Rustad calls for voluntary student unions after Conservative club ban
Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad wants British Columbian post-secondary students to be able to opt out of paying union dues after a Conservative club was banned from ...
Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad wants British Columbian post-secondary students to be able to opt out of paying union dues after a Conservative club was banned from forming on a B.C. campus.
Rustad called out the University of British Columbia Okanagan student union for refusing to ratify a Conservative club.
A group of students hoping to form the club were prohibited by the student union’s board which claimed the federal political party’s views would make black and LGBTQ students “feel unwelcome.”
Rustad said of the incident: “This is the inevitable result of out of control radical leftist activism in BC’s academia.”
“No woke, activist student council should be allowed to determine which political parties students can join or associate with,” Rustad continued.
In an email explaining the decision, UBCO student union vice-president internal Rajat Arora informed the applicants that while “there were differing opinions among directors” on approving a Conservative club, their request was ultimately denied because they didn’t align with the union’s “inclusivity” standards.
“Some were in favour of ratifying the club considering Kelowna’s conservative presence and the opportunity for political debates featuring various perspectives,” Arora explained.
“However, concerns were raised regarding the political stance of the party your club would represent, rather than the club itself.”
Notably, UBC Okanagan has allowed a Liberal campus club to operate freely for years.
“Specifically, some directors were concerned that certain views associated with the party–particularly those regarding the Black and LGBTQ+ communities–could make students from these groups feel excluded or unwelcome,” Arora said.
The email did not specify which Conservative party policies made people “feel excluded or unwelcome,” offering only a vague statement that the “party, but not the group” would run afoul of “inclusivity” and might discourage “open political dialogue.”
The student union’s email to the Conservative club applicant was unequivocal, stating there was no means to appeal the decision.
“Unfortunately, the board’s decision stands, and there is no appeal process for club ratification at this time. However, I’d be happy to meet and discuss ways to support political engagement on campus in a way that aligns with the Student Union’s commitment to inclusivity and respectful discourse.”
The decision from the student union has prompted blowback from students, politicians and the wider community.
Local Conservative Party MP Tracy Gray also commented, calling the story “disturbing.”
The UBC Conservatives, a longstanding presence on the main Vancouver campus, also expressed deep disappointment over the decision to bar their group from the sister campus, calling it a “blatant disregard for the fundamental academic freedoms that UBC has long upheld.”
Even some Liberal campus club members took offence to the decision and voiced their discontent online.
“As a young Liberal campus club president myself,” wrote Queens University student Jacob Johnston on X, “this is shameful. 34.4% of Canadians voted Conservative in the last election, including 45% in UBC Okanagan’s riding– Conservative students should be allowed to organize on campuses, just the same as Liberal and NDP students.”
Lesley Cormack, principal and deputy vice-chancellor of UBC’s Okanagan Campus, offered an official statement on behalf of UBCO saying that while she was made aware of the situation” and the university stands for the right to have politically affiliated clubs, the student union was an independent body.
“Through these mechanisms, they can make independent decisions with respect to student club ratification and allocation of student union resources,” wrote Cormack.
“That said, UBC Okanagan stands firmly behind its responsibility to uphold its principles of free, lawful, and respectful expression of all views and opinions, even those with which some may disagree.”
Allow students to opt out of paying student dues if the union is full of empty-headed Marxists? What a wonderful idea! I wish my university had allowed that. Instead we had a student union who fought for reinstatement of a Saudi student who had been ejected from residence without knowing why. The reason was he had spit on a servery girl simply because she was following orders to give just one potato per meal. The union only shut up when it found out the truth.
On another occasion a student had complained that a sign by a milk machine promised one half-pint. The student measured the amount served and said it only served 8 ounces. The geniuses at the union mocked the student because they figured one half-pint was equal to 8 ounces. The geniuses were not aware that Canada uses Imperial measures. If anyone knows of any intelligent student unions please let me know.
This is Canada. All we have to do is pull the "some anonymous person doesn't feel welcome because of something someone may think or say" ruse and boom, all human rights are out the door. The boldness of their deceptions grows daily. Where was "inclusivity" ever discussed in parliament or during an election? Where was the public debate that resulted in "inclusivity" becoming not just a value, but THE value of society, rising above all other human rights? And why only inclusivity for an exclusive group? Why for thee but not for me? I feel unincluded. Why do anonymous people (truthfully, there is nobody who "feels" unwelcome) get to make claims with far reaching consequences with no due process? Why can they not face their accuser?
The rot is palpable and this will have consequences. No more student union dues. Simple as that. And no more taxpayer funds to the University until they represent all taxpayers in a fair and unbiased manner.