Board to “revisit” proposed bylaw which would restructure constituency and education representative positions

The Student Association (SA) Annual General Meeting, which could have seen bylaws passed that would change pay and responsibilities of the education and constituency representative positions, failed to proceed on Nov. 30 due to a lack of members present.

Meeting chair Hildah Otieno noted that the meeting had 20 members, 10 short of the 30 needed under SA bylaws to have a meeting of members. The members can be present or be via proxy.

The SA finds The Dialog.

The bylaw changes proposed for the meeting could have seen the board’s education and constituency positions change from having hourly requirements of five hours a week and pay of $3,705 per year to $2,000 a year with no hours requirements. If passed, the changes would haven taken effect on May 1, 2018.  

Before the meeting, Leslie Van Every, the SA’s First Nation, Métis and Inuit students’ representative, characterized the proposed changes as less hours and responsibilities for constituency positions. 

“I think that lowering hours and wages for constituency reps is giving off the message that these roles that are not valued by the board,” she said.

After the meeting failed to launch, Van Every said that there was an opportunity to revisit the proposed bylaw affecting the constituency and education positions.  

“I think that we’ll have more time to discuss that motion and work things out,” she said.

Riddhi Modi, who is the SA’s director of communications and internal, said that it was unfortunate that the meeting didn’t reach quorum, but said that the board will be holding another general meeting soon.

Modi declined to go into detail about the proposed changes to the constituency and education positions, but said that the board would be to meeting to “revisit” it.  

“At this point we are not talking about the proposed changes because we are doing a communications meeting to go over the suggested changes with our board members.”  

Aside from the proposed bylaw changes, the meeting had other items including passing the SA’s audited financial statements and appointing auditors for the next fiscal year.

Paul Bourgeois, an American Sign Language-English bachelor of interpretation student at the college, had also drafted a motion for the meeting to establish an ASL representative position on the board.

The SA previously had an ASL constituency representative position, which Roan Rowe was the last person to hold in 2012-13.

The next regular SA board meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Casa Loma Student Centre.

Correction: An earlier version of this article had an incorrect annual pay for the SA’s constituency and educational representatives. At their usual hours of five per week, the reps would make $3,705 over the year.