Councillor motions to remove Board of Governors candidate from ballot
February 9, 2026 8:49 AM
The final item on the agenda at the most recent meeting of the StFX Students’ Union Representative Council was a motion by Arts Councillor Adam Hunter to remove Board of Governors candidate D’Arcy McDonell from the general election ballot.
Business & Information Systems Councillor Danielle Levesque seconded the motion.
McDonell told the gallery that he was being accused of repeated intimidation and harassment of a returning officer.
He was adamant that given the seriousness of the accusation, it was not council’s role to make a judgment.
“The nature of these accusations is not something to be discussed here. I spoke to Keith Publicover this afternoon, and I can assure you that this is something that must go through the Community Code,” he stated.
The Chief Returning Officer Genevieve Taylor indicated that a returning officer could nominate a candidate to the disqualifications committee, citing Section 7 Article 6 of the Students’ Union Elections Act.
However, Taylor said she thought council – rather than the committee - would provide more transparent means through which to resolve the grievance.
“That still does not change the fact that this is a serious allegation, and it has to be dealt with through the Community Code,” repeated McDonell.
“If there are grounds for a charge through the Community Code, the judicial office is to engage in a formal investigation. Following that, they can come back to council following the results of the investigation. This is not something that can be decided here,” he said.
Council voted to move the discussion of the issue in camera at 7:19 p.m.
Students’ Union President Sandy MacIntosh removed himself from the discussion due to a conflict of interest, as he is a candidate for the board of governors.
VP Student Relations Alex Gosselin voluntarily removed herself from the room.
Partway through the in camera session, Chair of Council Dave Faour left chambers and VP Union Services Alexa Minichiello chaired for the duration of the session.
When McDonell was asked to enter the room to speak to council, he was accompanied by VP Recruitment and Student Experience Keith Publicover, who was not permitted to speak while in chambers.
McDonell told council that he felt this process was a violation of his rights as a student, and he would not speak to the charge in that forum.
Council ended the in camera session at 9:49 p.m.
Hunter retracted his earlier motion to remove McDonell from the ballot on the grounds that council had failed to provide the candidate with a written warning within 24 hours of obtaining knowledge of his violation, a breach of the Students’ Union Elections Act.
McDonell told the Xaverian Weekly that he had received repeated emails from the returning office throughout the campaign accusing him of violating the Elections Act; he denies the allegations and says he views the emails as harassment.