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from about 40 Canadian universities and community colleges today (Nov. 5) established a new national student union, but not

OTTAWA (CUP) —- Delegates l

before representatives from Quebec and the Atlan- tic Provinces had walked out. . Creation of the Natio- nal Union of Students/ Association Nationale des Etudiants (NUS/ANES)-foll- owed three days of protrac— ted, and sometimes tedious debate on a constitution proposed by a four-member steering committee, set up at a previous conference at Windsor last May.

But the fledgling or— ganization's future is uncertain because potential members must conduct refer- endums on their campuses before being allowed to, join. Although a few student councils had al— ready authorized their del— egates to join the new union, only Simon Frazer University has conducted the necessary referendum.

Delegates authorized the "central committee" or executive of the NUS to solicit grants from poten— tial members to finance its formative stages. The only committment made at the conference was a grant of '$1000. from the University of British Columbia Student Council. . I

The conference was per— haps the largest gathering of Canadian student council representatives since the dissolution of the old Canadian Union of Students (CUS) in 1969.

The Quebec-Atlantic provinces walkout occured after delegates reached a’ bitter impasse over methods of membership in the new union.

Quebec representatives, who came from the English— speaking universities and some English and French

CEGEPS, demanded representa-

tion based on region. Loyola, which introduced the proposal wanted all NUS delegates to be appointed by regional student unions, with all five regions of Canada having equal voting power. They were especially adamant that their repre—

sentation come from the growing Front des Etudiants du Quebec (FEQ), rather than from individual insti- tutions. . The Loyola proposal drew on the example of FEQ where Quebec is devided into six regional govern— ment bodies. The regions

elect.a maximum of 100 dele— gate. to a general assembly-

but representation is not

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appease Quebecand the Mari-- times.

The two dissenting reg- 'ions immediately caucussed.

Montreal has about 60 per cent of the students but on only 30 assembly delegates and other regions have at least eleven.

The Quebec delegates contended that the method prevents one power bloc from controlling the

organization. Each region must meet before an assem- 0“ th¢,nati°nal Steering bly meeting to develop committee, entered the cau-

positions scheduled for , lcus room with a compromise

based on population. 'Perosala WOUId sufficiently

Delegates were sharply devided on whether the new 'V proposal was acceptable. V‘Then, Carleton University student council president 'Bruce Cameron, who served

discussion at the assembly. Proposal- The proposal, The proposed constitu— which originated with some tion called for represenn B-C- delegates, could have tation from individual united the delegates institutions based on two? because the Quebec-Mari- votes per school. The plan times caucus gladly accep- was favoured by most dele—_; ed it, but its failure gates from the west and lamong angry recriminations Ontario, but it was amended wrecked NUS as an to a modified representation initially Canada-wide by population formula after organization. / the walkout. The Cameron plan would The Atlantic-provinces have allowed each province wanted representation from to determine its mode of provincial organizations, repreSentation but would with each province having have devided the size of equal voting power. ' 'representation as follows: The eastern provinces 6 percent to each of the feared the organization four Atlantic provinces, could become controlled by 20 percent to Quebec, 20 Ontario and Quebec under percent to Ontario, 7 per- representation by , cent to each of the three population. They feared in— prarie provinces and 15 sufficient attention would percent to B.C. be paid to Atlantic region ' Immediately after the problems. They also claimed Saturday lunch break, dele- representation by institu- gates overwhelmingly appr— tion would result in too oved the Guelph declara~ unweildy a body. tion. Cameron then intro— After being voted down duced his plan, but it was overwhelmingly (16—73—8) immediately attacked for Friday night, Nov. 3, the giving over-representation Atlantic delegates supp— to the Atlantic provinces. orted the Quebec proposal, "If the Maritime prov- but it was defeated inces are going to get 24 Saturday morning (Nov. 4) percent of the votes then by a vote of 27-54-11. 'I wonder if they are A compromise then began, willing to pay 24 percent to emerge as ontario and of the fees," Susan Geason— British Columbia delegates administrative assistant appeared willing to allow of the University of ' ’ each province the right to Toronto part—time student appoint its delegates to council said. NUS as it chose. A measure to allow schools to give their regional or provin- cial associations their proxy votes gained wide support and was eventually passed.

The University of Alberta threatened to with— draw if the proposal passed. The prarie

Although the delegates came close to agreement on methods of delegate selection, the conference floundered over the allo— cation of delegates to various regions and provinces.

Just after the Quebec proposal for regional rep— resentation was defected, the University of Guelph introduced a motion decla— ring that both institutiona and regional appointment were valid methods of deleé gate selection. Most dele— gates west of the Ottawa River hOped that this, along with the proxy voting

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delegates, who had strongly

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rejected the regionalism concept, caucussed and produced a plan for mod- ified rep by pop -— one vote for every 5000 g students in an institution or fraction thereof.

The Atlantic delegates angrily rejected this plan and McGill and‘ Bishop's universities made a counter-proposal which the praries and many in Ontario and B.C. found equally unacceptable. The plan called for a 100- member organizational assembly of which 30 dele- gates would be chosen on the basis of three per province, and 70 would be allocated by provincial

student population. Cameron accepted it.

But the proposal con— tained a contentious pre- amble which said-—"recog— nizing that representation by institution is an arti- ficial and unjust standard and that representation by strict population is equ— ally prejudicial."

The preamble antagoniz- ed delegates who wanted strict institutional_ representation and appear- ed to polarize them against any regional percentage

preposal.

Chairman Dan Boisvert from Loyola University ruled the McGill proposal out of order. Cameron cha- llenged the chair but the ruling was upheld 49 to 19— with 20 delegate votes, mostly from the Maritimes, abstaining.

At this point, Dawson CEGEP from Montreal walked out saying, "this confer- ence has proven to us that the federal concept of representation within the present boundaries of Can-' ada cannot permit demo- cratic process." '

Amid considerable up- roar and confusion, Cameron's original per- centageeproposal was rejec- ted and the praries rep by pop plan was.accepted.

\Tom LeRoy from St. Thomas University in Fred- ericton N.B. then walked to the microphone and read

a biblical quotation from Isaiah, referring to the decay of civilization.

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