary education students in Canada.

As opposed to the CFS which combined lobbying with extra-parliamentary pressure such as rallies, CASA's efforts were focussed on lobbying through meetings with government officials, with extra-parliamentary actions such as petitions, postcard campaigns, and other forms of activism being seen as less important. As well, while CFS is active on a wide range of issues including poverty, housing, international human rights and anti-war activism, CASA sees these issues as outside the realm of student issues. Currently, CASA is made up of 18 student governments from across Canada representing nearly 275,000 students.

Attempted Reform

In 2001, the University of Alberta Student Union and the Students' Society of McGill University held a second Winds of Change Conference which resulted in a document titled The Winds are Changing Again. This document was meant to be a platform for reforming CASA and fixing what a number of members saw as its stagnation.

In recent years, however, CASA has lost a section of its membership. At one time CASA had 23 members[link]. Seven student unions have left CASA in recent years due to dissatisfaction with the work of the alliance. The University of Alberta Student Union left CASA in 2003 and the University of Manitoba Students' Union voted to leave CASA in February 2005. [link]

The Students' Society of McGill University's Legislative Council voted unanimously to leave CASA on November 3rd, 2005 after CASA failed to implement the recommendations of the Winds are Changing Again document [link]. This was followed on January 23rd, 2006 with the vote by the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union to leave CASA [link]. The organization now has only one student union in BC, Manitoba, Quebec, and no members in Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador. The bulk of the membership is concentrated in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and New Brunswick.

In the mid-1990s, one of CASA's senior officials, Patrick Fitzpatrick, was charged and convicted of defrauding the lobby group of a "sum not exceeding $5000" [link].

In the past, CASA has been accused of being too close to the Liberals, for example, [link] one of Usher's successors, Jason Aebig, went on to become chair of the Saskatchewan Liberal Association's Communications Committee [link].

However this can have its benefits, as during the winter of 2004, CASA was invited to meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin for a brainstorming session. [link]

People

National Directors:

1995-1996: Alex Usher (McGill University)
1996-1997: Mathew Hough (University of Alberta)
1997-1999: Hoops Harrison (University of Alberta)
1999-2000: Jason Aebig (University of Saskatchewan)
2000-2001: Mark Kissel (University of Western Ontario)
2001-2003: Liam Arbuckle (Saint Mary's University)
2003-2005: James Kusie (University of Manitoba)
2005-present: Phillippe Ouellette (St. Thomas University, Queen's University)

Members

Founding Members

Current members of CASA

Acadia Students' Union - Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Bishop's University Students' Representative Council - Lennoxville, Quebec
University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society - Vancouver, British Columbia
La Fédération des Étudiantes et Étudiants due Centre Universitaire de Moncton - Moncton, New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick Students' Union (Fredericton) - Fredericton, New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick Students' Representative Council (Saint John) - Saint John, New Brunswick
Red River College Students' Association - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Saint Mary's University Students' Association - Halifax, Nova Scotia
Students' Association of Mount Royal College - Calgary, Alberta
St. Francis Xavier University Students' Union - Antigonish, Nova Scotia
St. Thomas University Students' Union - Fredericton, New Brunswick
University of Waterloo Federation of Students - Waterloo, Ontario
University of Western Ontario Students' Council - London, Ontario
Brock University Students' Union - St. Catharines, Ontario
University of Calgary Students' Union - Calgary, Alberta
Dalhousie Students Union - Halifax, Nova Scotia
University of Lethbridge Students' Union - Lethbridge, Alberta
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Student Association - Calgary, Alberta

Past Members of CASA

University of Alberta Students' Union
Students' Association of Grant MacEwan College
University of Manitoba Students' Union
McMaster Students' Union
Fédération des Associations Étudiantes du Campus de l'Université de Montréal
Okanagan University College Students' Association - Kelowna
Kwantlen University-College Students' Association
Students' Society of McGill University - Montreal, Quebec
University of Saskatchewan Students' Union - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Other members, such as the University of Waterloo Federation of Students, has held a referendum on withdrawing from CASA, but the election failed to reach quorum.

External links

[Canadian Alliance of Student Associations]
[Alliance vs Federation] The Manitoban student newspaper examines the pros and cons of CASA and the CFS.
[Mi CASA ain't su CASA] 2002 article from The Varsity on CASA's troubles.

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