Stephane’s Platform
Fall Break
There will be a motion going to Senate in May to implement a Fall Break in Fall 2016. Throughout the
year we have had consultations with various stakeholders including a referendum in November.
Study Space
Availability of empty rooms should be available sometime in May on Portal. There has also been a
continuous addition of study space in hallways.
Forms through Quest
Course override forms will be available online this year and intent to graduate forms should be available
next year.
Exam Scheduling Relief
The Federation of Students is requesting that the University create a committee on exam scheduling
relief.
Grading Policy
I will continue to work on this project as part of a teaching and learning charter.
Academic
We have been involved in discussions around revamping the course evaluation system, improving
English language proficiency, Academic Calendars, and Academic Integrity, among several other topics.
The Federation of Students continues to help students with petitions, appeals, and grievances, and
hopes to increase our capacity and the number of students aware of our services over the next year.
Municipal and Regional
We are still in discussions about the GRT route on the west side of Ring Road and a sidewalk on
Westmount. We have been involved in many decisions through the Town and Gown Committee and
continue to meet on a regular basis with the Mayor and city councillors.
GRT
The GRT contract has been negotiated, there will be 4.99 percent increases over the next 5 years, down
from nearly 7 percent in each of the last two years.
Provincial (Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance)
On December 8, the provincial government indexed student aid levels to inflation as well as launched
the Ontario Student Loan Rehabilitation Program to help students who defaulted on their loan. The
Federation of Students and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) continuously lobby the
provincial government to improve access to universities. We are hopeful that the new provincial budget
will bring changes that benefit students. These changes often take time and a lot of back and forth
between the COU, OUSA, OCUFA, and the government. These changes often benefit students, but
require a lot of work from OUSA and Feds. We are working on several other projects right now, which
are each at varying levels of support in the government.
The Mental Health Innovation Fund (MHIF) has been a fund that OUSA has been lobbying the provincial
government on for a while, page 12 has our request from 2012: http://www.ousa.ca/dev/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/Student-Health-2012.pdf. The MHIF has just received new funding from the
government which has been one of OUSA’s requests for some time.
We are also making significant progress into creating legislation that goes towards protecting future
investments by students into buildings, and ensures that we are able to better communicate with
students through access to email.
Federal
I have met with several Members of Parliament and started to develop relationships with the AUCC,
Canadian Intern Association, and CAFCE. When advocating on federal issues we plan to focus on co-op
and work integrated learning, a topic the University of Waterloo knows well.
Relationship building
I have been building stronger relationships with elected officials this year. We have had several meetings
with elected officials at all levels of government through elections and beyond.
Academic Petitions and Grievances Office
The Federation of Students will be starting discussions on an ombudsperson shortly, and we felt it would
be more effective than an Academic Petitions and Grievances office.
Housing Office
The Federation of Students have received positive feedback from several stakeholders and we are
hopeful the project can move forward in some capacity.
Elections
This year, elections were a major theme in my portfolio: a provincial election in May, Municipal election
in October, and the federal election being rumored for some time between March and May or when it is
mandated in October. Promoting elections as well as meeting with as many candidates as possible to
give them insights into the views of students has been key. Elections are the time when there is the
most opportunity to take the steps that will eventually lead to change for students. I’ve had the
opportunity to meet with over 40 individuals while they were candidates and build relationships that
will hopefully lead to four years of successful advocacy.