2023-24 KSA council breached Regulations on 3 accounts

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The Kwantlen Student Association’s 2023-24 council breached their Regulations while passing three different motions last year, according to a document The Runner received from Faculty of Business Representative Simranjot Sekhon.

The Regulations are sets of rules created, enforced, and followed by the KSA to manage the association and council. 

On May 26, 2023, council passed a motion regarding the executive committee’s tuition benefit, which was first created by the 2022-23 council and allows council members appointed into an executive position to receive a reimbursement for six credits worth of tuition per semester. 

The motion called to amend the Regulations to allow executive committee members whose term on council started on or after April 1 to be eligible for the tuition benefit reimbursement for classes they are taking during that current semester. The Regulations previously stated that executive committee members were not eligible for such reimbursement and it would come into effect the following semester. 

Council passed the motion, however according to the Regulations, “any changes to the honoraria or pay structure shall not take effect until April 1.” Council can suspend the Regulations by a two-thirds resolution, but need to define a time frame for such, which can’t be longer than 60 days. 

Council did not suspend the regulations appropriately when passing this motion, breaching the Regulations, according to the letter. This same scenario applies to two other motions the council passed. 

As previously reported by The Runner, Students with Disabilities Representative Lesli Sangha informed council during a meeting on May 3 that the previous council’s decision to increase executive stipends breached the Regulations. 

The council had passed a motion to increase executive stipends from $1,273.69 to $1,592.80 on June 23, 2023, which took effect immediately. 

On July 28, 2023, council passed a motion to allow council members part of an ad-hoc committee to receive an honorarium of $75 for attending one meeting to a maximum of 10 meetings per semester, per committee. Council members who serve as the chairperson for an ad-hoc committee should receive an honorarium of $125 per meeting to a maximum of 10 meetings per semester, per committee. 

“As a result of these violations, corrective action must be taken,” the document reads. 

“Failure to address these breaches undermines the integrity of our organization and sets a dangerous precedent for future governance. It is crucial that we uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and adherence to regulations.” 

Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, current faculty of arts representative and former vice-president external affairs for the 2023-24 council, says the council wasn’t aware they were breaching the KSA’s Regulations when passing these motions. 

“We had our staff present [in those meetings], … the ones who regulate the policies, who … very well know the bylaws,” Kochhar says.

“If [we’re] breaching any sort of rule, Regulation, or bylaws, we would have been notified by the staff like in every discussion we do. Every time we have some of the bylaw changes, or any doubt of question, we do have concerned staff who inform us. … If there [was] anything wrong, staff would have notified [us]. They didn’t, it was all clear from them.”

Kochhar also says these motions were passed almost a year ago in public council meetings and no one had raised any concerns until now. 

“Bringing it up almost a year after … I feel [is] useless,” she says. “It’s like digging [up] old stuff. … If there’s something which you feel has been violated, why are you discussing it a year after? If you feel it’s been violated, discuss it right then.” 

Kochhar says she has no opinion on whether these motions should be redacted and that the decision should be up to the council as a whole. 

“I think the council of 22 [representatives], their opinion matters. … If there’s a major bylaw change or major Regulation change, I guess that should be up to the students.” 

The Runner reached out to KSA Executive Director Timothii Ragavan and Policy and Political Affairs Coordinator Diamond Obera for a comment on whether these motions will need to be redacted in the Regulations, however they are still looking into the matter. The Runner will provide updates online as they become available. 

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Jasmine Kaur Kochhar told The Runner she misspoke during the interview. The motion to increase executive stipend pay that breached the KSA’s Regulations was a recommendation from the governance committee at that time, which staff have no say in, she said.