Dear SSMU members,
We wish to inform you that on November 8, 2023, the Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) delivered a letter to the SSMU President regarding the ballot question on the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine being asked in the SSMU Fall 2023 referendum.
The letter states that:
“Should this referendum question pass and become a SSMU policy, the University will consider that SSMU is in breach of its own constitution, and hence also in default of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between SSMU and McGill University, as per Section 12.1.2 of this MoA.”
The letter also expresses concerns about the contents of the policy and its claims and urges the SSMU’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to consider several options including rejecting the referendum and engaging the Board to seek outside legal counsel.
Elections SSMU is a politically autonomous body responsible for running elections within the Students’ Society of McGill University, and as per the Internal Regulations of Elections and Referenda, Elections SSMU is the sole body to administer the Society’s Referenda (Article 1.2).
The SSMU wished to maintain the integrity of the democratic process and avoid any undue influence on voters. That is also the reason why this communication is being sent to SSMU members after the voting period has closed.
Thank you all for voting.
Sincerely,
The SSMU’s Executive Committee
