The Legislative Council is the legislative arm of the SSMU. Members of the Legislative Council may make motions and vote on resolutions at the Legislative Council, by the Constitution and the Internal Regulations.
The Council is composed of Thirty (30) councilors elected by specific constituencies, including school and faculty associations and councils representing particular student demographics, and the seven (7) SSMU Executives comprise the voting members of Council. The Speaker, Parliamentarian, General Manager, and Recording Secretary are non-voting members. Elections take place during the Fall semester and their term starts as of June 1st of each year.
The Legislative Council is a body primarily responsible for the political decision-making body of Society. All decisions are subject to the provisions of the Acts, the Constitution, and the Internal Regulations. In addition, all resolutions passed by the Legislative Council must be ratified by the Board of Directors.
If you have difficulty accessing the documents below, please email the Speaker of Council or the President.
Note: The SSMU reserves the right to cancel or call a meeting or event without notice at its discretion. Please check our website/social media for such updates.
All SSMU members are welcome to attend open sessions of Council, which are generally held every second Thursday beginning at 6 pm in person. If you would like to attend these online sessions as a member of the gallery, please fill out this form.
For 2023-2024, the dates of Council are:
Monday, September 11, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
Thursday, November 23, 2023 at 6:00PM EST
While Council is run according to Code Véronneau, its proceedings should be accessible to all members; don’t hesitate to ask the Speaker, Parliamentarian or a Councillor (including Executives) how you can participate in the debate. Council meetings can last several hours, so if you are interested in a particular issue, it may be wise to check the agenda in advance and/or ask a Councillor to contact you (e.g. by text message) when the item relevant to your issue is coming up.
The agenda order can also be amended to accommodate your schedule, so get in touch with a Councillor if this is something you require. You can peruse its agenda and “documents in advance” (reports of Executives and Committees, as well as proposed resolutions and policies) as seen above.
If you require assistance to access these sessions, please email speaker@ssmu.ca
Speaker of Council acts as the chair of the Council. They are responsible for the smooth procedural functioning of Council meetings which includes the call to order (which opens the meeting), granting the floor (i.e. giving people permission to speak) and stating motions and putting them to a vote. The Speaker is guided in their tasks by Code Véronneau in addition to the Constitution, Internal Regulations and any relevant resolutions of the Council.
The Parliamentarian is also responsible for running Council with the Speaker. While the Speaker controls the floor and grants Councillors speaking rights in an appropriate fashion, the Parliamentarian takes care of the organization, projection and amending of motions and reports during Council.
SSMU Committees make recommendations to Council on everything from the allocation of funding to student groups to the approval of new clubs to the adoption of new policies. Each Councillor sits on at least one SSMU Committee. The Committee Terms of Reference contains all the information about the various committees at SSMU.
The committees of the Legislative Council are listed below:
| Committee | Description | Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility Committee | The Accessibility Committee confronts historical and ongoing inaccessibility and ableism on campus through active engagement and public education, in a manner consistent with the Society’s relevant policies. | Accessibility Commissioner accessibility@ssmu.ca |
| Affordable Student Housing Committee | The Affordable Student Housing Committee explores avenues for securing and promoting affordable student housing, as well as advising developers regarding students’ priorities in housing, as well as advising developers regarding students’ priorities in housing arrangements, and design. | Community Affairs Commissioner commaffairs@ssmu.ca |
| Black Affairs Committee | The Black Affairs Committee will confronts historical and ongoing inequities at the University through institutional advocacy on governance and policy, and active engagement and public education, in a manner consistent with the Society’s relevant policies. | Black Affairs Commissioner blackaffairs@ssmu.ca |
| Clubs Committee | The primary responsibility of the Clubs Committee is to review and approval of Interim Club Status applications, Full Club Status applications, and Club constitutional amendments in accordance with the Internal Regulations of Student Groups. | Club Administrative Coordinator clubadmin@ssmu.ca |
| Community Engagement Committee | The Community Engagement Committee shall be responsible for leveraging SSMU’s links with local community organizations to plan event series and connect McGill students when possible. | Community Engagement Commissioner commengagement@ssmu.ca |
| Environment Committee | The Environment Committee serves as a representative body for all environmental groups at the University, whether or not they are directly affiliated with the Society. | Sustainability Commissioners sustainability@ssmu.ca |
| Equity Committee | The Equity Committee confronts historical and ongoing inequities at the University through active engagement and public education, in a manner consistent with the Society’s relevant policies. | Equity Commissioners equity@ssmu.ca |
| Comité des affaires francophones | Le Comité des affaires francophones servira de milieu d’échange pour réunir les membres représentants de tous les groupes et associations francophones destinés à la communauté étudiante de premier cycle. Il favorisera une meilleure communication et une collaboration plus étroite entre ces groupes afin d’harmoniser leur travail et d’éviter qu’il y ait redondance. Le comité sera également un défenseur des droits francophones et contribuera à la création d’un sentiment de communauté parmi le corps étudiant francophone. | Commissaire aux affaires francophones caf@ssmu.ca |
| Funding Committee | The Funding Committee shall be responsible for the disbursement of SSMU-collected fees and the SSMU Award of Distinction Fund, updated on a yearly basis. | Funding Commissioner fundcom@ssmu.ca |
| Gender and Sexuality Advocacy Committee | The Gender and Sexuality Advocacy Committee confronts historical and ongoing inequities at the University through institutional advocacy in governance and policy, and active engagement and public education, in a manner consistent with the Society’s relevant policies. | Gender and Sexuality Commissioner gsc@ssmu.ca |
| Indigenous Affairs Committee | The Indigenous Affairs Committee is primarily responsible for increasing visibility and advocating for increased representation and services for Indigenous Students. This Committee will create a safe environment for Indigenous students to voice their ideas and concerns about both the Society and the University. | Indigenous Affairs Commissioner iac@ssmu.ca |
| Library Improvement Fund Committee | The Library Improvement Fund Committee is responsible for the allocation of the Library Improvement Fund. It shall operate and be governed by the Internal Regulations of Representation and Advocacy. | Library Improvement Fund Commissioner lifc@ssmu.ca |
| Mental Health Committee | The Mental Health Committee serves as a representative body for all mental health advocacy, events, and policy that are affiliated with the Society. | Mental Health Commissioner(s): mentalhealth@ssmu.ca |
| Services Committee | The Services Committee serves as a consultative body for the improvement of Policies related to the Society’s Services. In addition, the Services Committee shall serve as a forum for the Society’s Services to discuss ongoing projects and collaborate with each other. | Services Representative servicesrep@ssmu.ca |
| Services Review Committee | The Services Review Committee reviews every Service once every school year to ensure that they meet the definition and mandatory characteristics of a Service as set out in the Internal Regulations of Student Groups and to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of Students. | Vice-President (Student Life) studentlife@ssmu.ca |
| Steering Committee | The Steering Committee is responsible for all matters relating to the operation and management of business at the Legislative Council. | Speaker speaker@ssmu.ca |
| Students’ Society Programming Network (SSPN) | The Students’ Society Programming Network (SSPN) serves as the principal advisory committee for the Vice-President (Internal Affairs) on the organization and execution of all Society events. | Vice-President (Internal Affairs) internal@ssmu.ca |
Thirty (30) councilors elected by specific constituencies, including school and faculty associations and councils representing particular student demographics, and the seven (7) SSMU Executives comprise the voting members of Council. The Speaker, Parliamentarian, General Manager, and Recording Secretary are non-voting members.
The voting members of SSMU’s Legislative Council comprise thirty councillors elected by specific constituencies, including school and faculty associations and councils representing particular student demographics and the 6 SSMU Executives. The Speakers, Parliamentarian, General Manager, and Recording Secretary are non-voting members.
Councillors’ primary responsibility is to represent the interests of their constituencies in SSMU governance. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your representatives!
| Constituency | Name | Email Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
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AUS SSMU Rep 1 | Quinn Porter | artsrep1@ssmu.ca |
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AUS SSMU Rep 2 | Aishwarya Rajan | artsrep2@ssmu.ca |
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AUS SSMU Rep 3 | TBD | artsrep3@ssmu.ca |
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AUS VP External | TBD | artsrep4@ssmu.ca |
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ASUS SSMU Rep | Zainah Islam | artscirep@ssmu.ca |
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Athletics Rep | TBD | athleticsrep@ssmu.ca |
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Campus Outaouais Rep | Peter Tai | outaouaisrep@ssmu.ca |
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Clubs Rep 1 | TBD | clubsrep1@ssmu.ca |
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Clubs Rep 2 | TBD | clubsrep2@ssmu.ca |
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Dentistry Rep | Yuchen Yang | dentistryrep@ssmu.ca |
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Education Rep | Danielle Foster | edrep@ssmu.ca |
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Environment Rep | TBD | envirorep@ssmu.ca |
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Engineering Rep 1 | TBD | engrep1@ssmu.ca |
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Engineering Rep 2 | TBD | engrep2@ssmu.ca |
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First Year Council (FYC) Rep | TBD | fycrep@ssmu.ca |
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Inter-Residence Council (IRC) Rep | TBD | ircrep@ssmu.ca |
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Law Rep | Jacob Shannon | lawrep@ssmu.ca |
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Management SSMU Rep 1 | TBD | managementrep1@ssmu.ca |
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Management SSMU Rep 2 | TBD | managementrep2@ssmu.ca |
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Medicine | Claire Grall-Johnson | medicinerep@ssmu.ca |
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Music VP External | TBD | musicrep@ssmu.ca |
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Nursing VP External (replacement by president) | Noémie Rancourt (temporary) | nursingrep@ssmu.ca |
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PT/OT | Naomi Zukerman | ptotrep@ssmu.ca |
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Science | Emily Foxman | sciencerep1@ssmu.ca |
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Science | Sofie Fournier | sciencerep2@ssmu.ca |
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Science | Josh Gertsvolf | sciencerep3@ssmu.ca |
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Senate Caucus | Juliet Morrison | artssenator1@ssmu.ca |
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Senate Caucus | Sophia Garofalo | |
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Services | TBD | servicesrep@ssmu.ca |
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Social Work | TBD | socialworkrep@ssmu.ca |
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President | Alexandre Ashkir | president@ssmu.ca |
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VP Internal Affairs | Jon Barlas | internal@ssmu.ca |
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VP Student Life | Nadia Dakdouki | studentlife@ssmu.ca |
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VP Finance | finance@ssmu.ca | |
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VP External Affairs | Liam Gaither | external@ssmu.ca |
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VP University Affairs | Lalia Katchelewa | ua@ssmu.ca |
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VP Operations and Sustainability | Hassanatou Koulibaly | operations@ssmu.ca |
| Position | Name | Email Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Speaker of Council | Jonathan Dong | speaker@ssmu.ca |
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Deputy Speaker (Deputy Chair of the Board) | Sierra Fallis | speaker@ssmu.ca |
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Parliamentarian | Lisa Pennel | parliamentarian@ssmu.ca |
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Recording Secretary | Sierra Fallis | recsec@ssmu.ca |
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General Manager | – | gm@ssmu.ca |