On Wednesday November 12, 2014 at 5:00 pm, the online voting period ended for the ratification of the SSMU Fall 2014 General Assembly motions. The Fall 2014 SSMU GA was held on October 22, 2014 and was one of the most well attended GA’s in SSMU history with over 800 students present. All motions on the ballot for online ratification passed.
Approval of the nominations to the board of directors passed with 80.9 percent of students voting “Yes” and 19.1 percent voting “No”. SSMU requires a board of directors to approve the decisions of the Legislative Council.
The Motion Regarding Action on Climate Change passed with 78.9 percent of students voting “Yes” and 21.3 percent of students voting “No”. The Motion Regarding Action on Climate Change calls upon the VP External Affairs to bring a policy regarding action on climate change to SSMU Legislative Council in the Winter 2015 term. It also calls upon SSMU to join Etudiant(e)s Contre les Oléoducs (ÉCO), a student coalition that represents over 70,000 students across Quebec.
Students voted to support the Motion Regarding Solidarity Against Austerity. 82.6 percent voted “Yes” and 17.4 percent voted “No”. This motion requires SSMU to inform and mobilize its members to participate in demonstrations in opposition to austerity measures by working with both student unions and student federations.
Finally, 55 percent of students voted “Yes” to the Motion Regarding Support of a Campus Free from Harmful Military Technology Development, and 45 percent of students voted “No.” This is likely to be a divisive result on campus. There were strong, vocal sentiments of frustration and anger on social media yesterday after Demilitarize McGill staged a protest at the Montreal Remembrance Day ceremonies. The motion calls on SSMU to renew its stance of opposition to the development of harmful military technology on campus and support campaigns opposing the development of harmful military technology on campus through the office of the Vice-President External Affairs.
The Winter 2015 SSMU GA will be held on February 11, 2015.
