The problems with the Kwantlen Student Association aren’t new — and they aren’t random. They’re baked into how the whole thing is set up. After countless conversations and a lot of digging, here’s what I think my fellow students need to know.
This is a long read, but if you make it to the end, you’ll understand exactly why things feel broken — and what we can do about it. Strap in!
2025 KSA Election Rule Changes
In late 2024, the KSA council approved a slate of new election regulations ahead of the 2025 general election. These changes have raised significant concerns about fairness and accessibility in the electoral process. Key rules included:
In-Person Nomination Submission at Surrey Only: All nomination packages must be submitted in person at the KSA’s main office, which is located on KPU’s Surrey campus. This means candidates from other campuses (Richmond, Cloverdale, Langley, etc.) have to travel to Surrey to hand in their forms, adding a potential barrier. Furthermore, nomination signatures required on each form were tripled from 25 to 75 and must be original “wet ink” signatures. A KSA staff member pointed out that 75 nominators is “three times higher than any other student union in B.C.”, far exceeding the typical 10–25 signature requirements at similar institutions.
Hefty Complaint Filing Deposit: The KSA dramatically increased the fee to file an election complaint. In November 2024 the deposit was raised from $20 to $45, and then at the Dec. 20 meeting it jumped again to $75. KSA executives said the higher refundable deposit will help deter “mischievous complaints”. Even a relatively small fee can be a meaningful obstacle for students balancing studies with part-time work or no income at all.
As a Kwantlen Polytechnic University student observing our student government, I’ve grown increasingly alarmed by the controversies surrounding Ishant Goyal, the Associate President of the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA). From questions about the fairness of his recent election win, to whispers of a toxic work environment, to public rebukes from provincial student bodies – there is a lot to unpack. In this post, I’ll break down the key issues:
Connection to the CRO: Conflict of Interest Concerns
One of the first red flags was Ishant Goyal’s apparent connection to Gurinder Singh Gaddu, the newly appointed Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the KSA 2025 elections. The CRO is meant to be an independent official overseeing the election, yet students have pointed out a potential conflict of interest. In fact, a quick online search of “Gurinder Gaddu” astonishingly brings up images of Ishant Goyal himself, prompting many of us to wonder: just how close are these two?
During a Jan. 24 KSA Council meeting, Goyal and the executive team enthusiastically endorsed Gaddu’s appointment as CRO, with Ishant emphasizing confidence in Gaddu’s ability to “uphold the integrity of our election process”. On paper, Gaddu was qualified – a former provincial election official – but the optics of Ishant championing his appointment have not gone unnoticed.
Why do images of Ishant appear when searching the CRO’s name?
Some students speculate there’s more to their relationship, fearing an insider advantage. While no official proof of collusion has surfaced, the mere perception has eroded trust. An independent CRO should have no perceived bias, yet here we are, worrying that our Associate President’s ally is refereeing our elections.
Examining the Chief Returning Officer’s Credentials
Adding another layer to these concerns is the recent appointment of Gurinder Gaddu as the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) to oversee KSA elections. The CRO is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the election process – a role that demands impartiality, experience, and sound judgment. Yet, almost as soon as Gaddu’s appointment was announced publicly, his LinkedIn profile was abruptly set to private, removing what little information students could gather about the person now in charge of our student union’s elections. This sudden move to hide his professional history raised immediate red flags about transparency. What reason would a qualified, confident CRO have to conceal his credentials at the very moment those credentials should inspire student confidence?
Fortunately, a snapshot of Gurinder Gaddu’s professional profile remained accessible on an online resume site (Bold.pro), allowing students to scrutinize his background despite the LinkedIn lockdown. A full screenshot of this profile was captured for reference (see below), revealing the following work history and education:
Inside Sales / Client Support – Andrew Sheret Ltd. (Dec 2020 – Present) – Handles sales strategy, logistics, customer service; works in a plumbing and heating supply company.
Computer Technician – Kasa Supply Ltd. (Feb 2017 – Dec 2019) – Performed computer hardware/software troubleshooting and technical support.
Volume Count Analyst – Canada Post (Oct 2019) – Short-term role counting and auditing mail volumes; essentially a temporary data entry position.
Sales Associate – Bench Outlet Store (Feb 2016 – Jan 2017) – Retail sales and customer service job at a clothing store.
Education: Diploma in Computer Information Systems from KPU (completed Apr 2017), and pursuing a Bachelor’s in Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity at BCIT (expected Apr 2026).
The KSA’s latest financial figures reveal a troubling picture. According to the December 2024 draft budget, the student association ran a deficit of roughly $674,000 for the year. Multiple expense lines blew past their budgets, contributing to this shortfall.
Key examples include:
Legal & Professional Fees: The KSA spent $382,051 on legal and professional services, exceeding the budgeted $230,000 by over $152,000. In fact, the KSA’s legal expenses in 2024 alone were higher than its total legal spending from 2019 through 2022 combined. This suggests extraordinary (and costly) legal matters occurring behind the scenes. Why? No transparency has ever been provided on this.
Events: The student union spent $265,249 on events, overshooting the allotted $100,000 by $165,249. For instance, a single Welcome Week event in Sept 2024 cost over $31,000 – about $10,000 more than planned.
In short, 2024 saw the KSA overspend on lawyers and events while struggling to control costs in operations. These financial troubles drained reserves and led to the significant deficit now facing the student association.
Council Votes Itself a Hefty Pay Hike
One would expect belt-tightening in a time of deficit. Instead, the KSA council (which includes the student executive board) chose to substantially increase their own salaries and meeting payments in March 2025. At a March 21 council meeting, with the 2024 audited financial statements on the table, the council approved a suite of pay raises for themselves:
Executive Committee Pay: Effective April 1, each KSA executive will be paid $24.03 per hour, up from a flat biweekly stipend of $1,592.80. With executives expected to work 80–90 hours per two-week period, this means up to $2,162.70 biweekly, a 36% increase in pay (roughly $56,230 per year before perks). Do executives release details of exactly what they work on that justifies them to such pay? Of course they haven’t.
“Associate President” Honorarium: The KSA’s Associate President (a position in the KSA governance structure that was simply made up in recent years) will now receive $12,000 per semester, up from $9,000 (which itself was set just last September). This is a 33% jump in less than a year.
Meeting Honoraria: All KSA Council members – including non-executive representatives – will get more money for attending meetings. Honorarium for attending a council or committee meeting was raised from $100 to $125 per meeting (a 25% increase). Committee chairpersons now get $175 per meeting (up from $150), and even student-at-large committee reps saw their stipend double from $50 to $100. Notably, these stipends had already been increased once on April 1, 2024; the council has now given itself another raise just one year later. No transparency has been ever given on why our representatives deserve such steady increases.
In plain terms, the student fees that fund the KSA will now be paying significantly more into the pockets of the very people who control those funds. An executive on the KSA can now make over $56k/year from salary alone, not counting additional meeting payments and a tuition reimbursement perk for six credits per semester.
