Local reaction after the Ontario Divisional Court struck down a provincial directive that made some post-secondary student fees optional, saying it’s inconsistent with the schools’ autonomy.
The Canadian Federation of Students hopes funding to campus organizations can be restored for next semester or next year.
Nipissing University Student Union president Hannah Mackie tells BayToday the ruling is welcome news.
“We’re quite excited, however we’re waiting to see what the actual implications will be and what that actually means. We’re definitely sitting on the edge of our seats and waiting to see the timeline,” she says.
She says one area of concern was being able to actually run programming out of the new $13 million student centre that’s currently under construction.
“Clubs, student groups, student advocacy, societies, things like that, those were the fees that were initially targeted through the student choice initiative that wouldn’t have been possible to function in that building and have it operating in it’s full extent,” she tells BayToday.
The student centre will open in the fall of 2020.
A spokeswoman for the Attorney General says the government is reviewing the ruling.
The government has said the goal of the initiative was to give students more control over how they spend their money.
(With files from The Canadian Press)

Filed under: NUSU