Choose your subsection

The General Assembly (GA) is a time when *you* can make a direct change at McGill! Members of the SSMU participate in direct democracy by writing and voting on Motions that mandate the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) to take specific action. If you want to have an impact on McGill’s largest student organization, have your voice heard at the GA this semester.

“Every student has an equal voice. That’s what the GA is all about.”

Dates

The Fall GA 2019 will be held on October 28, 2019 in the New Residence Ballroom.

The Winter GA 2020 will be held on February 20, 2020.

Follow the GA

Follow the GA on Youtube

Follow the real-time tweets #SSMUGA

Accessibility Information

Childcare will be available for all events with 24 hours notice. The SSMU Building is wheelchair accessible, including automatic doors, bathrooms, and elevators. There is a gender-neutral bathroom located on the 4th floor. Whisper translation between English and French. If you have any questions about the accessibility of this event, please don’t hesitate to get in touch the President at president@ssmu.ca

General Information

General Assemblies are open to all SSMU members for debating and voting on changes to your student society. Students can submit items for the agenda two weeks ahead with the signatures of either 4 Councillors or 100 members of the society, so long as no one school or faculty forms half of the signatories. Quorum is 350 members.

General Assemblies are held at least once per semester and are open to all SSMU members (one person, one vote). For the most part, the legislative power of a General Assembly is equal to that of Council. This means that a General Assembly may approve, modify or rescind resolutions, policies, and internal regulations. However, a GA cannot affect policy pertaining to the SSMU’s Constitution, the financial matters of the Society or the composition of the Society’s staff.

If you are interested in submitting a motion to a General Assembly, you may consult a SSMU Executive and/or the Speakers of Council for advice and support.

There are currently three types of General Assembly:

Regular GAs: They happen once a term, are publicised by the society, and students can submit items for the agenda two weeks ahead with the signatures of either 4 Councillors or 100 members of the society, so long as less than half of the signatures are from one faculty or school. Quorum is 350 members.

They happen once a term, are publicised by the society, and students can submit items for the agenda two weeks ahead with the signatures of either 4 Councillors or 100 members of the society, so long as less than half of the signatures are from one faculty or school. Quorum is 350 members. Special GAs : They are requested by 200 members (again, no school or faculty may represent 50% or more of the signatures), or 8 Councillors, with representation of 4 faculties or schools, for a specific issue, but quorum is the same as for Regular GAs.

: They are requested by 200 members (again, no school or faculty may represent 50% or more of the signatures), or 8 Councillors, with representation of 4 faculties or schools, for a specific issue, but quorum is the same as for Regular GAs. Strike GAs: They are treated separately because of the last strike GA in March 2004 which put the SSMU on strike for a day in support of the campaign for returning 103 million dollars transferred from bursary funds to loans in Quebec Student Financial Aid. They are requested the same way as Special GAs but require the attendance of 500 members for quorum, again with less than half counted from one Faculty or School.

Click here to read about past GA results.

Resolution Book

Click here to view the General Assembly Book of Resolutions.

If for any reason you have any difficulty accessing the documents above, please email the President.

General Assembly Motions

Motion Deadlines – please submit all motions and any questions you may have to the Parliamentarian at parliamentarian@ssmu.ca

Motions at General Assemblies can propose, amend, rescind, or uphold any policy of the Society. General Assemblies have, essentially, the powers of Council, with the exception of a few powers that are legally reserved for a Council or Board of Directors. These restrictions include budgetary questions and any matters of human resources. Similarly, amendments to the Constitution can only be made by means of a referendum, not council or GAs. As with anything the SSMU does, GA motions and proceedings are subject to appeal to the Judicial Board should they be thought unconstitutional by any SSMU member.

It is relatively straightforward to write a General Assembly motion, however, it is sometimes difficult to decide whether your issue concerns budgetary questions. Always consult with others, and work your motion into a form that addresses your concern, without stumbling into the financial territory. Remember, if your motion passes it will give the SSMU Executives a mandate, and ultimately, it will be their responsibility to allocate funds to your cause.

Motions must also pertain to actions or policies under the purview of the SSMU. In cases where they are directed towards University policies, motions should call on the SSMU to take a specified stance or action, rather than demanding that the University take specific actions, as McGill is not bound by GA mandates.

Writing General Assembly Motions

Do you have questions how to submit a Referenda Question or GA motion? Please see below the guides for more details:

A Handy Guide To Writing A REFERENDA QUESTION

A Handy Guide To Writing A GA MOTION

First, let’s think about what exactly you want to do with your motion…Remember that your motion will be debated by dozens if not hundreds of people, so it is crucial that people clearly understand your motion’s goals, and what actions it will empower the Student Society to take. Motions should be short and to the point – 1/2 to a full page and all motions have a basic form:

PREAMBLE: Optional background information (the preamble clause(s) should be concise, unbiased, and directly relevant to the resolutions);

WHEREAS: The facts and arguments (the whereas clause(s) should be concise, unbiased, and directly relevant to the resolutions); and

RESOLUTION: The action or policy proposed

Motions must also be in line with the SSMU Constitution, Internal Regulations and Policies (unless the motion directly alters one of these last two). Furthermore, motions should be grammatically correct (however, improper grammar can be corrected at any time without consequence).

Finally, motions should be as specific as possible and should, where possible, direct the SSMU to take specific, as opposed to ideological or rhetorical, actions. Nevertheless, specificity of motions should not cause them to be ruled unconstitutional and outside the powers of a GA (see clause 29 of the Constitution). Further, motions should make exceptionally clear any potentially confusing statements, phrases or concepts, so as to avoid conflict, confusion and/or redrafting at the Assembly.

For more information, please click here to read a detailed description about how to write a General Assembly motion (2010).