Greetings!
Having just returned from a jam-packed week in the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island, I can be certain of at least two things: the lobster season is in full swing and student representation across Canada is strong and engaged. From June 6th – 12th, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), one of OUSA’s partners, held their annual Policy and Strategy Conference in the lobster hotbed of Charlottetown. This week is designed to identify the policy and advocacy priorities that CASA’s members have for the next year.
In addition to the sessions on strategy and governmental climate, this week the general assembly was charged with the responsibility of selecting CASA’s next National Director. Congratulations to Zachary Dayler, a Hamilton Ontario native, who will surely provide great leadership for the organization as National Director.
Not alone in Charlottetown, many of OUSA’s steering committee members were in attendance including Daud Grewal (Brock University) who was elected to CASA’s Board of Directors as the Regional Director for the Central Region, Nick Soave (University of Waterloo), Saad Aslam (Wilfrid Laurier University), and Joe Finkle (McMaster University).
Another highlight includes the forming of the Pan-Canadian Accord Committee, which employs the mandate of encouraging a strong partnership between the federal and provincial government for the purpose of ensuring high quality education in post-secondary institutions across Canada. Some of the anticipated topics that will be covered in the Pan-Canadian Accord include early outreach and teaching and learning data, namely two areas that our OUSA staff are currently researching. Both Joe and I are really looking forward to contributing to this expansive initiative over the next year as members of this committee.
Moreover, OUSA will be conducting our own Strategic Planning Conference at the beginning of July. This will be a great opportunity for our Steering Committee to identify our priorities and action plan for the next year. Really looking forward to it!
Meaghan Coker
OUSA President
USC VP University Affairs
