General Assemblies are open to all SSMU members for debating and voting on changes to the SSMU. Students can submit items for the agenda two weeks in advance with the signatures of either 4 Councillors or 100 members of the society, provided that no one school or faculty accounts for half of the signatories. Quorum is 350 members.
Regular General Assemblies are held at least once per semester and are open to all SSMU members (one person, one vote). General Assemblies may approve, modify or rescind resolutions, positions, and internal regulations. However, a GA cannot impact 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, please contact the Policy & Advocacy Coordinator at pac@ssmu.ca.
There are three types of General Assemblies (GAs):
| REGULAR | SPECIAL | STRIKE |
| Happens once per term | Upon request | Upon request |
| Submit items for the Agenda two weeks ahead with the signatures of either 4 Councillors or 100 members of the society (no school or faculty may represent 50% or more of the signatures). | 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. | 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 the purpose of striking. |
| Quorum is 350 Members. | Quorum is 350 Members. | Quorum is 500 (less than half of the total counted from one Faculty or School). |
AGENDA
MOTIONS
STANDING RULES
REPORTS
AGENDA
MOTIONS
STANDING RULES
REPORTS
A General Assembly (GA) is an opportunity for the student body to directly participate in student governance by voting on items such as motions, nominations, policy amendments and more. GA(s) have equivalent power to the Legislative Council, but there are restrictions on what can be done via GA. These restrictions include policies concerning the SSMU’s Constitution, any financial matters of the Society, or the composition of the Society’s staff. General assemblies can be further divided into regular, special, and strike GAs.
Regular general assemblies are held once per semester and facilitate regular feedback between student governance and its members.
Special general assemblies are those held outside of regularly scheduled meetings to address a specific cause or concern within the student body. Special assemblies can be requested by 200 members, with no school or faculty representing more than 50% of signatures, or 8 Councilors, with the representation of at least 4 faculties or schools, and quorum will remain 350.
Strike general assemblies are special general assemblies held to call for, or address a call for, a general strike of the student body. Strike GAs are requested in the same way as special assemblies, but have a quorum of 500 instead of 350.
Motions can be submitted as an item on the General Assembly agenda by accruing 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. These items must be submitted at least two weeks before the date of the GA.
‘Quorum’ is the minimum number of members that must be present in order for the proceedings of a General Assembly to be considered ‘valid’. That is, quorum must be met or exceeded in order for the meeting to continue. The quorum for regular GAs is 350 members.
SSMU is committed to ensuring the accessibility of its meetings and events. The following accommodations will always be available:
Meetings will be held in a physically accessible space near or on the McGill downtown campus.
Repetition of all statements in both English and French by a translator.
Whisper translation between English and French will be available.
Advertisement in advance to allow students to anticipate and request accommodations.
Clear signage during the meeting to instruct participants in locating the space.
There are a variety of additional accommodation options available to members upon request by contacting the Speaker (speaker@ssmu.ca). This includes (but is not limited to):
Sign language interpretation.
Family care.
Reduced stimulus areas.
Adapted physical access.
Other reasonable accommodations as necessary.
For more information, or any concerns about the accessibility of SSMU meetings or events, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator (accessibility@ssmu.ca).