Motion to Clarify the Terms and Duties of Council Officers

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:

Whereas the duties of Council Officers are not clear in the Bylaws and fail to compliment the duties of the VPI appropriately; and

Whereas Council Officers should be elected at the beginning of each CUSA year and serve only for that year.

INFORMATION TRANSFER:

Be it resolved that Bylaw I ss. 4.0(e) & (f) be added, s. 4.2(b) be struck and the VPI Executive Terms of Reference s. 4 be amended and s. 5 be added with sections renumbered accordingly, Bylaw I ss. 4.2(c) & 4.3(a) be amended as the following:

4.0             Requirements of Council Officers

e. Council Officers must be elected by a majority vote of Council prior to being hired and shall then be subject to the supervision of the Vice-President Internal.

f. A Council Officers term and contract shall commence after being elected at the first meeting of Council of the CUSA year and terminate on April 30 of that year.

4.2       The Chair of Council:

b. *STRIKE* and amend the VPI Executive Terms of Reference Item 4 and insert new item 5 to read as follows:

4. Ensure that any decisions made by Council amending the Constitution, Bylaws and Policies or Comity Rules are recorded and the documents updated appropriately on the CUSA website within one (1) week of being amended at any meeting of Council.

5. Ensure that notice of the amendments passed are listed on the CUSA website for easy reference by members.

Renumber sections accordingly.

c. Shall be responsible for informing each member of the Constitutional Board and each member of Council in writing or by email of a constitutional challenge within one week of the challenge being filed.

4.3       The Clerk of Council:

a. Shall be responsible for accurately recording and distributing the minutes of Council meetings to all members of Council within one (1) week of the meeting being adjourned. These minutes shall be ratified as accurate at the next meeting of Council.

MOVED: Maher Jebara                                      SECONDED: Michael De Luca

Motion to Strengthen the Means of Providing Public Notice

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:

Whereas the means of providing public notice in the CUSA Constitution are not the best outlets to provide notice to the membership of CUSA.

INFORMATION TRANSFER:

Be it resolved that the CUSA Constitution Article III s. 2.0 be amended as follows:

Article III – Interpretation and Definitions

2.0            Definitions

l. Public notice shall be notice to the membership given a minimum of ten (10) prior to the specified event including at least, but not limited to advertising in relevant social media groups, posters and notification on the CUSA website.

MOVED: Maher Jebara                                      SECONDED: Michael De Luca

Motion to Provide for Due Process in the Declaration of Vacant Seats

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:

Whereas the current system for vacating seats does not provide adequate due process to Council members; and

Whereas current conditions are not clearly stipulated or could be reformed.

INFORMATION TRANSFER:

Friendly amendment to 2.3 to change “Councillor” to “Constituency Representative”.

Be it resolved that Bylaw I ss. 2.3, 2.4. 2.5 be amended as follows and s. 2.6 be added as the following:

Bylaw I – Council

2.3            Constituency Representatives shall join and maintain voting status on one (1) of Constituency Representative’s committees by December 31 of their elected term. The VPI shall make Constituency Representatives aware of this requirement by way email or written communication within the first month of elected office.

2.4       Each Constituency Representative is expected to attend or provide a proxy for each meeting of Council.

The proxy:

1. Must be a member of the Association who is not a Councillor;
2. Must be from the same Constituency except during Summer Session;
3. Shall act on behalf of and represent the Constituency;
4. Shall have the privileges and responsibilities of a Councillor;
5. Shall be bound by the Councillor’s instructions;
6. Must sign a registration form and submit it to the Chair of Council during or before each and every meeting of Council. The Councillor shall be required to acknowledge the registration of a proxy by means of email or written communication to the VPI before each and every meeting;
7. Must, in the case of a registered proxy for the Summer Session, sign a registration form, along with the Councillor and submit it to the Chair of Council during or before the first meeting for which the proxy will sit. The proxy may continue to occupy the seat until the end of Summer Session, unless otherwise directed by the Councillor.

2.5       An Executive or Council member seat shall be considered vacant if any of the following conditions are met:

1. The seat was not filled in the general election, and has not since been filled through the procedures for filling vacant seats;
2. The incumbent tenders a written resignation that is served on all Council members;
3. In the case of a Constituency Representative, if the incumbent fails to attend or send a proxy to two (2) regular meetings of Council during the Summer Session;
4. In the case of a Constituency Representative, if the incumbent fails to attend or send a proxy to three (3) regular meetings of Council between September 1 and April 30;
5. In the case of Constituency Representative, if the incumbent sends a proxy to four (4) regular meetings of Council between September 1 and April 30;
6. In the case of a Constituency Representative, if the incumbent fails to attend or send a proxy to four (4) emergency meetings of Council between May 1 and April 30;
7. In the case of a Constituency Representative, if the incumbent fails to maintain committee requirements by not attaining voting status on at least one (1) Council committee by December 31 of their elected term;
8. If the incumbent has been ‘named’ by the Chair of Council under Roberts Rules of Order 3 times during either a regular or emergency meeting of Council;
9. The incumbent ceases to be a member of the Association;
10. The incumbent is removed by means of a referendum of recall, which:
    1. In the case of an Executive member, may be initiated through a 2/3 majority vote of the members of Council or where the Chair is presented with a

bona fide petition requesting the recall of that member, signed by more students than elected that member to his/her office;

1. In the case of a Constituency Representative, may be initiated through a 2/3 majority vote of the members of Council or where the Chair is presented with a bona fide petition requesting the recall of that member, signed by more students than elected that member to his/her office;
2. For the purposes of subsections (a) and (b), only signatures of persons who would be eligible to vote in an election for the challenged position shall be counted in the total number of signatures collected, and any member who was acclaimed to his/her office shall be deemed to have been elected by 99 votes, or 20% of the electorate for that constituency, whichever is the lesser;
3. Notice of petition to recall must be presented to the Chair at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the collection of signatures, at which time the Chair will notify the members of Council and members of the Association by way of proper and public notice;
4. In accordance with subsection (d), the collection of signatures will commence on the fifteenth (15) day after giving notice to the Chair;
5. Collection of signatures during the fourteen (14) day notice period will render the petition failed;
6. No member may be petitioned for recall more than once during their term in office.

2.6       No incumbent seat shall be considered vacant unless the following conditions are met:

1. The VPI shall notify the incumbent of an absence from any meeting within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned;
2. The VPI shall notify the incumbent after their first (1^st) absence from a regular meeting of Council in the Summer Session within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned with the notification that a further absence at a regular meeting of Council in the Summer Session shall result in their seat being vacated;
3. The VPI shall notify the incumbent after their second (2^nd) absence from a regular meeting of Council between September 1 and April 30 within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned with the notification that a further absence at a regular meeting of Council between September 1 and April 30 shall result in their seat being vacated;
4. The VPI shall notify the incumbent after having sent a proxy for a third (3^rd) time to a regular meeting of Council between September 1 and April 30 within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned with the notification that sending a proxy to one (1) more regular meeting of Council between September 1 and April 30 shall result in their seat being vacated;
5. The VPI shall notify the incumbent after their third (3^rd) absence from an emergency meeting of Council between May 1 and April 30 within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned with the notification that a further absence at an emergency meeting of Council between May 1 and April 30 shall result in their seat being vacated;
6. The VPI shall notify the incumbent after having been ‘named’ by the Chair of Council two (2) times in a regular or emergency meeting within forty-eight (48) hours of that meeting being adjourned with the notification that being ‘named’ a further time shall result in their seat being vacated;
7. The VPI has fulfilled their responsibility under Bylaw I s. 2.3 requiring that Councillors be notified of committee requirements.

Be it further resolved that subsequent sections be renumbered accordingly.

MOVED: Maher Jebara                                      SECONDED: Michael De Luca