Update from Nick

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, but a lot has been going on! I want to give a brief overview of two things I will be covering in my blog. First, I would like to go over our compensation request following the time lost due to the strike. Second, I want to discuss the Student-Government Roundtable that I attended on Monday in Halifax.

As many of you know compensation has been quite the struggle to achieve since the strike ended. For a full review of our efforts please have a look here. The Board of Governors has decided that no money will be reimbursed to students following the strike. Although I do understand the financial restrains of the University, the rejection of our proposals were very hard to accept as I felt we put forward a reasonable ask. I want to say that it is something we have worked very hard on and I am sorry we were unable to get the Board to agree to our proposal.

On a more positive note, on Monday I attended the Student-Government Roundtable in Halifax which was a very productive meeting. This has been the fourth meeting we have had with the provincial government this year and it was the best yet. The new Minister of Advanced Education, Honourable Frank Corbett, was there to introduce himself and share a few words. A memorable quote I took from his speech was, "Tomorrow is greater than any of us here". I think when looking forward at the long-term plans for education in this province that this point is very important to remember.

On Monday at the meetings we discussed two important topics, international students and mental health. Both are very relevant issues as the Nova Scotian government as well we universities and students unions move into budget season. The government is interested in exploring better ways to address both topics and will come back in June to our next meeting with some follow up to the issues.

These meetings are incredibly important and allow for us to build strong relationships with the government and address the larger issues in post-secondary education in NS. I will not be at the next roundtable meeting, as my term will have ended, however I highly encourage you to email Ben, the incoming Students’ Union President, with some ideas of big picture issues to be discussed.

- Nick