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Council Meeting Agenda
Friday, March 27, 2015
5:00pm | Council Chambers, SUB
Table of Contents
1. Roll Call ................................................................................................................................. 2
2. Appointment of Chair for the Meeting ..................................................................................... 2
3. Adoption of the Agenda .......................................................................................................... 3
4. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meetings ......................................................................... 3
A) February 25, 2015 (Council Meeting) ................................................................................. 3
B) February 25, 2015 (Special General Meeting) .................................................................... 3
C) March 11, 2015 .................................................................................................................. 3
5. Communications Received ..................................................................................................... 3
6. Appointments ......................................................................................................................... 3
7. Presentations ......................................................................................................................... 3
A) Dalhousie Urban Garden Society ....................................................................................... 3
8. Committee Reports ................................................................................................................ 4
A) Board Caucus Report ........................................................................................................ 4
9. Old Business .......................................................................................................................... 4
A) Motion to ratify results of referendum levy questions .......................................................... 4
B) Motion to adopt various amendments to Constitution Policy .............................................. 4
C) Motion to adopt various amendments to Grants Policy ...................................................... 4
D) Motion to Advocate for a Living Wage................................................................................ 4
E) Motion to Amend Financial Policy ...................................................................................... 5
F) Motion to Amend Executive Policy ..................................................................................... 5
G) Motion to Amend Procurement Policy ................................................................................ 5
H) Motion to amend Council Policy ......................................................................................... 5
I) Motion concerning human rights abuses in Palestine .......................................................... 5
10. New Business ...................................................................................................................... 7
A) Motion to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Dalhousie Student
Union and Dalhousie University respecting renovations to the Student Union Building ........... 7
B) Motion to increase Dalhousie Agricultural Student Association fee .................................... 7
11. Business of the Executive .................................................................................................... 7
President – Ramz Aziz ........................................................................................................... 8
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Vice-President Internal – Jennifer Nowoselski .......................................................................10
Vice-President Finance and Operations – Mahbubur Rahman ..............................................10
Vice-President Academic and External – Jacqueline Skiptunis ..............................................12
Vice-President Student Life – Danny Shanahan ....................................................................12
12. Notices of Motion ................................................................................................................12
13. Announcements ..................................................................................................................12
14. Adjournment........................................................................................................................12
1. Roll Call
2. Appointment of Chair for the Meeting
A replacement Chair will be appointed in accordance with section 23 of Union Rules and
Procedure Policy:
23. Appointments by Council
(a) Any member of Council may nominate a candidate for a position.
(b) A nomination does not require a seconder.
(c) The Chair of Council shall confirm that the nomination is accepted by the candidate.
(d) The Chair of Council will then ask three (3) times if there are any further nominations, and if
there are none, the Chair of Council shall declare nominations closed.
(e) If the number of Candidates nominated exceeds the number of vacancies, the Chair of
Council shall conduct a vote by ballot.
(f) Each candidate will have an equal time to speak to Council, not exceeding four (4) minutes
each.
(g) The speaking order of the candidates shall be in alphabetical order of last names.
(h) The candidates who are not speaking shall leave the meeting during the speeches.
(i) There will be a short question period after each speech.
(j) The Chair of Council will then ask all the candidates to leave the room, and there shall be a
brief in-camera debate.
(k) The Chair of Council will then conduct a vote by ballot. Any members of Council who are
candidates shall not be denied his or her right to vote.
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(l) The Chair of Council shall count the votes with the assistance of the Recording Secretary,
and declare those candidates appointed.
(m) Each candidate may appoint one member of the Union to act as a scrutineer of the ballot
counting.
(n) Any member of Council can request that the ballots be destroyed; the Chair of Council must
comply with the request.
(o) Where the number of members nominated equals or is less than the number of positions to
be filled, unless there is a call for a yes/no vote that is moved and seconded, the Chair of
Council shall declare the member(s) elected by acclamation.
(p) A newly appointed Chair of Council assumes the office immediately.
3. Adoption of the Agenda
Motions to re-order agenda items | Motions to delete agenda items | Motions to allocate time
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the agenda be adopted as circulated.
4. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meetings
A) February 25, 2015 (Council Meeting)
B) February 25, 2015 (Special General Meeting)
C) March 11, 2015
5. Communications Received
6. Appointments
7. Presentations
A) Dalhousie Urban Garden Society
Jaida Regan, Member
See Appendix D.
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8. Committee Reports
A) Board Caucus Report
1. Ramz Aziz, President
2. Rebecca Haworth, Student Representative
3. John Hutton, Student Representative
9. Old Business
A) Motion to ratify results of referendum levy questions
i. CKDU
ii. DalOUT
iii. Dalhousie Outdoor Society
iv. South House
B) Motion to adopt various amendments to Constitution Policy
Ramz Aziz, President
(See Appendix A1 for text of amendments. See Appendix A2 for summary of changes.)
C) Motion to adopt various amendments to Grants Policy
Ramz Aziz, President
(See Appendix B1 for text of amendments. See Appendix B2 for summary of changes.)
D) Motion to Advocate for a Living Wage
Aaron Beale, Member-at-Large
Whereas the DSU represents many students who are working for minimum wage or will be
upon graduation; and
Whereas neither the current $10.40 Nova Scotia minimum wage nor the increase to $10.60
planned for April are sufficient for students and workers to afford a decent quality of life; and
Whereas a living wage for Nova Scotia is estimated at $15 an hour; and
Whereas the city of Seattle recently implemented a $15 an hour minimum wage; and
Whereas the city of New West Minster in British Columbia recently impl1emented a $15 an hour
minimum wage for municipal employees; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the DSU call on the government to implement a $15 an hour wage as
minimum wage; and
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the DSU endorse and support the “Nova Scotia Needs A
Raise” campaign.
E) Motion to Amend Financial Policy
Ramz Aziz, President
F) Motion to Amend Executive Policy
Ramz Aziz, President
G) Motion to Amend Procurement Policy
Ramz Aziz, President
H) Motion to amend Council Policy
Jenn Nowoselski, VP Internal
Whereas students who work part-time at DSU-owned businesses or DSU services should not
be barred from sitting on council; and
Whereas Council is not involved in the hiring of these positions; and
Whereas these students would rarely be in conflict of interest at DSU Council; therefore
Be it resolved that the Council Policy be amended to include:
9. Members of Council may only be employees of the Union if they hold a part-time,
student position at a DSU-owned business (e.g. the Grawood, the T-Room) or DSUoperated service (e.g. Campus Copy, Info Desk, etc.).
I) Motion concerning human rights abuses in Palestine
Yazan Matarieh, Member-at-Large
Whereas Amnesty International and the UN General Assembly have stated that the Palestinian
Territories have been illegally occupied by the State of Israel since June of 1967; and
Whereas since 2011, Dalhousie University has established relationships with the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, whose buildings are partially located on some of the Palestinian lands
illegally occupied by Israel; and
Whereas according to Amnesty International, the 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have
been living in an area blockaded by the IDF since 2006 in what Amnesty International has
described as collective punishment, with little or no access to food, electricity, or other essential
resources; and
Whereas the Dalhousie Student Union directly invests in at least one company – namely,
Caterpillar Inc. – whose products are sold to, and are used by, the IDF to commit human rights
abuses in the Palestinian Territories – namely, arbitrary house demolitions; and
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Whereas a number of Canadian student unions, such as Ryerson University and York
University, have recognized the violations of international law and human rights abuses
occurring in the Palestinian Territories, as well as their complicity in them, mainly by endorsing
the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement; therefore
Be it resolved that the Dalhousie Student Union encourage students to engage in constructive
debate and dialogue about how they can collectively address the human rights violations
committed by Israel against the Palestinians, as well as how they can address the indirect
contribution of their university and student union to those violations; and
Be it further resolved that the Dalhousie Student Union express support for student groups and
events that are peacefully and respectfully raising awareness on campus about the human
rights abuses suffered by the indigenous Palestinians; and
Be it further resolved that a committee is struck for the purpose of utilizing the information found
on whoprofits.org and other suitable resources to investigate to what degree companies that the
DSU invests in profit from Israel’s violations in Palestinian territories; and
Be it further resolved that the committee meet as it sees fit, and that it consist of:
1.
The Vice President Finance and Operations, who will also act as chair; and
2.
Three (3) members of Council.
Be it further resolved that the committee appoint a commissioner with voting rights whom it
deems fit to assist it in carrying out its mandate no later than April 25, 2015; and
Be it further resolved that the committee submit a report explaining its findings to Council no
later than September 10, 2015; and
Be it further resolved that the committee’s report be released to the student body no later than
September 25, 2015.
(Please also see Appendix C.)
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10. New Business
A) Motion to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Dalhousie Student
Union and Dalhousie University respecting renovations to the Student Union Building
Ramz Aziz, President
Be it resolved that the Dalhousie Student Union accept the Memorandum of Understanding on
the Student Union Building as presented.
(See Appendix X – not included in this Council package.)
[Chair’s note: The SUB MOU will be circulated to Councillors immediately after it is received
from the President.]
B) Motion to increase Dalhousie Agricultural Student Association fee
Ramz Aziz, President
Whereas the Dalhousie Agricultural Student Association is facing difficulty supporting the
increased cost of student programming and services, and
Whereas the DASA student fee has stayed the same while operational costs have outpaced
inflation, and
Whereas DASA’s by-laws permit fee increases of less than 5% to not require a referendum,
therefore
Be it resolved that the DASA student fee be increased from $36 to $36.72 per student, per
semester for full-time students, and $73 to $74.46 per student, per semester for part-time
students.
11. Business of the Executive
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President – Ramz Aziz
Belong Report
 5.2 Strategic Committee report, the “Belong report”, is available online.
 Identifying student societies and other stakeholders which will be affected by the
recommendations within.
UPass Fee Increase
 Looking into summer bus pass and u-pass contracts to get more details around fee
increase
Advocacy Follow Up
 Sending letters to political parties and decision makers to advise that we are
independent, and to contact as such
 Following up with politicians whom we have met with by sending lobby docs and
letters
Governance Review
 Request for proposals has been sent out to shortlisted parties
 Looking to hear back from selected consultants by next week at the latest
Fifth Estate
 CBC’s the Fifth Estate has decided not to continue with dentistry documentary
Yarmouth Campus
 Replacing student lounge couches in Yarmouth campus
 They are very happy about the change; couches are 40 years old and pose health risk
 First big thing the DSU has done for them since they became part of Dalhousie
DASA
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 DASA looking to raise its own student fees on its campus by 2%
 Worked out Health Plan administrative restructuring with DASA for their campus;
ability to conduct opt outs, and management of communication and staff
 Question around DASA distance fee resolved; a distance fee of $5/student was
proposed to establish that they were members of the Union. This question has been
unresolved in the past couple of years, resulting in an arbitrary decision by the DASA
and DSU executives to include DASA students in election. Our lawyer has
established there is no need for a distance fee, as the fee collected from DASA
students qualifies as a DSU fee. An added consequence of that revelation is that
DASA members are eligible to vote as they are automatic members, and no Executive
body can take away that right. DSU and DASA had agreed earlier in the year that Ag
students would not be participating in this year’s elections (this was the practice that
had been established since the merger); our lawyer essentially stated neither party has
the right to make that decision, hence Ag students must be allowed to vote.
 MOU being signed with DASA in the next couple of weeks now that major points of
contention have been resolved (distance fee and process of disbursement of funds).
General Meeting
 Has been confirmed for Tuesday, March 31st at 4:30 PM in Room 303
 Agenda is online at dsu.ca/gm
 BAC to make presentation and hold Q and A at 4 PM
Student Experience Committee
 Impact on graduate and undergraduate student experience due to Provincial budget
cuts to education was given at the Student Experience Committee meeting on Monday
 Presentation was well-received; committee reacted positively to recommendation on
drafting an open letter around free tuition, and establishing a working group to figure
out we can achieve free tuition at Dalhousie in the long-term
SUB Renovations/MOU
 Renovations are on track, everything is good to go except that we are getting delayed
on the timeline due to the MOU
 We were supposed to go to tender this week and do a call-out for bids, but we cannot
do so until the MOU has been taken care of
 If Council is not satisfied with the current MOU, and would like to enter mediation
(as that is the only route that we can actually change the document further), it will
delay renovations by one year (don’t know the exact financial impacts, but just the
inflationary costs and interest rates alone will increase the project budget, which
would need to be refinanced)
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Wagemark Certification
 Reviewing Wagemark documentation with Executive Project Commissioner John
Hutton, to present to Board at April meeting
 Have to explore ramification on existing contracts with lawyer
Van Rental Service
 Van rental service is live, and the form to reserve it is available online. The service
is provided free of charge to societies who need the van during the day to run
society-related errands.
 Service can be booked through Member Service Coordinator as well
 Perpetual bookings can be made for societies with recurring needs.
 Looking to continue pilot project in the fall when society activities ramp up
Elections
 Confusion regarding Ag vote resulted from an unrelated distance fee interpretation
from our lawyer, which rendered previous understanding between DSU and DASA
around Ag student voting moot.
 Lawyer provided interpretation on Monday regarding distance fee, with added
stipulation around election voting; met with DASA Exec on Tuesday, and let CRO
know immediately to rectify situation
Budget Advisory Committee
 BAC is holding extra consultations with parties, and is taking requests to come
present to student groups
 Encourage students to email the BAC and arrange viewing for their respective
communities and societies
Vice-President Internal – Jennifer Nowoselski
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Vice-President Finance and Operations – Mahbubur Rahman
Back to Work:
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After being out office for about two weeks due to elections, I am back in the office and catching
up everything.
DSU Budget 2015-16
Working on the DSU budget 2015-16. Budget will be presented to next council meeting on April
8th
SUB Renovation Finances:
Board of Operations Reviewed the Construction Budget of $8.3 Million and documents about
financing $7 Million from RBC. Everything is ready to go for tender from finance end.
Health Plan Fee:
Board of Operations approved the health plan fee increase from $253 to $270.
Facility Improvement Committee:
The following project were approved by Facility Improvement committee
-Poster / Picture Display Project
-Lighting Desk McInnes
- Sno Cone Machine
-DSU Webcast Hardware
-Replacement Seating (Yarmouth Campus)
– Charging stations
Winter Society Audit:
Winter Audit is completed. 3 societies did not submitted books for winter audit. They are
Dalhousie Dental Students society, Student Association of Health & Human Performance and
John Risely Hall
DSU Sponsorship:
The following sponsorship application were approved by BOPS
Canadian Improv National games Participation
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Vice-President Academic and External – Jacqueline Skiptunis
--
Vice-President Student Life – Danny Shanahan
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12. Notices of Motion
13. Announcements
14. Adjournment
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