January 31, 1977 the other press page 3 A new Student Society consti- tution that would radically re- structure the present system of student government--campus councils and a student council-- is currently being drafted by student council chairman Ray Harris. The Harris constitution de- fines the bodies of student government as an executive, a Senate, and a general assembly made up of representatives from the four campus councils. The executive body would be made up of a president, a vice-president (internal), a vice president (external), and a vice- president (treasurer). The sen- ate would be comprised of the vice-president (internal), who would act as chairperson, and the chairperson of each campus council. The responsibilities of the senate would be the allocation of funds to clubs and other groups within the college, and when a fund request is made in excess of $500, the decision is made by the general assembly. Harris said in an interview last Wednesday that the pro- posed constitution is to be ~\ brought before a general’ meet- ing of students Feb. 11, after the ‘‘kinks are ironed out’’ by the student council. At press Mow constitution proposed time, no council meetings had been arranged. Reaction to the proposed con- stitution by student council members has been mixed. New Westminster chair-- woman Darlene Zerr said Thurs- day she doubts whether there will be enough people on council to fill the positions, and com- plained that council has not had ““the right kind of input’’ in drafting the constitution pro- posal. She added that the pro- posed system of budget allocat- ion is ‘‘too much hassle’’. Geoff Nash, Surrey rep, said Thursday the propsal ‘‘has pro- blems, but it’s not too bad.’’ He added that the expansion of the college will increase student population and therefore would increase involvement in the student government. Richmond chairman Jack Lich said last Tuesday that the old constitution is workable, but just needs to be updated. New Westminster Rep Sheilagh Cahill also complained that. council members haven’t been consulted properly about the proposal, and that the system of government in the proposal would be unworkable. “It would be fine if we had 100 members on council,’’ she said. A plea for unspent money allocated to departments was asked for at Tuesday’s meeting of Principal’s Council in the New Westminster Boardroom. Bob Lisson, assistant bursar, proposed to Council that this capital be returned to a central fund and be redistributed, based on urgent needs only, for the remaining months of the fiscal year (which ends in two months). Lisson told Council that unex- allocated to other areas had to be used for emergency roof repairs for which the govern- ment said they would pay. “The Deputy Minister said go ahead, and then reneged,’’ Lisson said. ‘‘They also said that they would pay for the paving of 92nd Avenue in Surrey."’ He said some departments pected costs had arisen. Capital » A plea for unspent money have urgent capital needs for new programs or equipment. ‘The construction management class need $10,000 to buy tables for drafting.’’ College Bursar Bill Morfey asked council to take a ‘‘college stance and not a divisional one . Also recommended at the meeting was an English place- ment test for people entering the Career Program. ‘The placement test is not to be used as an entrance test,”’ stressed Harold McInnis, Eng- lish and Communications ‘in- structor and Discipline convenor for Communications. “We want to make it relevant to courses students are taking. There is no use a student in a career program studying the subjective tense,’’ he said. The matter was referred to the Curriculum Committee for further discussion. ° ~ ° = a e ° a eS = ° - . ss a R. Bull conducts College Band at Orientation Day Friday noon. Further tuition hikes a possibility OTTAWA (CUP)--Tuition fees across the country, which have been or will be increased in every province this year, are not likely to level off in the following years, thanks to an agreement reached between the federal and provincial governments in December. The provincial premiers ac- cepted a new formula for the financing of post-secondary education which allows their governments to cut back on expenditures without a resulting decrease in federal matching grants, at the first ministers’ conference Dec. 13 and 14. ‘‘Established Programs Fi- nancing’’ is the name for the new formula that will replace the 50-50 cost sharing between Ottawa and the provinces on provincial health and post-sec- ondary education programs, when the Fiscal Arrangements Act (FAA) expires March 31. The new financing arrange- ment is the answer the two levels of government have been seeking since 1970 to limit the growth of these programs, ac- cording to a federal ministry of finance document for a meeting of federal and provincial finance ministers the preceding week. In opening the first ministers’ conference Prime Minister Tru- deau said the new formula would mean ‘‘provinces will have a greater incentive to implement what are admittedly difficult measures designed to restrain spending in these fields.’’ Provincial cutbacks in educa- tion spending have come into increasing focus in the last few years. Yearly increases in Ont- ario’s post-secondary education budget have been on a down- ward spiral since 1974, while British Columbia’s education minister recently promised al- most no additional funding for the province’s colleges and uni- versities next year. The premiers came to the conference demanding this be replaced by a transfer of four tax points to the provinces, amount- ing to about $800 million. Otta- wa compromised and granted the equivalent of two tax points, or $400 million. But the ‘‘common front’’ the provinces presented under the leadership of Ontario premier William Davis, came to the ‘conference ready to accept the other federal proposals. The freeze on post-secondary education growth will be con- trasted by increasing enrol- ment, estimated to go up by 4 per cent or more next year. An article in the Student Advocate, the National Union of Students’ newspaper, says tuit- ion fees will be the only source of revenue for post-secondary institutions once the effects of the latest freeze are felt. NUS has called for a full inquiry into the financing and long-term goals of Canada’s post-secondary education, which finance minister Donald Macdonald and secretary of state John Roberts agreed to, conditional upon provincial ac- ceptance, on National Student Day Nov. 9. B.C.’s education minister Pat McGeer told stu- dent representatives recently he agreed to the idea. The established program’s financing will likely become legislation early this year, to be followed by the provincial bud- gets this spring. Unlike previous federal-pro- vincial fiscal arrangements, which had to be negotiated every five years, the established programs financing is open for an indefinite term, while no changes can be made to the program until five years have elapsed. This has been complemented by the provisions governing fiscal transfers under the FAA, which limited increases in the federal government’s share to 15 per cent yearly. Under the terms of the FAA, the federal government match- ed dollar for dollar what the | provinces spend on their health and education programs. Pro- vinces which cut back on their health and education budgets could expect a corresponding decrease in federal assistance. The new financing programs allow the provinces to cut back without sacrificing federal con- tribution from actual spending by the provinces and provides “‘more incentive to save and less to spend,’’ according to the finance ministry document. The new arrangement increa- sed the provinces’ tax revenues by transferring 13.5 points of personal and 1 point corporate, tax from federal jurisdiction to the provinces, providing about 50 per cent of the fiscal transfer. \ The remainder will be an ‘‘un- conditional” cash grant, based on the rate of Canada’s econo- mic growth. According to recent economic forecasts, growth of the Gross National Product will be about 3.5 per cent in 1977, down from last year’s rate of 5 per cent. While the new financing arrangement will give the pro- vinces $680 million more for all the shared cost programs next year, according to Trudeau's }- calculations, they will lose $900 million from the federal gov- ernment’s cancellation of the revenue guarantee program, originally designed to compen- sate the provinces for lost revenue due to changes in the federal taxation system.