Background:
Between 1948 and March 2023, the Students’ Union (SU) experienced significant changes to its governance processes due to changes in provincial legislation and the strategic decisions of past Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) cohorts. These changes have resulted in the SU having two main governance documents: (a) the SU Union Bylaw, which incorporates information from the Post Secondary Learning Act and the SU Constitution, thus making it a significant reference document for guidance and direction over the SU governance processes and operations; and (b) the SU Constitution, which is a residual document due to most of its provisions already being reflected in the SU Union Bylaw.
In line with best practices, the SU aims to modernize its governance processes by improving student accessibility and ease of understanding of its governing documents. To implement this governance modernization, the SU proposes a consolidation of the SU Union Bylaw and the SU Constitution, by incorporating the only provision of the SU Constitution not reflected in the SU Union Bylaw, into the SU Union Bylaw. This will make the SU Union Bylaw a “one-stop-reference” document students can rely on for all information on the SU governance processes and operations. Thereafter, the SU Constitution would be repealed for being redundant.
Other student associations in post-secondary learning institutions within Alberta such as the University of Alberta, Mount Royal University, MacEwan University and Athabasca University have either repealed their constitutions or recognise their union bylaw as their highest governing document in their governance processes. The SU has also consulted the Governance and Oversight Committee which comprises Active Members, the University and Government Relations, and the SLC on its proposed direction and these bodies have indicated their support for the following question to be presented to all Active Members.
Question 1:
Do you support the proposed incorporation of the SU Constitution into the Union Bylaw, and the subsequent rescindment of the SU Constitution effective on April 16, 2024?
• YES
• NO
Full details of the proposed update to the Students’ Union’s governance documents and a Referendum FAQ are available. Complete details and updates on the 2024 General Election can be found on the www.su.ucalgary.ca/elections page.
