The Cadre, UPEI's student newspaper, published a draft budget of the UPEI Student Union Wednesday, despite being told not to.

The budget was available for viewing in the student union office by appointment, but was otherwise not distributed. Student union officials said they were worried the working budget could be misinterpreted.

The student union budget took up seven pages inside the paper.
(Melissa Brousseau/CBC)

The newspaper thought otherwise. "We thought that students should be allowed to have a copy of it," said Cadre managing editor Melanie Bernard.

"Why shouldn't they? Every penny comes from the students. They're curious as to what's on the budget but they aren't going to make an appointment [to look at it], so this is just cutting out the middle step."

The Cadre was hand delivered to students on campus, to keep the paper from being seized by the union. Last year, the union did seize copies of a controversial issue of the Cadre.

The paper received its copy of the budget from council member Faiz Ahmed.

'The distribution of the budget is determined by council.' —Student union president Ryan Gallant

In a letter accompanying the publication, Ahmed compared the close holding of the budget to a number of other council initiatives — such as the counter-strike during last year's faculty strike, the safety rally regarding the crossing at University Avenue, and a mild reaction to tuition hikes.

"We did not consult students about the positions we took [on their behalf] on any of these issues," he wrote.

"We are unwittingly practising 'student management' as opposed to 'student governance.'"

Ahmed noted recent rallies organized by the student union had poor turnout, and worried that the student body was alienated from the council.

The newspaper was distributed by hand to readers on campus.
(Melissa Brousseau/CBC)

Student union president Ryan Gallant told CBC News the working budget isn't released because the numbers aren't finalized and could be misinterpreted by students.

"The distribution of the budget is determined by council, and we have determined in past years and through our bylaws that we distribute finalized financial statements on our website and that's basically how we distribute our budget," said Gallant.

"This is flagrant disregard for what council has decided, so that's a concern for me."
 
Gallant says Ahmed as well as the Cadre could be disciplined by council for their actions.