CFS Buys Anti-CFS Domain Names

In 2008 and 2013, 15 domains were registered under the Federation’s treasurer

After receiving an anonymous tip about the Canadian Federation of Students purchasing anti-CFS domains, Toronto University’s The Varsity conducted a reverse Whois lookup of the email address it@cfs-services.ca which confirmed that the tip was true.

The search revealed that 15 domains were bought, including no-cfs.com, iamnotcfs.net, and votenocfs.info by email admin Anna Dubinski during 2008 and 2013. Those registered in 2008 expired at the end of 2016, with the remainders still existent but inactive.

“We haven’t really had any lash back about this article. No complaints in my inbox or correction requests issued,” says Tom Yun, News Editor of The Varsity. “Online it has gotten some attention from across the country, but that’s about it.”

CFS National Chairperson Bilan Arte has responded to media inquiries by claiming that the domains were bought solely because they relate to the Federation’s name, and has not responded to The Runner’s requests for an interview. Only email statements from Arte and Dubinski were received by The Varsity, and neither of them were working for the CFS when the domains were registered.

In her email to The Varsity, Dubinski wrote that she was not personally involved in the purchase of the domains, and that her name was simply “added as administrator to various accounts” when she became treasurer in 2014.

There are multiple ways to claim an already-taken domain, including waiting for it to expire, contacting the owner to set up a deal, and disputing the ownership in court or online. It would appear that the domain transaction was agreed to on both sides, as they had not expired and there is no evidence of legal disputes over them. However, because the websites are now unusable, it is impossible to get in contact with those who once owned them to verify how and why the names were sold.

Kwantlen Student Association President Alex McGowan—who has actively spoken against the way that the Federation operates in the past—feels that “it’s not surprising to hear that the CFS is taking an active role in making it harder for students to organize against them if that’s what students want to do.”

“It’s in line with their character as an organization,” says McGowan. “But I don’t think it’s that uncommon of a practice among any organization. Like, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Liberal Party of Canada owns domains like ‘Screw the Liberals’ or something.”

That being said, he is still against the Federation buying oppositional domains.

“It’s one more piece of evidence,” he says. “This is just one more thing in a long list of issues about how the CFS treats criticism and its members.”

All KPU students are members of the CFS and therefore pay fees to it each semester. As a delegate of the Kwantlen Student Association, McGowan represents KPU’s student body when he attends their meetings. There, he can voice concerns and contribute to organizational reform, but does not expect the issue to come up during the Federation’s meetings, which are usually “focused on bylaws and process.”