Accountability Survey
At the November 15 meeting of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council, council members were asked to complete a survey ranking other councillors on their accountability. This survey was implemented by SSMU’s Accountability Committee, specifically with the help of member Chip Smith. Members of Legislative Council were asked to rank other members on several dimensions reflecting their general accountability, such as email responsiveness. The Legislative Council’s Speaker, Husayn Jamal, explained that the data collected from this survey would be amalgamated at a meeting held on November 16, and the raw numbers would be generated into averages for each member. While the survey was conducted on paper, Speaker Jamal expressed that the committee is “exploring non-paper options” for future semesters.
Changing Regulations for “No” Campaigns
Senator Bryan Buraga announced a Notice of Motion Regarding Changes to the Internal Regulations of Elections and Referenda. The proposed changes to internal regulations specifically regard guidelines for “No” campaigns against a candidate running unopposed. Senator Buraga explained that the lack of regulation for “No” campaigns in previous years has “caused great disdain for candidates running in the past.” He then stated that his proposed changes “intend to fix that.” The motion sets clearer rules that a committee of a “No” campaign must follow, including a petition of ten students, in order to have the campaign authorized, as well as regulations on campaign spending. There will be a question period and a debate for this motion at the next meeting of the Legislative Council, on November 29.
Freedom of Information
Senator Buraga also gave notice of a motion regarding SSMU’s freedom of information by-laws. Noting that the SSMU does not currently have guidelines in place for processing freedom of information requests, Buraga explained that the motion outlines how any member would “be able to get information through a freedom of information request.” The motivation for this motion is to give students, and student media, the ability to obtain information about the workings of SSMU staff. The debate and question period for this motion will also take place on November 29.
