A message from your Students’ Association: SAMRU AGM is Almost Upon Us

SAMRU will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Nov. 13 where students will be able to consider important bylaw changes, review the audited financial statements from the last year, appoint auditors for the upcoming year and to ask questions or bring up concerns to the Student Governing Board.

There are major changes being proposed for the bylaws this year, specifically an amended board structure, which clarifies the roles and authority of the executive committee and of Students’ Council. For the last several years, Students’ Council has been made up of 14 Governors and the four members of the Executive Committee who all had an equal vote on Students’ Council.

The changes are being proposed for a number of reasons:

1. To clarify the distinct representative role of the Executive Committee and the governing role of Students’ Council

2. To abide by recent CRA requirements, which no longer permit financial recompense to governing directors for governance work (note: this does not include representation or committee work)

3. To obtain accreditation with Imagine Canada’s Standards Program

The proposed bylaw change for the upcoming meeting in November means that four full-time members of the Executive Committee will no longer be governing directors and they will no longer have a vote on Students’ Council. They will continue to be elected by their fellow students to serve as representational officers and continue to represent the best interests of students. Governors will also be elected by students at a separate election during the Annual General Meeting (AGM), although the first governors’ election will not be held until the 2015 AGM.

The Students’ Association also recently applied for accreditation through Imagine Canada, a national charitable organization which awards accreditation to charities and non-profits that demonstrate excellence in 73 select areas of governance and operations. The proposed structure is one which aligns with Imagine Canada’s high standards and best practices for board governance and — even more importantly — complies with the federal Income Tax Act while allowing SAMRU to retain its non-profit status.

For more information on these and other bylaw changes, please feel free to review the full bylaws on the SAMRU website at www.samru.ca/governance/bylaws.

Attend the Annual General Meeting on Nov. 13, 2014 at noon in The Hub — free lunch and prizes!

— your SAMRU Representation Executives:

Seija Roggeveen, Zoe Slusar, Erik Queenan, and Tristan Smyth