UManitoba student union sued by CFS over membership fees

The CBC reports that the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) is being sued by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and the Canadian Federation of Students-Services for allegedly withholding more than $1M in membership fees over three years. UMSU became a member of CFS in 2005, but its board voted to defederate in 2020. According to the lawsuit, CFS bylaws require a referendum to confirm defederation, and the UMSU has continued to benefit from CFS programs and services. The CFS also claims that they tried to reach UMSU since 2019 to reach a friendly resolution, but their outreach was ignored, while former UMSU president Brendan Scott stated that the CFS refused to allow a virtual referendum and had been “unreasonable.” The lawsuit seeks the payment of fees and court costs, as well as a declaration that UMSU is still a CFS member. CBC| Winnipeg Free Press Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.