SFSS Council discusses donations to Indigenous Residential School Survivors Society – The Peak
Councillor Peter Hance voices concerns over the Council’s “disrespectful” conversation
November 24, 2022
In September, Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) vice-president external relations and community affairs, Eshana Baran, put forward a motion at a Council meeting to approve an annual SFSS donation of $10,000 to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS). The IRSSS is an organization based in BC that provides services to survivors of residential school such as counselling, physical health support, and cultural support.
The motion faced pushback from some Council members, resulting in discourse and subsequent amendments over the course of three Council meetings. During the initial discussion of the donation motion on September 28, Emiliyo Da Silva, acting global Asia studies councillor said, “At my old student union we donated $5,000 to an organization and later that year the Government of Canada removed their status for funding inappropriate things abroad.” Da Silva felt because the IRSSS also has no annual report on their website, it was an indication they do not conduct valid research. In the Zoom chat, councillor Mark Giles of psychology student union, said, “There is no reason why a charity would not have an annual report other than either fraudulent reasons or incompetent reasons.”
