By Emily Senger
The result of a Students’ Union general election referendum question is before a review board after the Women’s Resource Centre gained 63 demerit points for illegal postering during the week leading up to the election Feb. 13-15.
The recently passed WRC levy is at risk. The levy calls for $1 per full-time student and 50 cents per part-time student and passed with a 53 per cent vote in favour. SU chief returning officer Mike Brown suggested a fine of $192, which the WRC agreed to, but the decision is ultimately up to the review board who could take any action from removing the fine altogether to overturning the results of the referendum, according to Brown.
In his testimony Brown told the board Wed., March 21 that the illegal postering was due to a lack of knowledge on the part of the WRC.
“The errors made by the campaign group were made in good faith,” Brown told the board. “I don’t believe the campaign problems affected the campaign in any way. They did make efforts to try and fix it after I brought it to their attention.”
Brown also noted that while other candidates and campaign groups collected demerits, the WRC was the only group which had more than 50 demerits. According to the SU bylaws, any group who receives 50 demerits is required to go before the review board.
“I couldn’t understand why the [demerit] numbers were so excessive,” WRC volunteer coordinator Joan Wilson told the board. “When I put the handbills up it seemed to be where everybody else put them.”
The review board will deliberate and send its verdict to the SU within five business days of the hearing.