The January 26^th meeting of the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA)’s Board of Directors saw the announcement of the renewal of the Peterborough–Selwyn bus routes 31 and 32, dubbed “The Link,” until March 2026, salary increases for the student workers at Trent, and the release of the Association’s 2025 Spring General Election schedule.

In their Executive reports, the Executive Directors of the TCSA summed up the events they participated in over the course of Frost Week, such as Sexy Bingo, Global Dinners featuring international cuisines, a Peterborough Petes Game, and a ski trip to the Kawartha Nordic Club.

TCSA President, Nav Chugh, spoke about meeting the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)’s National Chairperson, Holly Star Tait, about Trent students’ concerns regarding food insecurity.

Chugh explained that the CFS headquarters’ being in Ottawa can often lead the conditions of more distant universities to “go unnoticed.” She spoke to Star Tait about the TCSA’s food pantry program, as well as the possible CUPE 3205 strike. These concerns are being compiled into a forthcoming report by the CFS on the current concerns of Canadian universities.

Vice President University and College Affairs, Iyiola Alade, reported on the TCSA’s Town Hall, where he spoke to international students about the implications of the new allocation caps put in by the Federal and Provincial Governments. With 2025 set to see a 23% drop in spaces for international students in Canadian universities, more and more students inquired about the Comprehensive Ranking System, which determines access to the express-entry immigration and permanent residence in Canada.

Alade also reported on a prospective meeting with the university’s Philanthropy department to develop new “needs-based scholarships for students.” 

He described a “cycle” where “a student works a lot, and has to pay their tuition fees, which means they will not exactly be able to focus fully on their education,” which then precludes them from accessing Trent’s mostly academics-based scholarship.

The students stuck in this cycle would be the target of this scholarship: by testing eligibility through financial circumstances rather than academic standing, the scholarship would lighten their financial burden, allowing them to put more time into their studies.

Next on the agenda was the renewal of the TCSA’s contract with the township of Selwyn to run “The Link,” which provides students from Selwyn, Curve Lake, Lakefield, Bridgenorth, Ennismore, and the new Woodland Drive development with free transportation to Trent.

While this service will continue to be offered until March of 2026, the Ontario government will no longer fund the 31 and 32 lines after that point, leaving students from the aforementioned municipalities without free transit to Trent.

“The students could be left hanging,” acknowledged Association Resource Manager, Wendy Walker. “Unfortunately, unless someone approaches the TCSA to extend a service by being the main source of funding, there’s not much we’re able to do about that.”

In light of the 4% increase to Ontario’s minimum wage, as well as the 1.8% increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the board voted in favor of a 4% increase to all part-time and full-time student wages, barring those of its General Manager and Executive team.

In the past, indexing student pay to CPI has always allowed the Association to pay above minimum wage, said General Manager Tracy Milne. This is the first time that she recalls the Association having to increase its wages by more than CPI in order to keep up with minimum wage, and avoid paying less in comparison to minimum wage than the last year.

Milne further explained “the salaries put forward take into account both the cost of living, and minimum wage.” When asked by Arthur how many of the Association’s staff are paid a living wage, she expressed confidence that all part-time workers receive a cost-of-living-appropriate salary.

The Ontario Living Wage Network locates the 2024 living wage for Eastern Ontario as $21.65 an hour. It states that living wage employers must “agree to ensure that all direct full time, part-time and contract employees are paid the living wage rate for their area.”

While they are indexed for CPI, which takes into account varying costs of life, none of the part-time positions offered by the TCSA, as described in its 2024-2025 Policy Book, exceed $20 an hour. 

The Association’s part-time employees are not, by definition, paid a living wage.

At the time of writing of this article, Arthur has requested and is still awaiting records from the TCSA, regarding what portion of Trent student workers make a living wage.

At last, Lead Electoral Officer Wendy Walker gave the board an update on the scheduling of the Association’s 2025 Spring Election.

The schedule of the 2025 TCSA Spring Election, from Lead Electoral Officer Wendy Walker

When pressed by Arthur about the impact of the last election’s cancellation following a cheating attempt by the President on current electoral policy, Walker did not identify any significant changes. She explained that while she initially considered returning to paper ballots, this would represent a “logistical nightmare.”

This time around, students opening their ballots will receive a pop-up message explaining voting procedure, with a bolded statement emphasizing that they must fill out their own ballots. Beyond this, she considers the removal of Riya Jaykar from the last election, as well as her role as TCSA President, a sufficient warning of the consequences of election fraud.

The Association’s long-standing problem of ballots being sent to students’ spam folders has not been resolved, and Walker will continue to remind students to check their spam folders during the next election period.