A complaint to the United Nations has student councillors calling for Alma Mater Society president Blake Frederick to resign.

The president of a student union at the University of British Columbia is facing calls for his resignation after he filed a complaint to the United Nations on behalf of the organization.

Blake Frederick announced yesterday (November 26) that the Alma Mater Society is asking the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint an independent expert or special rapporteur to investigate human-rights violations in Canada’s postsecondary education system.

Tomorrow evening (November 28), the AMS student council will consider motions urging Frederick and vice president Tim Chu to step down, as well as a third motion that would rescind the complaint.

Matthew Naylor, an arts representative on the council and a former AMS vice president, told the Straight today (November 27) that he only found out about the complaint yesterday after the student union sent out a press release and Frederick held a press conference.

“What council’s more upset about, I think, is not only is this complaint ill-advised, it has also been done in a way that pulled the wool over council’s eyes, that deliberately concealed this action from council, and has proved to be immensely embarrassing for the organization that they sit on the board of and ostensibly have some control over,” Naylor, a political-science student, said by phone.

According to Naylor, the complaint has garnered an “overwhelmingly unfavourable” response from his fellow students and councillors.

He said he plans to vote in favour of all three motions at tomorrow’s meeting.

If Frederick and Chu, who were both involved in bringing the complaint forward, don’t resign, the council will serve them with a notice of impeachment, which would be followed by a hearing in seven days, Naylor said.

The November 25 complaint—submitted along with former AMS vice president Tristan Markle, and with the help of the law firm Pivot Legal LLP—argues that Canada is violating the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which it signed in 1976, by not ensuring postsecondary education is accessible to all.

Naylor maintained that not only is the complaint a waste of students’ money, but it’s also a waste of time for an international body that deals with the “most egregious” of human-rights violations.

“Yes, I acknowledge that Canada ratified this treaty or this commitment,” Naylor said. “But that doesn’t mean that tuition has to go down right away. There are different ways to approach it. And I think that, for a number of reasons, this could be deemed completely invalid and will have proven to be a total waste of money.”

Frederick told the Straight today that he called tomorrow’s emergency meeting, in accordance with the student union’s rules, after receiving a petition signed by councillors.

Speaking by phone, he wouldn’t say whether or not he will show up to the meeting, which will start at 5 p.m. in Room 206 of the Student Union Building.

“I know that council does have some questions over process, and I look forward to answering them when I can address council in a public forum,” Frederick said. “But I think the real issue here is that students are struggling with their debt, and they need to see some real action from their student union.”

Asked whether he thought he will still be president of the AMS in a month or two, Frederick replied that it was “premature to speculate” before he meets with the council.

“I have heard some frustrations from students,” Frederick said. “But I’ve also received an outpouring of support from students who believe very strongly that the government is not doing enough to make postsecondary education affordable for them.”

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.