The SSMU Board of Directors sends this email to our membership on the subject of removing Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) as a club of the SSMU.
On July 10, McGill’s Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Angela Campbell sent the SSMU executives a notice of default regarding our Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).1 This notice is available for you to read here.
The MoA has a default section that allows either party to declare that the other has violated a clause. If that happens, and the violation is not remedied within a prescribed period, McGill can put the SSMU’s student fees into a trust.2 Trust management of student funds would represent an interference with the SSMU’s use of student funds and therefore poses an unacceptable risk to the SSMU’s operations.
In order to rectify the claim of default, McGill asked for the SSMU to:
- sever its relationship with SPHR, at a minimum by removing SPHR’s status as a SSMU club and ceasing any funding to this group; and
- publicly communicate this decision to its membership.
The SSMU Board of Directors made the difficult and split decision to revoke SPHR’s status as a SSMU club, effective Thursday, September 5th. The SSMU’s legal counsel does not agree that the SSMU was in default. This decision was taken due to the repercussions of McGill proceeding with the default process prescribed by the MoA, which would make it very difficult for the SSMU to support its members, clubs, or services while fighting McGill regarding the MoA. Disputing McGill’s decision to put the SSMU’s funds in trust would also cost the SSMU substantial legal fees.
One of the reasons that the SSMU is renegotiating the MoA is to reclaim the SSMU’s political autonomy. The SSMU is currently working on renegotiating the terms of the MoA with McGill with this goal in mind. Those wishing to join the committee to negotiate the MoA should contact the VP University Affairs, ua@ssmu.ca.
We communicate this decision and Deputy Provost Campbell’s letter to ensure transparency to our members.
Signed,
The SSMU Board of Directors
1The SSMU is an accredited student union, a status that is enshrined by law. The MoA is the contract which governs the relationship between McGill and SSMU. While it is not essential, it gives the SSMU certain unique privileges, such as use of the McGill name and logo while also allowing the administration to threaten SSMU’s direct access to student fees for perceived violations of either McGill’s policies or the SSMU’s.
2 A trust is a legal relationship where money is managed on behalf of someone else. The trust clause allows McGill to place student fees in a trust, meaning the SSMU would lose direct control over its funds and require approval from McGill and a third party before carrying out any financial transfers.
