‘The Ministry is monitoring this situation’: KSA 2025 wages for elected members nearly $1 million

The Kwantlen Student Association council collected $947,848 in wages and benefits in 2025 — more than $230,000 over budget.

The student union’s wages and benefits for elected representatives totalled to $32,253 in January 2025, as per its 2025 financial statements.

In February, council compensation doubled to $70,884 and increased to $110,418 in March.

With the arrival of the 2025-26 council in April, compensation rose to $215,587 — a $115,000 jump in just one month.

By May, KSA representatives had collected $320,315 and $427,709 by June. In July, compensation grew to more than $500,000 and $666,866 in August.

The KSA crossed $714,17, the total budgeted amount for council compensation, in September, having spent $767,708. By December, wages and benefits for elected representatives grew to nearly $1 million.

No other B.C. student association spent as much as the KSA on elected personnel’s compensation, as per publicly available 2024 financial statements.

The University of Northern British Columbia’s (UNBC) student union spent $6,286 compensating its council.

Compensation was $10,775 for Royal Roads University, $31,700 for Emily Carr University of Art + Design, $81,464 for Vancouver Island University, $95,850 for the British Columbia Institute of Technology, $109,193 for Thompson Rivers University, $217,205 for Capilano University, $220,150 for the University of British Columbia (UBC), and $225,978 for the University of Victoria (UVic). Simon Fraser University (SFU) tops the list at $368,461.

The four graduate student societies at B.C. universities — which are at UBC, SFU, UVic, and UNBC — also published their financial statements. Compensation for these graduate student societies in 2024 were $18,877 for UNBC, $59,166 for UVic, $117,195 for UBC, and $124,432 for SFU.

Past council compensation

Before the increase in 2025, the KSA’s auditors, Tompkins Wozny LLP, made recommendations about rising wages in the 2024 audit memorandum.

In 2024, the KSA’s council compensation totaled $355,767 — nearly a third of its spending last year.

Prior to the pandemic, KSA compensation for elected representatives had averaged at about $170,000 between 2016-20. The student association saw a sharp decline in 2021 to just $87,090 and an increase to $119,945 in 2022.

“The association’s 2024 wage expense increased substantially over 2023,” the memorandum read.

In 2023, council compensation totaled $275,241 — about $75,000 less than 2024.

“We recommend that the association consider engaging an independent third party consultant to review the association’s remuneration packages to ensure that the packages are comparable to other student associations of similar size and operations,” the memorandum read.

KSA management stated it would “consider” hiring an independent HR consultant to review its compensation structure and benefits package — for both staff and councillors.

In 2025, the KSA spent $1,561,836 on staff wages and benefits — nearly double its $831,616 budget.

Increase in compensation

KSA Executive Director Timothii Ragavan, who is the organization’s senior employee, did not respond to The Runner’s request for comment about the increase. Then KSA president Paramvir Singh and other members of the executive committee also did not respond.

During the Nov. 21 council meeting, when the floor was opened for questions, then associate president Shawinderdeep Singh wrote in the meeting’s Microsoft Teams chat that the “significant compensation increase for the KSA council appears to have been implemented by the previous council, not our current one.”

“It likely reflects decisions made last year to address increased responsibilities, align with industry standards, and account for cost-of-living adjustments,” Shawinderdeep wrote. 

Regarding whether the increase was appropriate and its much higher sum compared to other B.C. public post-secondary student unions, Shawinderdeep wrote that given the scale of the increase, he believes this compensation “should be kept a little lower to ensure it is proportionate and sustainable.”

“At a time when KPU is firing regular instructors and students are receiving less than they should [or] could, this spending seems out of place,” KPU philosophy instructor Marc Champagne wrote in an email statement to The Runner.

“It is important to stress that something can be in compliance with written provisions and a governance structure yet still be morally rotten.”

KPU Associate Vice-President Student Affairs Joshua Mitchell wrote in an email statement to The Runner that the KSA is governed under the Societies Act and responsible to its student membership.

“KPU is not a member of the KSA, and it does not have direct authority over the KSA or its leadership. However, KPU has repeatedly encouraged the KSA’s leadership to focus the society’s resources on supporting as many students as possible.”

The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills wrote it is monitoring the situation in an email statement to The Runner. 

“If members have concerns about how their society is governed or operates, there are remedies to address them. The first step is to review the remedies outlined in the society’s bylaws, which are designed to protect members’ rights. Additional options are available under the Societies Act or through the Civil Resolution Tribunal, which provides an accessible process for resolving disputes.”