The Martlet

This story has been updated for accuracy on April 19, 2012

Former UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) director-at-large David Foster has resigned from the Board of Directors in order to pursue legal action against the UVSS.

Foster’s resignation was made official at the beginning of a board meeting on Monday night. After participating in some discussion as a member of the gallery, he was asked to voluntarily remove himself following an outburst directed against Chairperson Tara Paterson for breaking a minor procedural rule.

“It was completely out of order and it very much annoyed me,” says Foster, who took issue with Paterson allowing another Director to speak out of turn.

Foster filed a petition to the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Jan. 25 that alleges the UVSS committed two bylaw infractions when it withheld funds from disability advocacy group, Access UVic. An earlier petition filed by Access UVic has been moved to trial.

“Under the Societies Act it says that if the Board of Directors of a society is not following bylaws, you can apply to the courts and ask them to intervene,” he says.

Foster alleges that the UVSS broke bylaws 3.3 and 4.7 of its constitution.

Bylaw 3.3 states that “any alteration of membership fees collected by the Society . . . shall require petition of ten per cent of the membership . . . [and] increases or [establishment of] fees shall be subject to the referenda process as defined in Bylaw 4.7.”

Bylaw 4.7 outlines the process by which alterations to the composition of membership fees must be put to referendum or voted on at a general meeting by its members.

In 2001, 2005 and 2009, increases in student fees were dedicated to the operational funding of the Society for Students With a Disability (SSD), which in 2004 changed its name to Access UVic. These funds were withheld in February 2010 following allegations of misappropriation.

On Aug. 23, 2010, the UVSS passed a motion to “not currently recognize Access UVic as filling the role of the UVSS constituency organization, the Society for Students with a Disability.” The UVSS alleged Access UVic was a "non-performer" in its memorandum of understanding, specifically regarding “annual financial statements and accounting records for Access UVic prepared by a chartered accountant and made available to all members of the UVSS and GSS.”

On Jan. 31, 2011, the UVSS Board voted to accept applications for a new constituency group to replace Access.

On Oct. 12, 2011, the UVSS released its financial statements, which described a dedicated $3.00 per student per term to “Disability Advocacy.”

Foster alleges that the change in allocation of fees from “Access UVic” to “Disability Advocacy” occurred in contravention to UVSS bylaws, without a referendum to redirect the funds.

“Mr. Foster is claiming that by requiring audits of student money and ensuring that all student money is properly accounted for we have broken bylaws,” says UVSS Chairperson Tara Paterson. “We direct student money for its intended purpose of advocating for students with disabilities to the recognized constituency group which is the Society for Students with Disabilities.”

“We believe it is not acting within the best interest of the Society to use a position as a director to garner information to sue the Society, which could cost the Society tens of thousands of dollars of students’ money,” she adds.

Foster says his resignation was the result of a possible censure against him, which would have included a public reprimand. He was concerned that would negatively impact his pursuit of a career in law.

“[A censure] puts a black mark on your record, and I was concerned, since I’m planning on going into the field of law, it would count as a strike against me for employment down the road,” he says, adding that while on the Board, he did take his elected position very seriously.

Paterson says that since the Board was largely unaware of Foster’s intentions to sue the UVSS, they were unable to solve the matter internally.

“Mr. Foster had not discussed this issue with any of the executives or made it known to us that he was preparing a lawsuit. Mr. Foster commenced a petition, nearly identical in form to the one that the court had moved to the trial list in July of 2011. He did this without discussing the matter with UVSS,” she says.

Foster leaves the UVSS after nearly a year of service, saying he will still participate on several committees and represent students in the UVic Senate.