NSPIRG

NSPIRG
Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Founded	1990
Field	Environmental and Social Justice
Official website	http://www.nspirg.org

NSPIRG (Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group) is a student activist organization with a focus on environmental and social justice issues. It is funded by students at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and functions as a referendum-mandated society of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU). Their stated mandate is "to link research with action for social and environmental justice within an anti-oppression framework."^[1]

Origins

NSPIRG was created by a DSU referendum in 1990. It receives funding via a $4 per year direct student levy. Although the group is required to allow students to opt out of the levy, some students have recently criticized the organization for neglecting to advertise this option, resulting in a total of 12 students opting out in 2008/2009.^[2]

The 1990 referendum question read:^[3]

Yes, I support the establishment of a Public Interest Research Group at Dalhousie University (Dal-PIRG) which will operate as a student run, student funded research, education, and action organization at a cost of $2.00 per student, per semester ($4.00 per year), which is refundable to those students who do not wish to participate.

NSPIRG Campaigns

Resisting/Replacing Atlantica

This is a movement opposing the Atlantica Initiative, a proposed trade zone spanning the New England States and Atlantic Provinces, which the group claims "threatens to seriously undermine labor rights and environmental standards".^[4]

Save Lincolnville!

This is a campaign to oppose the Lincolnville Landfill, which the group sees as an example of environmental racism. It is also concerned with the rights of Black Nova Scotians and First Nations communities.

No One Is Illegal - Halifax

This is an initiative supporting immigrants and refugees in Canada. The campaign is in its infancy, and involved groups include the Immigrant Settlement & Integration Services, Halifax Refugee Clinic, and the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty.^[5]

Rooting Out Racism

This is a campaign to stop institutional racism and discrimination in Halifax schools through human rights advocacy and support for victims of discrimination.

Controversy

At the Dalhousie Student Union's 2009 Annual General Meeting, a non-ratified campus group known as SMAC (Students Mobilize for Action on Campus) proposed several motions, including calls for the non-renewal of the union's food service contracts, in favour of student run food service, and a ban on Canadian Forces recruiting on campus.^[6] Due to time constraints, discussion of these motions was postponed until April 1, 2009. Despite the different name, some students, including DSU 2009/2010 presidential candidate Eric Snow, attacked SMAC as being a front organization for NSPIRG, citing overlap in membership and resources.^[7]

Following the AGM, a group of students loosely known as Stop NSPIRG circulated a petition asking for NSPIRG's funding to be put to a referendum, which the three DSU 2009/2010 presidential candidates signed. Another group of students in support of NSPIRG began a campaign to inform students about the organization, its working groups, and its campaigns. Prior to the continuation of the AGM, NSPIRG held a press conference featuring Halifax NDP MP Megan Leslie. A former NSPIRG adherent herself, Leslie denounced the Stop NSPIRG campaign, suggesting that it was related to a nationwide Conservative coup d'état on "progressive" campus organizations.^[8]

In the continuation of the AGM, held April 1, 2009, it was moved to have DSU Council arrange a referendum on NSPIRG's funding in the 2009/2010 school year, in consultation with NSPIRG. ^[9] The motion failed.

Affiliated groups

Working Groups

Working groups are issue-based groups supported by NSPIRG that have access to NSPIRG resources and funding.

• Anti-Oppression Youth Education Project (AYEP)
• Campus Action on Food
• DalGreen
• Films on Critical Issues (FOCI)
• Haiti Action Halifax (HAH)
• Metro Student Living Co-op
• Students Coalition Against War (SCAW)
• Seymour Green Community Organic Garden
• Students Taking Action in Chiapas (ZEN)
• Students For Students
• Vegan Potluck Group

Other associated groups

• Halifax Coalition Against Poverty (HCAP)
• Halifax Refugee Clinic

External links

• NSPIRG site
• Stop NSPIRG site

References

1. ^ "About Us". http://nspirg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=47. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
2. ^ "About NSPIRG". http://www.stopnspirg.org/?p=17. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
3. ^ "DSU Meeting Minutes. November 5, 2008". Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie Student Union. 2008-11-05. pp. 4. http://www.dsu.ca/aboutus/council-1/data-council/11-dsu-meeting-minutes-november-5-2008.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
4. ^ "Campaigns". NSPIRG. http://www.nspirg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=14&Itemid=58. Retrieved 2009-03-18. 
5. ^ "Campaigns". NSPIRG. http://www.nspirg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=14&Itemid=58. Retrieved 2009-03-18. 
6. ^ "AGM Motions - 03/11/2009". Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie Student Union. 2009-03-11. pp. 1–5. http://www.dsu.ca/aboutus/council-1/data-council/agm-motions-03112009-final.doc. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
7. ^ "Eric Snow on NSPIRG". http://www.stopnspirg.org/?p=70. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
8. ^ "YouTube - NDP MP Megan Leslie at Dalhousie". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdQgBMYuWRc. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
9. ^ Lisa Buchanan (2009-04-01). "And now, the meeting you’ve all been waiting for...". http://punditry.ca/2009/04/and-now-the-meeting-youve-all-been-waiting-for/. Retrieved 2009-04-02.