Discussion of transparency took centre stage once again as the candidates running to be the AMS VP finance sparred in their second debate last night.
Current AMS Associate VP Finance Rita Jin, current Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) President Noah Jassmann and AMS newcomer Angad Singh Gill discussed a variety of issues ranging from the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan to the society’s transition to a new club reimbursement system.
Just like in the first debate, much of the conversation among the candidates concerned issues of transparency within the AMS’s financial processes.
Talk of this issue was particularly prevalent in response to the second question, in which candidates were asked whether they supported a referendum to allow budget amendments of up to $5,000 to be made by the Finance Committee without needing AMS Council approval.
All three candidates supported the referendum, and insisted that they would adequately communicate any amendments with students.
“I don’t think you’d have an issue on transparency,” said Jassmann. “All the decisions that would be made, especially under my lead as VP finance, would be communicated to students and it would definitely be something that I would work towards.”
“I’m personally definitely in support of this referendum because by being able to make amendments to the budget under $5,000, we’re able to process through the budget approval process quicker,” said Jin. “It will increase transparency because with all that time obviously we can focus on spreading the word to sharing on social media.”
Gill agreed with his opponents, adding that he would create VP finance-specific social media accounts to communicate with students, a suggestion that Jassmann seconded. Jin supported using social media to communicate.
The transparency theme continued through discussions of the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan. When asked about surpluses across the plan’s funding, Jassmann expressed a desire to increase student knowledge about the AMS’s mental health subsidies.
“We believe that surpluses aren’t being used because students aren’t taking advantage of it,” said Jassmann. “They aren’t using the resources that are available to them because they don’t know that they have these resources.”
Gill also expressed concern with the fact that as a student, he could not access information on the size and distribution of the surpluses. He recommended a participatory budgeting system in which students could help decide how surpluses would be allocated.
Unlike during the first debate however, discussions between candidates got heated.
During the open debate on the reimbursement systems change, Gill asked Jin how news of the change and the particular systems involved were communicated to students. Jin responded that information about the change was in Finance Committee meeting minutes, which Gill criticized for not being easily accessed.
“You said that these are available in the minute meetings, but I don't believe most of the UBC students know that these resources are available online,” said Gill. “I've never seen any email, survey or social media posts being put out there that we have such resources available.”
Jin then asked her opponents if they knew how the AMS’s new financial system — which it is currently transitioning to — worked.
Jassmann responded, but didn’t go into specifics.
“I do understand what is going on with the new financial system, but I don't believe 30 seconds is enough or adequate to answer everything accurately,” he said.
Later on, Jin asked Jassmann and Gill where the money to increase student coverage would come from.
When Jassmann responded that funding would come out of the Health and Dental Fund’s surplus, Jin asked if he knew the size of the surplus and if it would cover all students. He gave a ballpark estimate of four or five million dollars and insisted that it would be enough.
Voting starts March 7.
Follow us at @UbysseyNews on Twitter and follow our election coverage starting February 28. This article is part of our 2022 AMS elections coverage.