The Arts Undergraduate Society no longer has to pay the $2,500 fine that it was originally charged with due to the placement of an Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society poster on a lamppost.
Due to financial constraints faced by the AUS this year, President Dave Marshall was ready to personally represent the AUS in court against the City of Montreal, but after frequent communications, the prosecutor’s office decided to withdraw the charges.
“Traditionally [this] is done because their office doesn’t believe there is enough evidence supporting their case,” Marshall said. “The reasons weren’t disclosed to us, but regardless, the situation is favourable for our students because the AUS doesn’t have to pay the fine or the court fees associated with it.”
The fact that the AUTS is a student group that works with the AUS created a lot of confusion regarding who was responsible for the poster.
The fine was charged to the AUS because when the AUTS poster was found and the police looked into it, the only corporation that appeared to be officially registered was the AUS.
“There was still no proof at any point that anybody from the AUS could have put the poster up,” Marshall said. “They didn’t catch anybody in the act.”
According to Marshall, the City now plans to review the law in order to avoid similar issues in the future.
“The law as it stands right now opens up a lot of confusion regarding these type of charges that are not legitimate and hopefully they will revise the law in the near future,” Marshall said.
The situation represents a liability issue regarding the use of the AUS name, which is similar to the restrictions McGill’s administration placed on the use of the McGill name earlier this year.
“This, I think, is a perfect example of a liability issue associated with using the AUS name,” Marshall said.
By this logic, the AUS has found ways to reduce the liability risk, as well as fight for its students if anything goes wrong with the use of the AUS name.
“I don’t expect this to be a major step for McGill, but I think it should come as a pretty powerful indication that student groups are in a very similar position when it comes to the usage of their corporate names, and yet we have taken a position that we will support our students,” Marshall said. “I’d like to see the same thing from McGill.”
