At the Annual General Meeting (Nov. 24), the Board of Directors will present changes to the Bylaws and Constitution.

The Board has revised their original proposed changes to the Bylaws and Constitution, based on member feedback from the April 14 information session (video: http://www.sfu.ca/video-library/video/1300/view.html).

Many of the proposed changes are to ensure the Bylaws and Constitution adhere to new legislation, reflect current
practice (ie. teleconferencing) and to clarify how the Association runs. Out of these, please pay special attention to the following four items:
 

  1. STRIKED: Process for dues increases (page 5, section 2.4.3)
    1. This item has been removed due to member feedback.
    2. Inclusion of a mechanism for the Board to approve minimal increases
      (based on the annual CPI) to dues in years of 0-0 mandates for salary
      increases.


  2. Removal of “areas” (p. 2, section 1.d)
    1.  “Areas” to be defined by campus locations; Burnaby, Surrey, Vancouver, to adhere to the BC Society Act.


  3. Election of the Board of Directors (p. 11)
    1. To comply with the BC Society Act, replacing ‘Area Directors’ with
      ‘Directors’ so all members, regardless of location or area, vote to elect Directors to the
      Board.
    2. Election of the Board of Directors by Board members.


  4. Duties of Advocacy members (p. 17)
    1. Based on recommendation from legal council, the language describing the
      duties of advocates was changed to appropriately reflect the role of
      advocates in determining the resolution of grievances.

 

Questions and Answers

  1. Please provide full justification for the elimination of the election of
    the President and Vice President from vote by membership. Provide detailed
    legal precedents or specific reference in The Society Act. Why would the
    membership not have a direct vote on these positions?     (page 11, section 9.1)

    This proposed change was derived from best practice as opposed to the
    Society Act or legal precedents. The Board had three reasons for its
    recommendation:


    1. Governance. The change would enable the Board to conduct thoughtful
      governance over who would lead the Association. The Directors will be in the
      best position to assess who has the appropriate experience for the Vice
      President (V.P.) and President positions, as they will have worked with them previously.


    2. Succession planning. Directors on the Board will be groomed for the V.P.
      and President positions and will be able to ‘shadow’ the positions before
      commencing their term.


    3. Prevent agenda driven individuals. We all have thorns that bother us
      about the University, but one-agenda individuals don’t serve the interests of
      all members or the Association well. Members who are keen to fill the V.P. or
      President role will need to first serve as a Director.

  2. Will we be voting on the adoption of the new bylaws
    as a whole? What if we disagree with just one or two amendments but are fine
    with the rest?

    When the bylaws are voted on at the
    Annual General Meeting (Nov. 24), we hope the membership will have vetted it
    and are satisfied by the final draft.

    In the Spring, we released
    and presented the proposed amendments to the Bylaws thus giving members the
    opportunity to voice their concerns and provide feedback so the draft could be
    modified before it is voted on. As a result, the
    Bylaws will be voted on, as a whole, as one motion. If members disagree with
    one or two amendments, they will need to decide whether to vote in favour or
    against the motion as a whole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I move the adoption of the following resolution, that the proposed Bylaws and Constitution, put forward by the Board of Directors, be approved.