Notes from Council: Executive reports, Budget 2026 discussed

At the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council meeting on March 10, executive reports were presented, and a motion to pass the first principles respecting student groups was approved.

The bylaw would modernize the governance process of student groups, while granting the UASU more authority over them. The bylaw change should take effect on May 1, 2026, if the second reading passes.

According to President Pedro Almeida, “the hope right now is … to have a legislation that [the UASU] can then edit further … [to match] the upcoming changes.”

Executive reports

Vice-president (external) Abdul Abbasi commented on the 2026 provincial budget.

“For the first time in four years, we were able to see an increase in the operation grant. This increase is starting [at] $13.1 million, which is around three per cent compared to last year,” Abbasi stated.

Additionally, Abbasi mentioned a three-year extension of the Youth Employment Incentive, which will receive an extra $20 million in funding. He followed by stating that Indigenous education and open resources will also receive $7.5 million in funding.

Vice-president (operations and finance) Nathan Thiessen discussed the 2026–27 UASU budget creation process and expressed his goal to ensure the UASU is “set up for success for the next fiscal year.”

Almeida added to the discussion on Budget 2026, emphasizing that “it’s the first time since 2018 that the operating grant of the U of A has increased.”

Vice-president (academic) Katie Tamsett announced the first UASU Women’s Health Day event, scheduled for March 20.

“We’ve got an exciting speaker series with various researchers and experts in the field of menstrual and women’s health,” Tamsett said.

Open forum

The Gateway asked Almeida whether he remains in support of removing equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies from the U of A recruitment process after the Finance Minister, Nate Horner, stated he is unaware of any conversations about the province withholding funding from institutions with EDI policies.

In response, Almeida stated that he and Board of Governors Representative (BoG) Karina Banerji will be co-hosting a discussion with Vice-provost (access, community, and belonging) Carrie Smith on the draft recruitment policy.

“I think that the creation of a space [where] students are able to communicate directly with folks leading the project allows for feedback. [This will ensure] that we … continue to get a university that represents the best values of our community,” Almeida said.