Sources who wish to remain anonymous provided Mattbarter.ca with the Graduate Students’ Union of Memorial University’s “Budget and Debt-Income” document presented at the GSU Annual General Meeting on October 29, 2025, and recent meeting minutes.
The sources raised concerns that the GSU’s debt is out of control and has been an issue since 2020. There is fear that the GSU could go defunct, and there has not been any transparency with the members of the GSU regarding the situation. They attribute the debt to a series of bad practices, including allocating health insurance and CFS-NL and CFS-National funds to other expenses.
They claim that around $600,000 was invested into the Bitter Pub and around $700,000 was spent on staff salaries.
The GSU’s Budget 2025-26 (April 2025-March 2026) had the total debt at $1,475,965.82. However, the GSU made a payment of $1,003,227.29 on October 29 for health and dental liability, reducing it to $472,738.53. The remaining liability for health and dental at that time was $1,383,510.75, but sources claimed that it has since increased to around $1,800,000. They claim that the only recent payment made to Greenshield was in the amount of $142,000, and it was taken from money collected this semester for dependents.
In addition to the debt owed to Greenshield health and dental insurance, the GSU also owes $235,959 to the Canadian Federation of Students-Newfoundland and Labrador and $235,959 to the National Canadian Federation of Students for fees collected from students from July 2021 to June 2025 but not transferred.
The GSU also owes thousands of dollars in legal fees related to a lawsuit brought against it by its former General Manager, alleging wrongful termination.
The sources claim that Greenshield asked the GSU to repay the debt by March 31, 2026, or coverage will be cut for all students. They stated that this move will also impact primary and dependents as well.
For the repayment plan, a $15 increase to the GSU’s semesterly membership fee has been proposed, increasing the current semester fee of $30.85 to $45.85 to raise $250,000. However, Greenshield is said not to be interested in a long-term repayment plan, and Greenshield Executives are reportedly coming to St. John’s on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, to meet with the GSU.
The sources also raised concerns with the newly signed Service Level Agreement between Memorial University and the GSU. They claim that only two executives signed the agreement and presented it to the GSU Board of Directors with no consultation. They are concerned that the agreement shifts liability to the GSU and is to be paid by the GSU. They stated that it was being driven by Memorial’s new responsibility-based budget model and consider it to be essentially a tax. They stated that the agreement means that the GSU will likely go defunct.
In the GSU’s December 10, 2025, meeting minutes, a concern was raised that Greenshield was charging an additional tax since September 2023, even though taxes are already included under the plan. It was also noted that the GSU lost $66,000 from not collecting from the 220 students who graduated in the Spring.
On the GSU’s website, it states that due to financial constraints, all services, including Professional Development Grant, Professional Membership Grant, and Travel Grants, have been paused. The annual Aldrich conference has also been paused due to budgetary restrictions.
The sources said they do not think it would be reasonable or ethical to increase the GSU semesterly fee when the only service graduate students will receive is health and dental insurance.
View and download the documents below:
Matt Barter is a graduate of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, holding a degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, taking walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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