On October 15^th the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU) hosted a barbecue to rally against the minimum wage freeze, introduced by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The lunch was advertised outside of the Student Center as free, but at a closer look, had a steep price. A burger cost you a signature and a vote of support for the 15$/hour minimum wage, proposed by former Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne. The event forced hungry students to decide between lunch, and their political stance on the matter. Mdu Mhlanga, a student at UTM who witnessed the event stated, “I signed the petition because I wanted a burger, but I put a fake address in protest of the UTMSU's actions”.  Mhlanga wasn’t the only student in disagreement with UTMSU’s exchange of burgers for signatures as he explained “another student walked up to me and asked me what could be done if they don't agree with the UTMSU's stance and I said he could just put a fake address”.

President backpedals after partisan allegations surface

When asked to comment on the event UTMSU President Felipe Nagata agreed, to later back out, referring us to the school's media handlers. Prior to this, he told The Daily Wire that students were not supposed to be denied a burger if they refused to sign the petition. “If that's the case, make it seem like they have a choice” responds Mhlanga. Nagata even took to twitter on Saturday to comment on the whole ordeal, writing “I’m loving this, I feel like a celebrity”. It’s sad to see UTMSU’s own president taking serious allegations so lightly, as he continues to refrain from issuing a statement.

To top it off, events like these are funded by students like Mhlanga, who oppose UTMSU’s partisan politics. We asked Mhlanga how he felt about the student union using his tuition to further their political agenda, to which he responded with:

“I would rebuke any organization claiming to represent the whole student body from any attempt to use student's money in political campaigns. While Nagata might say you would not be denied a ticket if you refused to sign, there was a specific political goal in having that burger stand which was to get students to sign the petition to admonish Doug Ford's minimum wage freeze.”

The same can be said by majority of the student body, who pay out-of-pocket to be manipulated by UTMSU despite clear ethical implications.

Student union has a history of liberal partisanship

The University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union has a history of taking a liberal approach to decision making, as they barred a pro-life club (Students for Life) from receiving certification back in 2016 because of their anti-abortion stance. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) provided the club with representation in court later that year. JCCF was the same organization that issued UTMSU a ‘D’ in ‘Student Union Practices’ for the 2018 year ‘Freedom Rankings’, raising many concerns including UTMSU’s refusal to recognize the club (SFL). The barbecue was not seen as a means “‘to bring students together to discuss and co-operatively achieve necessary’ … ‘legislative change’” –as stated in the society’s Constitution and By-Laws – but instead, was known around campus as “the place to get free burgers”.  Instead of facilitating open-discussion and debate with their platform, UTMSU encouraged hungry students to sign their names in dissent.

Campus conservatives release statement in response to the event

UTM Campus Conservatives issued a statement this past week in relation to the exchange of burgers for signatures. This is what Harris Bajes Watkins, President of UTM Campus Conservatives, had to say on the matter:

“Speaking first on the Ford government’s decision to freeze the minimum wage at $14 an hour, we are of course, as proponents of basic economics, for this policy. As per the Bank of Canada, the scheduled increases in minimum wage for the future [as per 2017] are to account for the following misfortunes to the Canadian economy: an employment decline to the tune of 60,000 jobs, a decrease in consumer consumption vis-à-vis the increased interest rates - which would cancel out the wage gains that many proponents of the $15 minimum wage argue will occur, and possible acceleration of automation in the long-run]. With the plethora of information available to us as university students, we find it disappointing that useless rhetoric of the Ford government being ‘anti-worker’ seems to find useful ears at UTM. To those on our campus who are firm supporters of the $15 minimum wage, we ask a question: Why not a $20 an hour minimum wage? The argued choice of the imposed price floor seems to be arbitrary. We hold that the policy of the $15 minimum wage, in consideration of the economic data, is in fact anti-worker in effect, because it makes them generally worse-off.”