On September 21, 2015, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) launched a legal suit against its former president, Yolen Bollo-Kamara, former vice-president, Cameron Wathey, and former executive director, Sandra Hudson, accusing the trio of colluding to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from this controversial campus organization.
The UTSU asserts that Hudson filed for 1,974.5 hours of unjustified overtime pay on April 1, before her contract was mysteriously discontinued several weeks later. The union claims that Wathey and Bollo-Kamara were also embroiled in this duplicity, not only approving Hudson’s overtime but also agreeing to dismiss her, and thus providing her with an exorbitant severance package.
According to the UTSU, Hudson’s managerial role precluded her from collecting overtime pay; a rule that Wathey and Bollo-Kamara had previously ignored, granting Hudson approximately $30,000 for two other overtime claims. The UTSU also notes that no complaints were lodged against Hudson’s performance prior to her termination, and thus argues that “It is evident from the circumstances that Hudson did not wish to work with the incoming executive committee, and that Bollo-Kamara and Wathey…agreed to dismiss her in order to grant her the benefit of her extremely generous dismissal provisions.”
The $277, 508.62 sum that Hudson received in overtime and severance pay constitutes approximately ten percent of the UTSU’s annual operating budget. The union is demanding that Hudson, Bollo-Kamara, and Wathey return these funds, in addition to paying $200,000 in damages for violating fiduciary trust.
In a statement released September 24, 2015, the UTSU Executive Committee explained that it is receptive to a “non-court resolution,” but has nevertheless filed a claim under the advice of their legal counsel. The statement emphasizes the UTSU’s desire to serve and engage students, declaring that “The UTSU is pursuing this course of action to ensure that its resources for serving students are protected and so that our members are not limited from informed participation in our union.”
Established in 1901, the UTSU is one of Canada’s largest student unions, representing 50,000 full-time undergraduate students from the St. George and Mississauga campuses. Their goals, as outlined in their mission statement, include fostering “the intellectual growth and moral awareness of the student,” providing “facilities of the services and activities in which the interests of the University of Toronto Student Community are involved,” and encouraging “social action programs involving volunteer student resources.”
Yet, despite these laudable ambitions, this lawsuit is only the latest in a series of scandals surrounding the much-maligned campus organization. Last year, the UTSU received backlash—particularly from Victoria and Trinity College students—for its proposal to dismantle and reconfigure its council structure, enacting a system of “constituency directors” in which directors would represent various marginalized facets of the student population (such as commuters, women, international students, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities). The UTSU has also been condemned for a lack of transparency, hostility towards reform, and unethical elections, which critics claim are virtually impossible for non-incumbents to win.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of this latest controversy will be. Regardless of the outcome, however, one thing is for certain: if the UTSU wishes to salvage the respect of the UofT community and remain relevant on the campus landscape, it will have to make a lasting commitment to fair and transparent governance.
I hope they get the money back from the fraudsters.