KPIRG-KPU-Hossein controversy continues
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/05/05
The Runner reported on one of the many ongoing scandals at KPU (Kwantlen Polytechnic University).
This time with the Kwantlen Public Research Group (KPIRG). The Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) Council meeting, on April 6 2018, elected a new president, Caitlin McCutchen.
McCutchen stated, that the KSA is unable to confirm plans of defunding KPIRG or not based on the alleged fraud of Richard Hossein.
Hossein is a former staff member and the founder of the organization who may have absconded with over CAD100,000.
“We have the autonomy agreement, and this mismanagement of funds, essentially, is in breach of a few different parts of this autonomy agreement,” says McCutchen. “If there are breaches or violations, we have the option to stop remitting funds to them, which would not mean that we’re shutting down KPIRG. It would just mean we’re not giving them the funding.”
The current student senate representative and a former KPIRG board member, Kim McMartin, worked with Hossein. She “voluntarily excluded herself from an in-camera discussion that took place during the meeting. This was due to a conflict of interest, and she declined to give any other comment on the record,” according to The Runner.
The former KSA president, Tanvir Singh, attended as a student who was concerned about the situation.
Singh explained, “Through all of my roles, I’ve never had a good relationship with KPIRG.. .I’ve talked to multiple students and most people don’t know what they do. I think that this situation [with the Hossein lawsuit] in and of itself is the nail in the coffin. I think it’s time for students at KPU to seriously consider defunding KPIRG.”
Of the original signatories for the autonomy agreement, Hossein was one of the three people to do so, this autonomy agreement included the “provisions that allow the KSA to terminate it for breach of contract or by referendum.”
Article 7 may have been breached of the autonomy agreement. Because the KPIRG KSA funding must be utilized “exclusively towards accomplishing those purposes set out under the KPIRG constitution and for no other purpose.”
Same with Article 8: “all transactions that KPIRG enters into with third parties must be commercially reasonable and comply with KPIRG’s constitution, bylaws, and the Society Act or any successor Act.”
Article 33 firmly states that the event of a termination of the autonomy agreement would result in “any funds or property in possession of the KSA, at the time of the termination of this Agreement, shall remain in the possession of the KSA, and deemed to be the lawful property of the KSA. All unremitted fees shall be transferred into bursaries for KPU Students with criteria relating to social and environmental justice oriented individuals in financial need.”
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