Western University's student council drops O Canada from meetings

Canada's national anthem will no longer be played at Western University's student council meetings. 

University Students' Council (USC) voted to drop O Canada at the opening of meetings, a move some council members at the London, Ont., school say is a step toward decolonization. 

"There were some folks that felt very proud of [O Canada] or felt as though it was super important to them. There were others that felt differently, and maybe it was a source of pain for them," said Lauren Jarman, USC's vice-president of university affairs. 

"But at the end of the day, our voting members of council were the ones who made the decision — and they did decide to remove it."

More than 60 per cent of council voted for the change, during a meeting on Feb. 1. Out of 36 votes, 23 were in favour, nine abstained and four were opposed, USC confirmed. Feb. 15 will mark the first meeting the song will not be played, a shift that will follow other councils at Western. 

The motion states O Canada is no longer a required element of council meetings, but could still be played on occasions by request, such as Remembrance Day, she said. 

"We were the only ... decision-making body at the university that was still playing O Canada at the beginning of our meetings. Western Senate no longer does it, and many of the faculty councils and affiliate councils also no longer do it," Jarman said. 

"When having these conversations, the main point was that it's a colonial song, it's something that doesn't necessarily represent the interest of every single Canadian."

At USC meetings, O Canada has been played after a land acknowledgment, a statement read to recognize First Nations, Inuit and Métis territory.

"We felt as though O Canada wasn't really fitting our goals of decolonization. And it's also not the only step we're taking," Jarman said. "We're continuing to increase our engagements with Indigenous communities and ensure that we are centring Indigenous voices throughout our decision-making processes." 

USC did its "due diligence" through extensive consultations with students, faculty and Indigenous community members at the university to make the decision, and heard a "variety of different perspectives," said Jarman.

Felix Nomerovsky, social science councillor for USC at Western University, said he was considering abstaining from the vote, but decided to support the motion.

"It was pretty controversial," he said. "I could see a lot of both sides."

'It's the right thing to do in the path of reconciliation'

Nomerovsky said he respected the decision and trusted the consultation was done with the Indigenous community.

"I believe that if that is what the Indigenous people of the Western community want, it's the right thing to do in the path of reconciliation."

The motion to remove the national anthem from meetings was first tabled in November 2022 by Ethan Biswurm, USC's vice-president of governance and finance. Biswurm's motion stated, "Following a land acknowledgment with O Canada is seen as hypocritical and detrimental to our Mission."

Student council brought its diversity of perspectives to the decision-making process, along with perspectives of the constituents, said Jarman, which made for "fruitful, important conversations."

The student union is made up of elected representatives of students from faculties, affiliate and professional schools at Western representing a diverse range of identities, she said. 

"They come together to make those informed decisions that are student-centred and the best decision for the community as a whole."

CBC News reached out to Indigenous students, faculty and staff at Western University for comment on the story and will update it based on any response.