Two current board members of the Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC) Sri Krishna Rajan and Dhwani Bhalavat were appointed as interim director of communications and internal and interim director of operations respectively in a board meeting held on December 13.

No candidates ran for these positions in the fall 2021 election which concluded on December 8. As a result, the board activated a bylaw to fill these two positions on a temporary basis.

Krishna and Bhalavat, who have been serving as director of education & equity and health science representative respectively, put their names forward for the roles, and attending board members passed the motions.

Krishna and Bhalavat would begin their terms as interim directors on January 2, 2022. 

These two positions will be up for election again next year, when the next general election takes place.

In the meeting, the board also passed a motion finalizing dates for the election. The nomination period would begin on March 9 and the voting period is scheduled to open on March 28.

Newly elected business educational centre representative Marion Shevlin and community services and early childhood centre representative Elise Patterson were also ratified in the board meeting.

The SAGBC’s chief returning officer Charles Wilson presented a summary of the election report to the board. 

During his presentation, Wilson spoke to persistent challenges in finding candidates for the top two director roles and called for reform.

“The lack of candidates for these two positions concerns me. There’s been long-term systematic issues with these two positions,” he said.

“In my professional opinion, these two positions require reform. Currently, they are not working [out], and this is to the detriment of the board, the student association, the college and in general trusting this democratic system,” Wilson added.

“If I were an average GBC student, I’m not sure I would know what a director of communications and internal is, and which candidate is most qualified for that position,” he elaborated.

Wilson also reminded board members of a governance review that is underway that aims to reevaluate and possibly restructure these roles.

Rosalyn Miller, general manager of SAGB, said that the work of the governance review team is expected to conclude by the Annual General Meeting next year.

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Timothy Bingham, senior manager of labour relations at GBC, was invited to the meeting to update the board about recent developments in the ongoing collective bargain negotiations at provincial levels that could possibly lead to a faculty strike as students prepare to return to campus after the holidays.

“There’s a possibility of a labour disruption as early as December 18. The strike could take different forms. It could be a work-to-rule, it could also be a rotating strike,” Bingham said.

A work-to-rule is a form of strike where employees perform only the duties that are specifically mentioned in their contracts, nothing more. More information on what a work-to-rule strike might look like for GBC is expected soon.

Addressing the possibility of a strike, Miller said, “It is essential to us that prior to January 5, the students have a sense of what to expect in terms of a disruption.” 

She also added that the SA is preparing a FAQ so students can have their important questions such as scheduled meetings with faculties and impacts on the learning environment answered.

“We don’t want students to go through an uncertain time for two weeks not knowing what to expect, and January 5 becomes a major shock and surprise,” she said.