Dear
Concordians,
This is a
guide to help you opt-out some fees that you may not want to pay. You will be surprised to know where your
money to pay for your students’ association goes. This guide is meant for undergraduates, which
are members of the Concordia Student Union (CSU). A similar guide for graduate students, which
are members of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) is under preparation.
Health & Dental Plan
If your one
of your parents has a health care insurance, have a discussion about your
coverage. If you are a full-time student
under the age of 25, you are covered by your parents’ health care insurance. If one of your parents is an employee of a
government or a large corporation, you should seriously consider opting-out of
this health care insurance because their insurance usually offers more than
this plan. It is a supplement to your
parents’ health care insurance or the Régie de l’assurance-maladie du Québec
(RAMQ) plan, which means you must claim to the other insurance before this one. If you are an international student, you
cannot opt-out of your health care insurance and I would not recommend doing so
if you could.
When to
opt-out: The deadline to opt-out for the year 2012-2013 is September 17th.
Where to
opt-out: Go to www.ihaveaplan.ca . Choose the CSU, which is the second-to-last
one. On the right side of your screen,
you will see a green bar. Under the
“coverage” section, click on “Opt-out”.
After the article, you will see “Opt-out now” button. Follow the instructions on your screen.
How much
you save: $189,22 for the year 2012-2013
Frigo Vert
The “Frigo
Vert” is a cooperative that sells organic and vegetarian food, including so
called “fair trade” coffee. They are
self-described “anti-capitalists” and describe Canada as “a nation born of
colonialism, patriarchy and white-supremacy”.
When to opt-out:
September 17th to September 21st for the fall semester
and January 21st to January 25th for the winter semester
Where to
opt-out: Go at the Frigo Vert (2130 Mackay Street, between Sherbrooke and
Maisonneuve). Bring your Concordia I.D. and your student account record stating
that your tuition is paid
How much
you save: $0,25 per credit, which is $7,50 for the year (based on a 30 credit
course load)
2110 Center for Gender Advocacy
The center
is an organisation that fights “gender oppression” of women, gays, lesbians,
transsexuals, queer people, intersex people, bisexuals, low income people and
people with disabilities. If you are
under one of these situations and seek the help of a social worker or a psychologist,
please note that the Concordia Health Services Center offer such services. The 2110 Center for Gender Advocacy is a
left-wing political organisation.
When to
opt-out: October 1st to October 13th for the fall
semester and February 1st to February 14th for the winter
semester
Where to
opt-out: Go to 2110 Mackay Street (between Sherbrooke and Maisonneuve) with
Concordia I.D. and proof of payment for the current semester
How much
you save: $0,29 per credit, which is $8,70 for the year (based on a 30 credit
course-load)
People’s Potato
People’s
Potato offers vegetarian meal to students.
Do not forget your Tupperware if you want to get their meals!
When to
opt-out: September 18th to October 2nd for the fall
semester and January 21st to February 4th for the winter
semester
Where to
opt-out: Go to People’s Potato Office (7th floor of the Hall
Building) with Concordia I.D. and proof of payment for the current semester
How much
you save: $0,25 per credit, which is $7,50 for a year (based on a 30 credit
course-load)
QPIRG (Quebec Public Interest Research Group)
Under its
serious title, QPIRG Concordia is a friend of extreme-left radical groups, such
as the Convergeance des luttes anti-capitalistes (CLAC), which Camille Robert
(the new CLASSE spokesperson) is from.
With your money, they fund anarchists and communists. If you are not an anarchist or a communist,
this group has no interest for you. They
are the ones who helped shutdown Concordia University on March 22nd.
When to
opt-out: This was definitely the most complicated one to figure out. The op-out week is from September 18th
to September 25th. For the winter semester, the opt-out week is
January 21st to January 28th.
Where to
opt-out: Go to 1500 De Maisonneuve West, suite 204 (Corner of Maisonneuve and
Mackay) with Concordia I.D. and proof of payment for the current semester
How much
you save: $0,30 per credit, which is $9 for a year (based on a 30 credit
course-load). As a taxpayer, you can
save your share of the thousands of dollars they cost us by their annual
anti-police protest and other similar events.
Sustainable Concordia Project
The
Sustainable Concordia Project is a group made to promote man-made global
warming, art projects and “green” behaviours.
When to
opt-out: September 18th to October 17th for the fall
semester and January 21st to February 20th for the winter
semester
Where to
opt-out: Go to 2090 Mackay Street, suite 204 (Between Sherbrooke and
Maisonneuve) with your Concordia I.D. and proof of payment for the current
semester.
How much
you save: $0,05 per credit or $1,50 per year (based on a 30 credit
course-load).
If you opt-out of everything mentioned above, you will save $223,42! Because we believe in economical freedom, what you do with your money is your choice.
If you are a fashionista, you can have a nice pair of shoes from Michael Kors.
If you love fancy dates and fancy gastronomy, you can dine at the Europea or Toqué.
If you are a tech-savy person, you can have a Netbook.
As you can see, you have so many options!
Have a nice day!
Vicky Rodgers
VP Finance at Conservative Concordia