University of Calgary claims it owns MacEwan Hall and only an act of cabinet could change that

In the latest twist to the legal battle over ownership of MacEwan Hall, the University of Calgary argues not only that the students' union does not own the building, but that itcan't own the building under current provincial laws.

It would take an act of the Alberta government to change ownership of Mac Halla campus hubthat houses a food court, student services and a concert venue according to the university's statement of defence to a lawsuitfiled by the students' union.

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The university's board of governors is "precluded from conveying an ownership interest" in the land and the building that sits atop it, according to the statement of defence, "unless and until prior approval is obtained" by an act of cabinet.

The defence cites Alberta's Post-Secondary Learning Act, which states that a university's board of governors "shall not, without the prior approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council,sell or exchange any interest in land" that the university owns.

Legally speaking, the "Lieutenant Governor in Council" refers to the lieutenant governoracting onthe advice of the provincial government's executive council or cabinet.

No eviction planned

The university admits the students' union has made "certain monetary contributions" to the construction and renovation of Mac Hall since the 1960s, but disputes the $19-million figure the SU has put forward.

Regardless, the defence document statesthat a building is a "fixture at law" in Alberta and it's not possible to transfer an ownership interest in the building separate from ownership of the land.

The university also denies the allegation that it intends to evict the students' union from Mac Hall if a new operating agreement is not signed for the building before the 1999 agreement expires on Dec.9, 2015.

In such an event, the university states it would give the SU the option to continue occupying the same spaces for the same purposes and would "continue to work with" the SU to "support student programs, activities and services through revenues from the building."