VOTE YES OR NO TO THE FOLLOWING 10 QUESTIONS
Ten referendum questions will be voted on by the new University of Ottawa Student Union (UOSU) members, decided in a by-elections that will conclude on Oct. 13. All ten questions affect next year’s mandatory student fees.
Question 1: Reduction of all UOSU fees by 11.37 per cent
This referendum question proposes a reduction of the maximum membership fee of UOSU from $126.07 per year to $111.75 per year for full-time students and $66.98 per year to $59.37 per year for part-time students starting in September 2024. According to the UOSU website, “This membership fee may not increase except by an annual cost of living adjustment or by another referendum (including any referendums passed during these byelections).”
Question 2: Stopping the OPIRG Levy
Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG-GRIPO) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of “building community dedicated to social, environmental, and economic justice.” OPIRG-GRIPO hosts workshops at the U of O and online on a variety of topics, including social inequality, transformative justice, and community accountability.
Students currently pay $4.10 per semester to fund OPIRG-GRIPO. This referendum question would stop this levy and likely dissolve the Ottawa chapter of the organization.
Question 3: Creation of a Student Pub Levy
This question would add an opt-outable $3.00 per semester fee for the creation and operation of a student pub run by the UOSU.
Question 4: Stopping the CHUO Levy
CHUO (89.1 FM) is the University of Ottawa’s bilingual, independent radio station. It is made up of 160 volunteers who produce 168 hours of programming each week, including 50 shows showcasing HipHop, Afrobeats, K-Pop, progressive rock, cultural shows in 12 languages, news, and interviews.
Students currently pay $4.99 per year to fund CHUO. This referendum question would stop this levy and likely dissolve the organization.
Question 5: Creation of an Emergency Hardship Fund
This proposal would add $4.00 per year to student fees to create an emergency fund administered by the UOSU and accessible by all undergraduate students in need of support in cases of short-term financial difficulty.
Question 6: Creation of a Levy for Free Printing Services
This question proposes a $1.00 per semester “Printing Service Levy” administered by UOSU to provide free printing services to undergraduate students.
Question 7: Creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Levy
“Truth, Reconciliation, and Decolonization Levy” is a $0.75 per semester fee. The proposal asks that funding be given to “Indigenous Students’ Association for the promotion of Indigenous voices and cultures, as well as initiatives aimed at decolonization at the University of Ottawa.”
Question 8: Creation of a Muslim Students’ Association Levy
The Muslim Students’ Association is a club at the U of O. This referendum proposal would add an opt-outable $1.00 per year fee “to support the Muslim community and the greater university community at the University of Ottawa.”
Question 9: Creation of a Volunteer Crisis Response Team Levy
The “VCRT Levy” aims to fund part of the operational costs of the university’s volunteer crisis response team. This levy is an opt-outable $0.97 fee per semester.
Question 10: Formation of a Pharmacy RSG
If this question passes the UOSU will recognize a formal student government for the newly-established Pharmacy program. There would be fees associated for undergraduate students in the program to form the new RSG.
