Last Wednesday, a complaint was filed with the United Nations about rising tuition rates in BC on behalf of the AMS. The complaint was not approved or discussed at AMS Council.

Pivot Legal Society issued the complaint on behalf of the AMS and former VP Administration Tristan Markle, who accused the provincial and federal governments of not providing affordable post-secondary education.

The complaint states that the provincial and federal governments are violating an international covenant that states post-secondary education should be “accessible to all” and that countries should move toward “free education.” The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights was signed by Canada, along with over 144 countries, in 1976.

The AMS has spent $3000 for an initial retainer to pay Pivot Legal Society lawyer Katrina Pacey, but they have yet to receive a final invoice. The money was taken out of Council’s legal fund, which has an annual budget of $25,000.

VP Finance Tom Dvorak and VP Academic Johannes Rebane were signatories on the contract with Pivot. Both Dvorak and Rebane claimed that they overlooked the contract and went ahead on the faith of their fellow executives.

Other individuals involved were AMS Policy Analyst Adrienne Smith and Communications Manager Kelli Seepaul. Chu said at the November 26 Executive Committee meeting that Markle was chosen as a co-complainant by Pivot from a list of concerned students submitted by Frederick and Chu for his emotionally-charged appeal.

This is not the first time a university student union has tried to challenge the international covenant. According to UBC Insiders, the Simon Fraser Student Society filed a similar complaint with the UN in 2005 that stated, “We, the Simon Fraser Student Society…argue that the actions of both the Federal Government of Canada and the Provincial Government of British Columbia over the last decade have constituted an egregious violation of international law.”

A statement by the former SFU International Relations Officer said the UN responded to their complaint, saying that “considerations” may be taken at the time of the general review of Canada, which happens every ten years.