The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) held its first Legislative Council meeting of the year on Thursday, Jan. 18. The meeting began with a brief review of the councillors’ holiday activities which, among other things, included knitting a sweater and cat-sitting. The session also included an announcement from the Scarlet Key Society about their annual award for outstanding student leaders, a reminder about this week’s Winter Activities Night, and a debate concerning a Motion Regarding Action Against Tuition Hikes.
The first announcement came from the President of the Scarlet Key Society, Eric van Eyken, (BCL/LLB ‘09). Van Eyken explained their annual Scarlet Key awards, which recognize students who exhibit outstanding leadership and commitment to their peers and community. Awardees are inducted into the Society and invited to events throughout the year. Van Eyken encouraged people to apply before the Feb. 11 deadline.
Next, Vice President (VP) Student Life Nadia Dakdouki reminded those in attendance that Winter Activities Night will take place on Jan. 24 and 25. The event will be held in the University Centre instead of its usual location, Tomlinson Fieldhouse, due to scheduling conflicts with intramural sports and the high cost of alternate venues.
President Alexandre Ashkir celebrated McGill’s commitment to divest from their direct holdings in Carbon Underground 200 fossil fuel companies by 2025, which was reached at the Dec. 14 Board of Governors meeting.
“The fight is not over. There’s many more divestments the Board of Governors needs to accomplish before being equitable. But this is a step in the right direction and the result of a lot of work from the student body,” Ashkir said.
The meeting then entered a question period. Sofie Fournier, a representative for the Science Undergraduate Society, asked if any plans had been made to protest or advocate against the French language requirements proposed by the Quebec government for incoming McGill students. In response, VP External Liam Gaither expressed that though SSMU has a solid position against tuition hikes and for free education, it does not have a clear stance on French language or French-learning policies. However, Gaither stated that he was open to working on this.
After a recess, councillors voted to debate the Motion Regarding Action Against Tuition Hikes. The motion was submitted to the Legislative Council by Rishi Kalaga, U1 Arts, who developed it with law councillor Jacob Shannon. Shannon explained that the approval of the motion would allow SSMU to form a group dedicated to developing a strategy in the fight against the government’s proposed tuition hikes. This could include legal action if it is deemed appropriate following consultations with law firms.
“It’s simply a group to perform consultations, to brainstorm ideas, and to conduct the necessary research that needs to be conducted to determine whether legal action is a possibility,” said Kalaga.
Fournier followed up with a question concerning how the committee would be held accountable to making progress and achieving tangible goals. In response to this, Kalaga explained that the group would determine its goals after consulting lawyers and doing research. Thus, it can not currently lay out a clear timeline and define their goals until the motion passes.
Shannon later highlighted how important it is that this motion was submitted by a constituent.
“[The motion] has constituent input, and it’s the first time all year a constituent has really brought us something they care about, so I do think we should acknowledge that,” Shannon said.
In the end the motion was adopted via a unanimous vote. Then the meeting concluded with a confidential session.
Moment of the Meeting:
Speaker Jonathan Dong recommended that the Council prepare for the upcoming General Assembly by consulting with constituents to learn about their needs and concerns. The General Assembly will take place on Feb. 5.
Soundbite:
“The dais would like to highly encourage more constituent participation in the Legislative Council.” — Dong, as the public portion of the meeting concluded.
