The Canadian Federation of Students(CFS)lost a major appeal Monday in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, which upheld an earlier ruling that a membership referendum held in October 2005 at the University of Saskatchewan was invalid. The ruling, which blocked the CFS and a student union from setting aside the student union’s own referendum bylaws, may have national implications.

The original case was launched against the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union(USSU)by its former president, Robin Mowat, after the USSU ignored the fact that the independent referendum committee had invalidated the referendum. The committee was created in an effort to meld the bylaws of the CFS and the USSU, but its decisions were ultimately not recognized because it wasn't in accordance to CFS rules. The CFS became involved in the original case as an intervener before filing the appeal.

The committee declared the referendum invalid because of complaints of procedural problems, including the lack of polling stations, the inability of co-op students to vote electronically, and the bias of the referendum oversight committee.

Regardless of the committee's decision, the USSU was concerned that the CFS would launch legal action if it did not immediately take full membership. In a close vote, the USC decided to ignore the problems with the referendum and approve full membership in the CFS.

"When faced with a result that was not consistent with its wishes, the University Students' Council simply ignored its own rules," Judge R.S. Smith wrote in the original ruling that struck down the decision to join the CFS.

Smith also found that the referendum question put to students made no mention of the $9 fee per student to be paid to the CFS. The CFS would receive approximately $160,000 annually from the University of Saskatchewan's 19,500 students.

"I am glad to finally have the ruling," said James Pepler, current USSU president. "We are not surprised by the decision and have been waiting for the ruling in order to move forward." Pepler said the first thing that the USSU must do is find out its membership status with the CFS. The CFS listed the USSU as a full member as of Tuesday afternoon. Pepler hopes to hold the referendum alongside a scheduled transit pass referendum in two years.

The ruling could have implications for an upcoming CFS referendum at McGill University. In the University of Saskatchewan case, the court recognized the students' union's bylaws as taking precedence over those of a external organization that they don't yet hold a membership with. The Student Society of McGill University's referendum bylaws are believed to conflict with CFS bylaws. Not one at SSMU was available to respond before we went to press.

This is not the first time that questions have been raised about the validity of membership referendums because of breaches of student union bylaws. A similar complaint was published in the student paper at the University of Manitoba after their 2005 vote. University of Toronto administration also raised an eyebrow at the results of a 2003 referendum. However, no action was taken on the criticisms.

Mowat could not be reached for comment as he is currently overseas serving with the Canadian Forces. The Canadian Federation of Students did not return repeated phone calls.

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