OUSA GA Brock University 2024

OUSA GA held at Brock University was a great success and overall, very good things to report. All 9 member universities were in attendance, and we were able to draft and vote upon our 3 policy papers presented pertaining to Student Financial Aid, Environmental Sustainability, and Responding to the Blue-Ribbon Panel. After holding our Plenary session and making amendments, all 3 papers were voted upon and passed.

Feedback for the GA was very positive, and the only negatives brought up was concerns over food quantity for one of the days catered meals, and concern over tight spacing for our Plenary in Sankey Chamber (both of these have been discussed and future GA type events should be able to now manage this issue). Overall, delegates provided very positive feedback for the organization, planning, and execution of the GA, and had very positive reviews of their time and experience at Brock.

OUSA Lobby Week at Queens Park (Provincial Parliament) in Toronto

I am still currently in Queens Park. Thus far, the week has been very productive, and we have presented our lobbying initiatives to many MPPs at Queens Park. We have had meetings and the chance to advocate for student-centered policy with representatives from the provinces NDP, Conservative, Liberal, and Green party MPPs. Our 4 key lobbying points have been, Investing in Post-Secondary Education, Housing, Food Insecurity, and Responses to Hate-Motivated Attacks. The lobbying has been well-received by the politicians at Queens Park, and we are actively discussing ways to ensure student interests are recognized and implemented in Ontario Education Policy.