Last week’s Student Legislative Council (SLC) meeting took place on Oct. 25. One of the main topics of discussion was the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) member alliance presentation.
CASA is an organization made up of 22 member associations representing 265,000 students at post-secondary institutions all across Canada.
“Our mission, through our membership-driven structure and grassroots approach, is to advocate for students using policy development, research, awareness campaigns, government relations, and partnerships with other stakeholders,” said Christian Fotang, chair of CASA. “Our vision is that we hope to have a post-secondary education system in this country that is accessible, affordable, innovative, and high quality.”
CASA regularly lobbies politicians and organizations in order to achieve its goals. It has met with every prime minister since Paul Martin and conducted research that could eventually lead to public policy. They have four major advocacy and research priorities: financial student aid, student mental health, housing, and decolonization.
Fotang and Khairvee Bhatt, treasurer of CASA, gave their presentation, updating the council on the work they're currently doing. They presented the organization's general structure and the benefits and responsibilities of being a member.
“There’s so many ways that I say you benefit from it, but I honestly say that CASA has also benefitted from having really strong leaders paving the way,” said Fotang.
Agendas, minutes and upcoming meetings for SLC can be found online.
