KSA council increases honorariums to $100, decreases executive bi-weekly work hours

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The Kwantlen Student Association held a council meeting on Aug. 6 at 1:00 pm in Birch 250 on Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus and online via Microsoft Teams. 

Council members Abhijeet Singh, Arnav Grover, Bhoomika Seera, Dishika Gour, Ishant Goyal, Jashanpreet Singh Sekhon, Jaskaran Sohal, Keerat Goyal, Lesli Sangha, Nishant Kapoor, Paramvir Singh Johal, Ranveer Singh, Simranjot Sekhon, Suhana Gill, Yugveer Gill, Yuvraj Bains, Harpal Singh, Nitin Aggarwal, Yashanpreet Guron, and Simranjeet Singh were in attendance. Jasmine Kaur Kochhar was absent. 

Ishant was appointed acting speaker for the duration of the meeting. Kapoor was removed from the Grassroots redevelopment committee and governance committee, and Seera was appointed to the governance, Grassroots redevelopment, and environmental and sustainability committees. Ranveer was removed from the environmental and sustainability committee. 

The council then passed a motion to decrease the bi-weekly pay period hours — recorded and submitted in timesheets to the vice-president (VP) finance and operations — from 80 to 70. 

Another motion was passed for council members to increase the additional honorarium for completing the expectations of their role from $50 to $100. The executive committee was exempt from the motion, which will take effect next term. Council had to suspend the KSA’s Regulations for the motion to be passed and take effect. 

“Additional duties were approved already in the previous meeting …. This regulation has not been revised since a long time,” Ishant said. 

KSA Records Coordinator and Archivist Kari Michaels said the previous council already increased the honorarium by $25 for the existing term. 

A motion was then put on the floor to increase the meal allowance for council members to $30 per meal, extending to three meals per day, amounting to $90 per day. 

“This was a collective decision coming out of the governance [committee], where they based this out of the current inflation. If you go dine out, [it is] usually about 25 to 30 bucks, including tips and everything. That was the rationale,” Ishant said. 

The motion failed to pass. 

In his report, President and VP Student Life Yashanpreet Guron wrote in the Microsoft Teams chat that he attended the Canadian Federation of Students’ racialized and/or Indigenous student experience summit, which took place from July 29 to 31.

“I learnt the importance of bringing a closed space that brought together Racialized Indigenous student voices and I actively contributed to discussions and activities that unified communities through active learning unlearning,” he wrote.

Guron also led and attended the Cultus Lake Water Park event on Aug. 4 that helped “[revitalize] student life off campus.” 

“The event was a success, allowing students to relax, enjoy themselves, and connect with fellow students in a fun and engaging environment,” VP Finance and Operations Simranjot wrote in her report. 

She also wrote that she is currently working to help enhance the KSA’s bursary program to ensure fair eligibility and accessibility for students in need. 

VP University Affairs Yugveer wrote that he worked on planning the student union development summit, which took place at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. 

VP External Affairs Paramvir did not present a report. 

A motion was then proposed to increase the limit for campaigning expenses per candidate to $250. The motion passed. Several other motions to amend the criteria for constituency representatives, the KSA’s mission, values, and vision statements were also passed.  

“All these have gone to a legal counsel, and this is coming from the legal counsel of KSA.” Ishant said. 

The meeting ended at 2:49 pm. The next KSA council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 23 at 10:00 am. Scheduled council meetings are currently not listed on the KSA’s website. Interested students can email info@kusa.ca to join.