VP finance candidates Abhi Mishra and Linda Zheng generally agreed on issues facing the AMS, but had slightly different plans to deal with the issues at the first candidate debate on Thursday.
The candidates discussed the growing backlogs of club reimbursements and agreed that the main issue with the transition has been training new staff and treasurers.
“The number one reason why reimbursements take so long is that [reimbursement forms] are not filled correctly,” said Zheng.” To prevent this, I am hoping to have workshops [and] to have orientations to better allow that.”
Mishra agreed with Zheng and said he would create an FAQ page for treasurers to address the most common questions.
Both Mishra and Zheng said they would try to publish the forecasted budget on time, and the reason for the delayed budget this year was the staff turnover in the VP finance office.
In a question asked by an audience member regarding UBC’s relationship with RBC, both candidates said the relationship was complicated and emphasized the importance of consultations with students to find a solution.
There have been protests at UBC and nationwide against RBC because of their investments in fossil fuels and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The AMS also uses RBC for banking and financed the construction of the Nest through a loan taken from RBC.
The candidates had slightly different opinions on why a referendum was needed for the AMS/GSS Health & Dental Plan and the strategies they would adopt if the referendum failed.
Mishra said that the AMS was not in a position to cover students without drawing on reserves unsustainably.
“If it does not pass, we would have to revisit the plan and see where we are lacking,” said Mishra. “We would also fall on UBC to provide resources for students because we would not be in this position in the first place if UBC provided the counselling services it promised.”
Zheng said the referendum was a result of increased usage of the Health and Dental Plan and inflation.
“My contingency plan [if the referendum fails] is to have surveys, reach out to students and have town halls to discuss what students prioritize in the Health and Dental Plan,” she added
The candidates also differed on their plans to ensure the AMS Food Bank runs without any financial constraints.
Mishra said an audit of the food bank's supply chain would help lower costs. He also suggested using AMS social media platforms to raise funds and donations for the food bank.
Zheng said the forecasted budget shows the food bank already received a lot of donations this year and she would try to cut costs in other budget items to ensure appropriate spending for the food bank.
Responding to an audience question about how the AMS could financially assist students in finding housing neither candidate offered a concrete answer.
Mishra said the AMS has a Housing Service which provides resources to students in finding off-campus housing. The Housing Service has been discontinued and has been subsumed by the AMS Advocacy service.
Zheng said the AMS provides U-Pass and fee subsidies but acknowledged this was not enough. She added that she would work with the VP academic and university affairs to “see what she could do about it”.
The VP finance candidates will debate each other tonight, Friday, March 3, at the Great Debate.
Follow us at @UbysseyNews on Twitter and follow our election coverage starting February 27. This article is part of our 2023 AMS Elections coverage.