Platform

🏛️ Advocacy Power: Putting Students in the Room

The student union should not simply react to decisions made by governments and universities. It should shape those decisions.

Right now, UOSU is underpowered in key areas of advocacy.

There is no structured presence at Queen's Park. There is no structured presence on Parliament Hill. Student representatives on the university's Board of Governors and Senate operate largely independently, without coordinated support or strategy.

This weakens our ability to advocate effectively for students.

As President, I will work to build a coordinated advocacy structure that allows the student union to engage with governments and institutions strategically.

This includes:

• Ensuring student representatives are present in discussions at Queen's Park and Parliament Hill.

  UOSU currently has no structured presence at the provincial or federal level. I will establish regular engagement with MPPs and MPs on issues that affect students, including tuition policy, student financial aid, housing, and immigration.

• Maintaining consistent pressure at City Hall on issues such as housing and transit.

  Municipal decisions on zoning, transit funding, and rental regulation directly affect students. I will ensure UOSU is actively tracking and engaging with City Council on the issues that matter most to students living and commuting in Ottawa.

• Convening and coordinating all student representatives serving on university governance bodies.

  Student representatives on Senate, the Board of Governors, and Faculty Councils often operate independently without shared strategy or support. I will bring them together regularly to coordinate positions, share information, and present a unified student voice on governance decisions.

• Holding the University accountable for how funding is spent and how decisions affect students.

  Students contribute significantly to university revenues through tuition and fees. I will push for greater transparency in how the university allocates those resources and ensure that decisions affecting students are subject to meaningful consultation.

• Establishing dedicated government relations and policy research capacity within UOSU.

  Effective advocacy requires preparation. I will work to build internal policy research and government relations capacity so that UOSU can develop evidence-based positions, track legislative changes, and engage proactively rather than reactively.

Students deserve a seat at the table where decisions are made.

I will actively consult students and ensure student priorities are brought into major campus planning decisions, not treated as an afterthought.

🤝 Ending Isolationism

The University of Ottawa Students' Union is one of the largest student unions in Canada.

We should act like it.

Currently, UOSU operates largely independently from national and provincial student coalitions. That limits our leverage.

Coalitions build influence. Scale builds credibility.

As President, I will explore affiliation with organizations such as:

• The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA)
• The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA)

Working with other student unions allows us to advocate collectively on issues like student financial aid, tuition policy, housing, and public transit.

Students should not be fighting these battles alone.

🏠 Housing

Housing affordability is one of the most serious issues affecting students today.

Rent in Ottawa has increased dramatically, and students often face limited housing options near campus. Many students are forced to move far from campus or accept poor housing conditions simply because affordable options are scarce.

The student union must play an active role in advocating for solutions.

As President, I will:

• Push the university to expand and maintain affordable residence options.
• Work with the City of Ottawa to prioritize the development of student housing near campus.
• Advocate for stronger protections against exploitative rental practices that disproportionately affect students.

Housing policy directly affects students' financial stability, academic success, and overall well-being.

🚍 U-Pass and Transit

Public transit is essential for thousands of students who rely on OC Transpo to commute to campus.

The U-Pass program was originally negotiated in 2009-2010 during a period of strong transit performance and optimism about the system.

At the time, students negotiated only a 20% discount. That was significantly smaller than discounts achieved at other universities.

Today, Ottawa has one of the most expensive student transit passes in Canada. For example:

• uOttawa: $234.80 per term
• UBC: $187.60
• University of Alberta: $180.00
• Western: $158.59
• Waterloo: $131.16

Transit fares in Ottawa have risen dramatically, and service reliability has often been poor.

Students collectively pay tens of millions of dollars into the transit system every year. If we are paying for it, it needs to work.

As President, I will work to coordinate advocacy across Ottawa's universities and colleges, demand accountability for unreliable transit service, and ensure students are actively represented in future transit negotiations.

🧭 Campus Access and Student Experience

Students should be able to access campus services without unnecessary barriers.

As President, I will focus on practical fixes students can actually feel in their day-to-day life.

• Push the university to maintain affordable and accessible parking

  With Brooks and Lot K closing, students who rely on driving to campus are losing affordable options. I will advocate for the university to provide replacement parking that is accessible and reasonably priced, especially for students commuting from areas with limited transit.

• Fix the co-op portal and stop charging for broken services

  The co-op portal is slow, unreliable, and frustrating for students trying to find placements. Students should not be paying full co-op fees for a service that does not work properly. I will push for a functional portal and ensure students are not charged for inadequate services.

• Expand late-night and 24/7 study space on campus

  During exams and peak periods, students are regularly forced out of study spaces when buildings close. I will work with the university to expand access to late-night and around-the-clock study areas so students can work when they need to.

• Consult students on campus transportation and infrastructure planning

  Major campus planning decisions are too often made without meaningful student input. I will ensure students are actively consulted and that their priorities are included in transportation, infrastructure, and development decisions.

💰 Financial Responsibility and Stewardship

Students pay millions of dollars in fees every year. Those funds must be managed responsibly.

As of April 30, 2025, UOSU held approximately $15.9 million in cash, including about $6.2 million in reserves.

Despite this, there were no long-term investments in place.

During a period when safe financial instruments such as Government of Canada bonds and guaranteed investment certificates were offering returns of roughly 4-5%, the union's reserves remained entirely in cash.

This represents a significant opportunity cost.

At the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year, UOSU held roughly $6.5 million in reserves. If those funds had been invested prudently in low-risk instruments such as GICs earning approximately 4.75%, they could have generated nearly $300,000 in a single year.

That revenue could have supported student services without increasing fees.

Student union directors are legally considered trustees of student funds. Under Ontario's prudent investor standard, trustees are expected to exercise care, diligence, and sound financial judgment when managing funds.

Leaving millions of dollars in cash during a high-interest environment raises serious governance concerns.

📊 Financial Reform Plan

Within the first 90 days of my presidency, I will:

• Implement a formal investment policy for UOSU.
• Establish clear liquidity requirements and cash flow projections.
• Allocate reserves into laddered Government of Canada treasury bills, bonds, and GICs.
• Develop ethical screening criteria for future investment exposure.
• Publish quarterly financial transparency reports.
• Ensure monthly financial statements are published on time.
• Provide financial literacy and oversight training for Finance Committee members.
• Review existing student fees to ensure they are spent according to their approved purposes and bring any necessary changes to referendum.

Students deserve transparent and responsible financial management.

🧾 Fee Accountability

Many student levies are approved through referendums with specific purposes.

However, based on recent budgets, roughly $1.5 million in core operations is currently funded through levies originally approved for different purposes, such as health and wellness services, academic support, athletics, and student life programs.

Students approved these fees under specific conditions.

When funds are reallocated beyond those purposes, students deserve full transparency and democratic oversight.

• Oppose new fees imposed on students without clear democratic approval and meaningful student consent.

As President, I will ensure that fees are used in accordance with their original mandates and bring any necessary changes to referendum.

🍻 Delivering the Student Pub

Students have been paying the pub levy for two years.

Yet the pub has not been built.

The levy generates approximately $270,000 per year and has accumulated roughly $500,000 in reserves.

The current strategy has focused on purchasing commercial real estate near campus. However, commercial property in the area is extremely expensive and limited, which has caused the project to stall.

There is a more realistic path.

UOSU already manages the Déjà-Vu space in the University Centre (UCU 230). This location includes existing kitchen facilities, seating areas, and a stage.

As President, I will pursue a realistic plan to deliver the pub students voted for:

• Conduct a formal feasibility study.
• Work with the university to secure necessary approvals.
• Renovate the existing space where necessary.
• Obtain the required liquor licence.
• Develop a sustainable operational model.

Students who pay into this levy deserve to see it delivered responsibly and transparently.

If we collect the fee, we deliver the project.

🎭 Clubs and Campus Life

Student clubs are one of the most important parts of campus life.

However, many clubs face barriers simply trying to organize events.

• Room booking systems are slow and bureaucratic.
• Artificial limits exist on booking credentials.
• Clubs sometimes wait weeks for approval.
• Challenge arbitrary and excessive cleaning fees

  Some clubs are charged cleaning fees that are disproportionate to the events they host. These fees discourage student activity and place an unfair burden on smaller groups. I will push to review and standardize cleaning fee policies so they are transparent and reasonable.

• Unlock underused campus spaces for student events

  There are spaces on campus that sit empty while clubs struggle to find venues. I will work with the university to identify and open up underused rooms and facilities so student groups have more options for hosting events and activities.

Much of this stems from outdated administrative tools.

As President, I will work to modernize the room booking system by integrating it directly into the UOSU portal. This would reduce administrative workload, speed up booking approvals, remove artificial credential caps, and improve visibility over campus events.

Clubs should be able to focus on building communities, not navigating bureaucratic obstacles.

🏫 Supporting Recognized Student Governments

Recognized Student Governments represent the unique cultures and traditions of each faculty.

The role of UOSU should not be to micromanage them.

Instead, the union should act as an administrative backbone that strengthens their capacity.

As President, I will:

• Organize regular consultation roundtables with RSG leaders.
• Maintain availability for one-on-one meetings.
• Provide governance training for student leaders.
• Provide audit training and financial oversight support.
• Assist incorporated RSGs with legal compliance.
• Offer translation services for constitutions and governance documents.
• Create written governance agreements so RSGs can supervise sub-associations and gain all of the benefits of formal recognition.

Strong RSGs strengthen the entire campus community.

🎉 101 Week

101 Week is one of the most important traditions for welcoming new students.

The role of the student union should be to support RSGs while ensuring safety and accessibility.

My priorities include:

• Keeping participation costs as low as possible.
• Subsidizing participation for students facing financial barriers.
• Simplifying the 101 Week Code to ensure it is clear and consistently applied.
• Improving logistics and planning for large events.
• Reducing waste and improving sustainability.

The student union should handle administrative complexity so student leaders can focus on creating meaningful experiences.

UOSU should provide the administrative backbone for 101 Week, including insurance and risk management support, centralized digital tools for contracts and waivers, coordination for multi-RSG initiatives, and advocacy when issues arise with the university.

⚜️ Francophonie

French is the first language I spoke.

I grew up in Quebec and later attended francophone elementary and secondary schools in Ottawa. I understand the linguistic pressures francophone students face on campus, including the tendency for English to become the default language and the linguistic insecurity some students feel.

I continue to actively maintain my French, including by taking courses in French even though my academic program is primarily offered in English.

As President, I will:

• Hold Executive Committee meetings in French.
• Explore simultaneous interpretation for Board meetings.
• Strengthen support for the Francophone Affairs Commissioner.
• Ensure all staff are trained to provide active offer of services in French.
• Ensure French communications are idiomatic and of equal quality to English communications.
• Encourage francophone and bilingual clubs and initiatives.
• Advocate for the maintenance and expansion of French-language courses, including summer courses.

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution, and our student union should reflect that reality.

🗳️ Stronger Student Democracy

The student union must belong to students, not insiders.

I will strengthen transparency and democratic accountability by:

• Protecting student union independence

  Students pay for their union and should control it. I will defend the right of students to democratically decide how their union is run, how fees are used, and what issues the union advocates on, without political interference from governments, the university, or unelected administrators. This includes protecting the union from attempts to impose fees without democratic approval, dissolve services, or override student decisions.

• Making public information truly public

  Anything that is supposed to be public should be easy to find and actually visible. Students should not have to dig through hidden files or insider channels to understand what their union is doing.

• Creating a Student Governance Caucus

  Students already sit on Senate, the Board of Governors, and Faculty Councils. But too often they operate in isolation. I will create a Student Governance Caucus to coordinate student representatives across the university so we can share information between Senate, Board, and student leadership, prepare joint student proposals, monitor decisions affecting students, and strengthen accountability and reporting to students.

• Open meetings, delegate speaking rights, and regular town halls

  Students should have clear and accessible ways to participate in decision-making. I will support delegate speaking rights in meetings and hold regular town halls and open forums so students can raise issues directly.

• Making student representatives accountable

  Students serving on Senate and the Board of Governors should report back to the students they represent. I will require student representatives to provide updates at General Assemblies, participate in regular coordination meetings, and publish summaries of key governance decisions where confidentiality allows.

• Protecting advocacy rights of elected representatives

  Elected representatives should be able to advocate openly for the students who elected them. Fiduciary duty should protect students' interests, not be misused to silence legitimate student advocacy.

• Restoring fair appeals and procedural protections

  Students must have a clear way to challenge decisions that affect them. I will strengthen the independence and accessibility of the Appeals Committee by simplifying the appeals process, reducing delays, publishing decisions for transparency, and ensuring the committee operates independently from political leadership.

Students deserve organized, informed representation where decisions are made.

📋 Leadership and Accountability

Leadership means accountability.

Throughout my work in student organizations, I have pushed for stronger transparency and governance.

I have:

• Managed nonprofit budgets
• Built financial oversight tools
• Raised concerns about financial governance
• Advocated for stronger transparency in student institutions
• Stop wasteful legal spending

  Legal services should be used to protect students and defend their interests, not to fight them. I will review how UOSU uses legal resources and redirect spending toward services that directly support students, such as tenant rights clinics and academic appeals support.

• Prioritize union-owned digital tools over expensive third-party platforms

  UOSU has spent significant money on third-party platforms that do not deliver adequate value. I will prioritize building and maintaining sustainable, union-owned digital infrastructure that serves students better and costs less over time.

• Promote pragmatic and collaborative labour relations

  A collaborative approach to labour relations protects the services students depend on while respecting workers. I will work to reduce unnecessary grievance costs through proactive communication and fair workplace practices.

I have also made mistakes and taken responsibility for them.

Leadership is not about pretending to be perfect. It is about accountability, transparency, and growth.

The student union should stay focused on the issues students actually pay it to address: affordability, services, advocacy, campus life, and representation.

✨ The Vision

Students deserve a union that:

• Fights for them
• Manages their money responsibly
• Delivers the services they vote for
• Represents them effectively
• Operates transparently

The University of Ottawa Students' Union can be a powerful institution.

But only if we build it that way.

It is time for a change.