Constitution, Bylaws & Policies

The SSMU is governed by its Constitution, bylaws, and policies. If you have suggestions for change, please contact the SSMU President (president@ssmu.mcgill.ca) or your Councillor.

PLEASE NOTE THAT A NUMBER OF CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE BYLAW BOOKS & POLICY BOOK AND PLAN BOOK VIA SSMU’S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. THE SSMU IS ENDEAVOURING TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND UPDATED VERSIONS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you have an urgent concern related to the Constitution or Bylaws, please contact the President Josh Redel (president@ssmu.mcgill.ca), the Speakers of Council (speaker@ssmu.mcgill.ca), and/or the General Manager Pauline Gervais (pgervais@ssmu.mcgill.ca).

Constitution

Constitution of the Students’ Society of McGill University (ratified April 17, 2012).

Constitution de l’Association Étudiante de l’Université McGill (ratified February 12, 2011).

The SSMU Constitution is a document that deals with all of the most fundamental elements of the Society.  It also serves as SSMU’s legal “Bylaw” for the Quebec government in relation to SSMU’s status as a non-profit corporation (this can be confusing since the SSMU has another set of legislation which it calls bylaws but which do not have the same legal status).

The Constitution outlines the SSMU’s role in providing service, leadership, and representation to McGill’s downtown undergraduates, the basic outline of the six Executive positions, basic electoral processes, and various disciplinary processes. The Constitution can only be altered by Referendum.

Bylaws

Bylaws Book 1: the Society’s Officers, Directors and Constituting Bodies (ratified on April 12, 2012) (.pdf)

Bylaws Book 2: Financial Regulations  (ratified on January 10, 2013) (.pdf)

Bylaws Book 3: The William Shatner University Centre and the Society’s Clubs, Services, Media, Programmes & Events  (ratified on January 10, 2013) (.pdf)

After the Constitution, the bylaws of SSMU are the highest level of regulation that exists within SSMU.  The Constitution sets out broad principles through which the Society functions, and creates and defines the main organs of SSMU governance.  Whereas general principles are included in the Constitution, the bylaws create frameworks for their application.

Bylaws can be changed by Council or General Assembly.

 

SSMU Policy Book

The most updated version of the policy book is available here (updated on April 11, 2013).

SSMU Plan Book

This document outlines SSMU’s  long-term plans (ratified April 12, 2012).

SSMU Policies and  SSMU Plans can be changed by Council or General Assembly.

 

University Policies

The Vice-President (University Affairs) is in charge of, broadly defined, university relations.  This includes policy in areas covered by Senate, its committees, and advisory boards.

All the significant university policies for Council shall be developed, researched, debated, and approved by Senate Caucus, then sent to Council for ratification.  Council can also mandate the Senate Caucus to take a particular stance on certain issues at Senate.

External Policies

An external policy is defined as any policy that deals with a non-McGill issue. The Vice-President (External) is the chief policy officer for external policies and is ultimately responsible for their development and implementation.  Policy motions for council are to be developed in consultation with the External Affairs Committee and the Executive Committee.

Committees

Committees Terms of Reference (.pdf)

SSMU Committees are governed by the Committee Terms of Reference, which outline the mandate, membership, and processes of each Committee. Take a look if you are interested in sitting on a SSMU Committee, and watch for calls for members-at-large in the SSMU Listserv.

Council Documents

The documents for the meetings of SSMU’s Legislative council are posted a couple of days before each meeting. You can view them here and are welcome to come and ask questions of your elected representatives.

Conflict of Interest Policy

This is the official Conflict of Interest Policy effective as of March 29, 2012.

Encyclopedia of Legislation

This document draws together adopted Policies, Resolutions and Amendments to demonstrate the functions of each type of legislation.

Please note that plans are not included in the encyclopedia as they are SSMU’s newest forms of legislation.