AGENDA

Canadian Federation of Students – National General Meeting

Carleton University - Ottawa, Ontario
Sessions open to members of the media – May 22 to 25, 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

13:30 – 14:15 Keynote Address: Monte Solberg

Bell Theatre, Minto Building
The Conservative government has made several major
decisions directly affecting students since taking office only
two years ago. So far, the government has overhauled the
Canada Summer Jobs program, increased the Canada
Social Transfer by $800 million for post-secondary
education, and replaced the Millennium Scholarship
Foundation with the Canada Student Grants Program.
The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human
Resources and Social Development, will discuss the
government’s vision for student financial assistance and
access to education through a keynote address.

14:15 – 17:30 Opening Plenary

Porter Hall, University Centre
The general meeting commences on the first day with the
opening plenary. Most of the activity in the opening plenary
will be procedural. Among other things, the opening plenary
will:
- accept any new member local associations;
- adopt agendas for the meeting;
- strike general meeting sub-committees; and
- open nominations for elections.
Motions that have been submitted in advance of the meeting
will also be considered.

18:45 – 21:00 Seminars: “Current Issues in Higher Education”

Porter Hall, University Centre

a. Federal Funding for Post-Secondary Education

Responsibility for post-secondary education is a jurisdiction
shared by the federal government and the provinces. Most of
the direct administrative powers lie with the provinces, but
the federal government has historically played a major role in
core funding and research. The Federation has long argued
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that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure

mobility and national standards for accessibility and quality
of higher education.
This workshop will provide a brief history of federal funding
arrangements and explore different ways in which the
federal government can work with the provinces to
strengthen accountability.

b. What Does the Research Say About the Tuition Fee

Debate?
The Federation’s success in winning tuition fee freezes
across the country have been met with strong resistance by
university administrators and others who support a market-
driven approach to higher education funding.
This workshop will examine the current debate on tuition
fees and use the latest data to refute the argument that high
fees are necessary, and even progressive policy.
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Friday, May 23, 2008

11:30 – 12:30 Guest Speaker: Jack Layton, Leader of the New

Democratic Party of Canada
Porter Hall, University Centre

13:30 – 15:00 Panel: From Good Intentions to Good Policy

Porter Hall, University Centre

Jim Flaherty, Bob Rae, and the Educational Policy Institute

all claim to be a champion for the poor when it comes to
post-secondary education. But which policies actually benefit
low- and middle-income families, and which ones only widen
socioeconomic disparities? The concept of universality (the
foundation of universal health care in Canada) has become
a dirty word in many government policy circles, and higher
tuition fees are thought by many so-called think-tanks to be
positive for students who can't afford today's tuition fees.
This panel will make sense of the hype around social
policies aimed at reducing inequality by examining the data
and the societal impacts.
Trish Hennessy from the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives will speak about the larger social and economic
trends that are shaping contemporary social policy.
Richard Shillington of Infometrica will review his research on
savings schemes and poverty reduction.
Michelle "Um Nur" Walrond from ACORN Canada will
address governmental policy on affordable housing; the
strategies that have worked and the ones that are failing.
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Saturday, May 25, 2008

13:30 – 14:30 Workshop: Public Opinion Polling

Porter Hall, University Centre

The Federation conducts public opinion polling in

conjunction with the Canadian Association of University
Teachers. Polling allows the Federation to track trends of
how Canadians feel about education policies, and in the
process, helps identify areas of strength and weakness in
public support for Federation objectives.

14:30 – 15:30 Workshop: Progressive Taxation and Post-

Secondary Education
Porter Hall, University Centre

'I believe all taxes are bad.' Stephen Harper made this
remark during the federal election [in 2006] in announcing he
would reduce the Goods and Services Tax from 7% to 5% if
elected Prime Minister. Taxes are the price citizens of a
country pay for the goods and services they collectively
provide for themselves and for each other. So it is difficult to
know exactly what Harper meant when he said he believes
all taxes are bad. Was he saying that all actions taken
collectively by citizens through democratically elected
institutions are bad? (taken from The Social Benefits and
Economic Costs of Taxation by Neil Brooks and Thaddeus
Hwong)
Professor Neil Brooks from York University will discuss the
shared responsibility of citizens to take care of each-other
and the role of taxes in social justice.

15:30 – 16:30 Workshop: The Environment and Social Justice

Porter Hall, University Centre

The Alberta tar sands currently hold the record of being the
world's largest industrial development project. This region is
being exploited at an unprecedented pace and all in the
name of economics.
Clayton Thomas-Muller is the Tar Sands Campaign
Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network. He
has been on the front lines of stopping industrial society's
assault on Indigenous Peoples lands to extract resources
and to dump toxic wastes. Clayton will discuss the on going
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work of indigenous communities happening across Canada

to defend against unsustainable energy policy and
development.

16:30 – 17:30 Panel: Student Codes of Conduct

Porter Hall, University Centre

Codes of conduct levy academic penalties (ex. expulsion) for

behaviour that is defined as unacceptable, either academic
(ex. plagiarism) or non-academic (ex. assault). Critics argue
that non-academic codes of conduct are abuses of power
by university and college administrations whose only interest
is to curb demonstrations or repress dissent. For vocal
students' unions, codes have serious implications for
organising legitimate protest.
Federico Carvajal is a member activist from Local 94. A
coalition of undergraduates and graduate students at the
University of Ottawa have been organising to resist the
implementation of a non-academic code of conduct.
Sandy Hudson is a member activist from Local 98. In mid-
April twelve students from the University of Toronto were
charged under the University’s Non-Academic Code of
Conduct for participation in a legitimate demonstration
against fee increases.
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Sunday, May 25, 2008

13:30 – 21:30 Closing Plenary

Porter Hall, University Centre

The closing plenary takes place during the final day of the
general meeting. Among other things, the closing plenary
will:
- consider all the plenary sub-committee and forum reports
and the motions contained within those reports;
- ratify election results; and
- deal with any business tabled by the opening plenary.