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of Student Associations (CASA) was formed in 1995, by several post-secondary institutions students' unions who had withdrawn from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) in a dispute over its policies and organizational structure.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

[edit] 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.

Since then, the group has often been accused by external sources, included the Canadian Federation of Students of having too close a relationship with the Liberal Party of Canada.

In 1998, Patrick Fitzpatrick, the former Acting National Director of CASA, was convicted of defrauding the lobby group of a "sum not exceeding $5000" [1].

In 2003 then National Director Liam Arbuckle resigned after allegations that he tampered with the selection process of his successor. [2] [3]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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[4]. 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. [5]

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 [6]. This was followed on January 23rd, 2006 with the vote by the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union to leave CASA [7]. 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.

[edit] People

National Directors:

[edit] Members

[edit] Founding Members

[edit] Current members of CASA

[edit] Students' Unions that have left CASA

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.

[edit] External links


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Student Unions
Acadia | Alberta | Algonquin | Athabasca | Bishop's | British Columbia | Brock | Calgary | Carleton | Lethbridge | Manitoba | McGill | McMaster | UNBC | Ottawa | Queen's | Ryerson | St. Francis Xavier | Saint Mary's | Saskatchewan | Simon Fraser | Toronto | Victoria | Waterloo | Western | Wilfrid Laurier | Windsor | York
School Memberships
ANSSA | CASA | CAUS | CFS | CSA | NBSA | OUSA
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