Annual Congress of Young CAQ Members: Practices of Student Associations and Unions on the Agenda

Unions and student associations will be in the sights of the young CAQ members next month, when they meet for their annual convention, which will address, among other things, certain practices they consider "anti-democratic."

The Coalition Avenir Québec's Commission for the Next Generation (CRCAQ) is not holding back in arguing that unions and student associations have in common that they are rigid and restrictive structures.

Among the practices denounced are "holding meetings under prohibitive conditions to exclude the participation of the greatest number", "lack of transparency in the use of contributions" and "radical positions which do not correspond to the opinions of members".

For example, CRCAQ Vice-President William Denis pointed out the publication of the Collège de Maisonneuve student association in the 2022 school agenda with the theme "how to abolish the police."

"It should be noted that at this college, there are students in police technology," he laments, asking if the association was really speaking on behalf of all students in this specific case.

Restricted Use

In its participants' notebook for the next congress, which will take place on June 7 in Lévis, the CRCAQ also refers, in support of its comments, to the UQAM Faculty Student Association of Human Sciences (AFESH), which, last November, denounced the election of former Prime Minister Pauline Marois to the position of chancellor.

"We call for his dismissal," the association stressed in a social media post. "AFESH continues to rise up against the representatives of xenophobia and racism."

The CRCAQ also proposes to restrict the use of membership fees by union and student associations and their leaders so that they are not used for political or partisan purposes.

It also wants to make the detailed publication of expenses of trade union and student associations and their leaders mandatory.

Accountability of senior officials

On a completely different note, the CRCAQ also believes it is necessary to strengthen the accountability of senior officials when they abuse the trust of Quebecers, specifying that they cannot simply be reassigned to another position with the same salary and conditions.

"If they don't deliver the goods, despite their high salaries, there is no accountability, so that's not an incentive for performance," maintains the vice-president of the CRCAQ.

"In the private sector, someone in such a position is fired when they don't deliver, whereas at this level, there's a kind of golden parachute and there's no sense of accountability."

William Denis also concluded that in his eyes and those of the CRCAQ, François Legault remained the man for the job to bring these ideas to fruition by 2026 and for the years that follow and that he still had the total confidence of the next generation of CAQ members.