Notes from Council: Motion to not disclose council members’ votes passed

“Notes from Council” is The Gateway’s ongoing series of recaps of noteworthy items from Students’ Council meetings.

At the July 15 meeting of the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council, a motion amending Students’ Council Standing Orders 13.2C so that votes made by council members are not publicly disclosed passed. Additionally, the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) was discussed.

Council first discussed CAUS and its provincial advocacy priorities. President Pedro Almeida is the vice-chair of CAUS.

Almeida said that CAUS has gone through “a bit of a turbulent time over the past few years” and has gone through significant restructuring. 

According to Almeida, this includes “a more grassroots structure” with no permanent CAUS staff and new bylaws that have implemented a $15,000 fee cap. In 2024 the fee cap was $60,000. The UASU will not pay CAUS fees this year, he said. 

Additionally, eligibility has expanded to include graduate student associations.

“This is in light of the [provincial] graduate student association advocacy body being dissolved,” Almeida said.

CAUS restructuring and membership discussed

Open studies councillor Aamir Mohamed inquired about CAUS’s goals for expansion. Almeida mentioned the expansion of graduate student eligibility. He also discussed CAUS’s potential partnership with the Alberta Students’ Executive Council (ASEC).

Engineering councillor Michael Chang asked how CAUS plans to address issues with students’ unions and graduate students’ associations across Alberta. Chang also inquired about the UASU’s shift from potentially considering leaving CAUS to the current president serving as vice-chair. 

“The main reason … we have chosen to stay in CAUS is because it’s been communicated to us that government officials will go to the group of the collective of post-secondary associations significantly more than they would to an individual one,” Almeida said. 

Additionally, Almeida cited the reduced fee cap, the UASU not paying a CAUS fee this year, and CAUS’ proximity to the provincial government as reasons for its viability.

Council moves to amend to standing orders

Council then moved to amend standing orders so that votes made by council members are not disclosed. 

At the March 18 meeting of Students’ Council, a motion to amend the standing order to ensure votes made by council members are disclosed passed with 13 votes in favour and none opposed. Prior to the passing of this motion, votes made by council members were not disclosed.

Science councillor Christene Saji presented the motion. According to Saji, the new amendment accounts for the safety needs of council members.

When it comes to the issue of transparency, Saji said that there are existing mechanisms allowing for transparency including student standing orders, roll call voting, council reports, and speaker discretion for disclosure. 

Saji also said that the March 18 amendment was made without “ample discussion.”

Business councillor Owen Pasay expressed opposition to the amendment. According to Pasay, the March 18 motion “went through every proper procedure and discussion.”

Pasay raised concern with hidden votes undermining democratic principles and transparency. 

“If there are real safety concerns, let’s address them responsibly with clear, limited exceptions for specific cases where someone could genuinely face harm, but a blanket rule to hide our votes is not safety, it is secrecy, and secrecy has no place in the [UASU] that claims to stand for transparency and accountability.”

Vice-president (academic) Katie Tamsett said she brought the motion forward to address safety concerns she didn’t believe were previously discussed. 

Tamsett emphasized that public votes can pose a risk to certain international students’ safety and their ability to return to their home countries. She said there have been instances in previous years in which this has been the case.

“As a council, individual votes matter less than the overall collective body,” Tamsett said.

“Ultimately, I believe that safety has to come first,” she added.

Mohamed also emphasized the importance of the collective body of council and ensuring that “any votes or any decisions that we make benefit the students union, rather than just actively working with self-interest.”

Concerns of transparency and safety surrounding amendment

Chang asked if rather than changing standing orders 13.2C completely, there could be subsections added allowing for motions with points of contention that could pose harm to council members to be voted on secretly.

Vice-president (operations and finance) Nathan Thiessen said that council’s ability to call for division allows for transparency. Thiessen expressed concern with putting councillors in the position of having to justify their need for a secret vote due to security concerns.

Science councillor Lavanya Jain raised concerned with the possibility of a council member campaigning on certain issues but then voting in an opposite manner because their votes are not disclosed.

Almeida countered by asking if the scenario in which council members “feel pressured to vote based on the fact that their vote is public” is equally troubling.

Almeida referred to Students’ Council as the Board of Governors (BoG) of the UASU.

“The [BoG] votes, I can tell you, are not public, and that’s because the members are selected based on their constituency, but then you are here to represent what you believe is in the best interest of students moving forward and having your judgment be influenced based on external factors, I would say, is equally worrisome to a potential campaign.”

Arts councillor Christopher Reynolds raised concern with the amendment being potentially seen as a “[move] away from transparency.”

“I fear that having our votes not be clear could harm the perception of council.”

Almeida emphasized that the UASU has existing procedures to ensure transparency including bringing every major motion to council, releasing documents publicly, allowing the public to ask questions, and allowing for roll-call voting.

“I would challenge the premise a little bit that the individual transparency, the individual release of councillor votes, adds to the transparency of council as a body.”

Almeida also said that BoG is “significantly less public and open and transparent” compared to the UASU. In response, Reynolds mentioned that some students have concerns with BoG’s transparency.

Nursing councillor Asha Jama inquired about safety measures available for councillors whose safety is threatened by voting in a particular way. Jama also raised concern with the motion potentially undermining the UASU’s transparency.

“We were founded on the ideals of a union, and I do believe that really separates us in terms of identity and values from the university, and we really should hold ourselves accountable at a very high standard.”

Vice-president (student life) Logan West mentioned that the amendment would still allow for the amount of people who voted in favour, voted against, and abstained to be disclosed.

West also emphasized that the disclosure of votes made by council members only came into place in March.

The motion passed with 13 votes in favour, zero abstentions, and seven objections. Additionally, council moved to have the Council Administration Committee (CAC) explore ways to increase safety for councillors and ensure transparency in the UASU. The motion passed unanimously.