The Great Canadian Rip-Off

By Kevin Lacey, BA History, Dalhousie University

Be careful when you approach your university registrar’s office this fall. Look over both shoulders, and keep a good grip on your wallet. Legalized theft is occurring across Canada to everyone attending a post-secondary institution. Most students are taken for anything from $26 to $210, depending on the university they attend. In fact, collectively, Canadian students are taken for almost $200 million per academic year, with some student unions, such as that at the University of Calgary, claiming as much as $25 million. This theft occurs without most students’ knowledge. The perpetrators are all the same—Canada’s university student unions, and they take from students by forcing them to pay student union fees.

Most of these organizations try to justify the theft in a number of ways. First, they say that they need money in order to lobby politicians for solutions to student problems. One of the most popular actions has been lobbying the government for free tuition fees (the cost of which would be borne by Canadian taxpayers). This, they say, would increase the ability of young people to attend Canada’s universities—an ability which they feel is currently restricted. The facts show that their premise is unfounded. A study by Statistics Canada shows that despite tuition increases of 62 percent after inflation from 1990 to 1995, enrolments have continued to increase in record numbers. In 1995, total enrolments in Canada were 651,000—a 50 percent increase from 1975. This figure is particularly impressive considering that in 1995 there were 9 percent fewer young people aged 19 to 24 than there were in 1975.

There is no better way to make the student union accountable than to give students the power to withhold resources.

Second, student unions say they need money to operate services on campus. These services include things like copy centres, campus bars, and food outlets. Most are student union operated services that do not make profits, and therefore require subsidies through student fees. My view is that student unions should not be in the business of running businesses, particularly if those businesses are losing money. Students will support businesses that are providing services they value, regardless of whether they are run privately or by student unions. The other problem with student union run businesses is that these subsidized operations compete with businesses that do not have the benefit of being subsidized. These private businesses (quite often run by hard-working entrepreneurs), are at a disadvantage in the market place, and therefore many opportunities are lost to them. One student union in Western Canada opened up a used book store offering exceptionally low prices with the intent of putting a competitor out of business. The book store was successful at limiting the competition on the campus, but in the end, the students were the ones who lost out, because they no longer had a choice either in the product they bought, or the vendor who sold the books.

Last, student union leaders argue that student fees are good value for students in terms of the services provided. Well, let’s put this to the test. If student leaders are so confident that students will support their cause, why not offer a refund to any person who does not want to be a member of the student union? Or, better yet, let students decide through voluntary membership whether or not they want to give the student union their student fees. There is no better way to make the student union accountable than to give students the power to withhold resources.

After a nearly 35-year stronghold on Canadian campuses, it is time for student unions to justify their existence. Only through a voluntary system of membership, where students can clearly indicate the value that they place on their student union, will real value for money be achieved. So the next time you pass the student union on your campus, ask yourself what you are getting in exchange for your student union fees. Are you receiving value, or are you being ripped off? It is time to make your student union accountable.

[Editor’ s Note: Kevin Lacey has served as a Vice President of the Dalhousie Student Union and as Atlantic Canada Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.]

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.