At the Great Debate, VP external candidates questioned each other on their experience and insider status.
The candidates for VP external are Associate VP (AVP) External James Cabangon, AVP Campaigns and Community Engagement Erin Co and newcomer Sanchay Jain.
Cabangon questioned both Co and Jain at different points on how they would lobby the federal government, emphasizing his own experience as the only candidate who had already done so.
Positioning himself as “a 22-year-old federal lobbyist,” Cabangon said, “I’m the only AVP to actually have been to a federal lobby week … this is advantageous to students because it draws on what truly sets me apart, and that’s my pre-existing relationships with external stakeholders.”
He asked Jain how he would lobby as a first-year student and what he wanted to lobby for.
In response, Jain said he wants to lobby to increase a loan repayment assistance threshold so students would not have to repay student loans until they make $50,000 a year or more.
During a discussion about including graduate students in external advocacy, Cabangon asked Co how she would include graduate student voices even though she had not been to a federal lobby week.
Co responded by pointing out that even though lobbying is not a part of her job description as AVP campaigns and community engagement, she sought to participate in provincial lobbying to get as much experience as possible.
“[In order] to be included in provincial lobby week, I wasn’t given those jobs, I actively asked for it,” she said.
When asked about current VP External Saad Shaoib’s criticized meeting with an independent MP previously charged with sexual assault, Cabangon said he was not involved.
He also said he would run for leadership of Undergraduates of Canadian Research Intensive Universities (UCRU), the student federal lobbying body, to ensure it did not happen again.
Jain questioned Co and Cabangon on what they would do differently this year that they were not able to accomplish as part of the VP external office this year.
Co claimed she was the only candidate building on what the external office did this year, citing her platform points of increasing student grant receivables and making grant eligibility more equitable.
Cabangon said that as AVP, he was able to identify gaps in existing policy, including on sexual violence prevention and climate action, which he would address as VP.
Jain presented his newcomer status as a strength, bringing new ideas to the table.
“You might see me as an outsider, but sometimes an outsider is the best solution,” he said.
When asked what lobbying points they would prioritize for international students, the candidates showed similarities.
All three mentioned limiting tuition for international students, a policy already in place for domestic tuition.
Cabangon and Co said they want to lobby for removing barriers for international students to gain permanent residency. Co specifically said she wants to include student work experience in the requirements to apply for the Canadian Experience Class express entry path to residency.
Voting opens March 7.
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