Oh my gosh 2017 is over! November and December were a little tiring, but after a recuperating holiday, I am excited about the remainder of the year. In that spirit, I am thrilled to give a 2/3rds update on the term! I continue to pursue the University of Alberta Students’ Union’s (UASU) political policy objectives at all levels of government, and I have made some substantial progress on my advocacy points. It is difficult to get everything down concisely so for more information check out my council reports, Facebook page (UASU VP External Reed Larsen), or my original platform at reedlarsen.ca

Municipal 

A goal of both President Banister and I was to build relationships with the relevant City of Edmonton Councillors, Mayor, and administrative staff to pursue student priorities in infrastructure, city orientation, safety, and transit. I started this work by hosting a municipal elections mixer attended by dozens of candidates, a GOTV campaign, and on-campus voting stations. We have followed up post-election with meetings arranged with nearly all council members, highlights so far being meetings with Councillors Knack and Hamilton. 

Provincial

I have had several  one-on-one meetings with MLA’s, both government members and opposition, to press the need for sustainable and predictable funding models for institutions, affordable and accessible tuition rates, and tuition regulation and stability for international students. Also, I have arranged for some MLA’s to attend a Bears hockey game, at which we will press deferred maintenance and showcase athletics. 

President Banister and I attend CAUS fall Advocacy Days, in which we met with the caucuses of all parties. Personally, I met with the Minister of Advanced Education Marlin Schmidt to discuss CAUS priorities, and we continue to have a close working relationship with his office. Notably, I have had meetings with the United Conservative Party’s critic of Advanced Education Wayne Anderson to provide student perspective on  funding frameworks and tuition reviews. 

I continue to Chair the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS) and have completed many objectives for the organisation. In October and November, I toured the province to visit member institutions and present our provincial priorities to students’ association councils and boards. By terms end we will have completed three major projects, an International Student Experience paper, 2018 Budget Submission, and a Student Financial Aid research paper. Due to our strong working relationship, CAUS and I were approached to be at the forefront of the tuition freeze and backfill funding press announcement. Over the remainder of the year, the organisation will be going through a transition to a new executive director, all of which I will personally oversee.

Federal 

President Banister and I attended the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations (CASA) federal advocacy week in November. CASA as a whole met with over 150 Members of Parliament, including 11 meetings with Ministers and even one with the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. Out of several advocacy points, I was most thrilled to see points for 2.1 billion dollars in funding the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSP) to support indigenous students and streamlining the right to work for international students in the advocacy document used by CASA. I participated in the organisation’s plenary meeting, a provincial agencies chairs meeting, and coordinated CAUS’s response to the  tuition freeze announcement that occured back home. Highlights for me were doing a takeover of CASA’s official Instagram page, as well as finding out that a minister I met with putting forward a members bill to tackle student debt in the country. 

Tuition 

The largest announcement and win for students in my portfolio since my last report has been the re-introduction of the tuition freeze with backfill funding. Backfill funding is something that myself and previous generations of VP Externals campaigned on, it is fantastic to see finally come to fruition. The next big announcement, rumoured for January, will be the closing of the tuition and funding frameworks reviews, both of which will have profound impact on the accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education in Alberta.