On the evening of Dec. 16, polls for the referendum on the impeachment of President of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Dymetri Taylor closed. The referendum failed, with 58.6 per cent of voting students voting “No,” 41.4 per cent voting “Yes,” and 8.4 per cent abstaining. With an overall 16.9 per cent voter turnout, Taylor remains in the position.
The referendum came after the approval of the Motion Regarding the Removal of President Taylor at a Dec. 5 SSMU General Assembly (GA) meeting. The motion called for Taylor’s removal on the grounds of “impropriety” and “delinquency of duties” as per SSMU’s constitution.
At the GA, students claimed that Taylor had unduly denied a motion—brought forth by Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) at McGill—which sought to have students vote on whether SSMU would participate in a student strike for Palestine. Taylor claimed the wording of the strike motion was nearly identical to that of the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine and would therefore violate the injunction suspending this policy. Taylor also told SPHR that there was no way to maintain the strike motion’s support of Palestine without breaching the injunction.
Students argued that through this communication, Taylor had inflated the extent to which legal orders hindered the union from showing support for Palestine. They cited as evidence a document containing SSMU’s legal advice, which an anonymous source claiming to be a former member of SSMU’s Board of Governors shared with student groups, including The Tribune, on Nov. 27.
Taylor told The Tribune that he misunderstood the legal constraints SSMU faced and acknowledged that he misrepresented these constraints to students. Taylor went on to emphasize that he will seek to improve transparency by sharing more information with students around what actions SSMU can take with regard to supporting social movements.
“It’s trying to continue to walk the steady line that comes with all our rules, regulations, and everything that binds the SSMU, to work within the bounds of what we’re faced with […] and to ensure that—so long as nothing is against what the law, our rules, and McGill’s rules—to keep it open as to what people can do,” Taylor said.
“If we can’t do anything, for instance, then perhaps there [are] other avenues that you can take that we can offer you to reach the end goal,” he continued.
Taylor also spoke to the importance of the SSMU Accountability Commissioner in ensuring that the union’s employees, including its executive team, act in accordance with SSMU’s constitution, policies, and internal regulations. Students can raise concerns about the performance of a SSMU employee to the Accountability Commissioner, who investigates these claims and makes recommendations to the relevant governance body on how to address infractions.
A representative from SPHR, who wished to remain unnamed, highlighted the success of the GA and explained that the group does not see the referendum’s ultimate outcome as a failure.
“This GA shook things up [….] It really opened people’s eyes to the fact that SSMU does need to change,” they said. “Obviously, there were issues with the strike motion being purposefully delayed. This is a pattern for SSMU […] waving their hand and using legal jargon as an excuse or [using] bureaucratic constraints as an excuse. I think the student body, and even people within SSMU, are realizing things do need to change.”
The representative was hopeful that the impeachment would signal a new precedent to future candidates in the upcoming SSMU executive elections in the Winter 2025 semester. They noted that SPHR will continue to encourage students to use their democratic rights to demand accountability from student leadership.
In interviews with The Tribune, some students echoed the value of the impeachment referendum as a way to hold Taylor responsible for his errors, regardless of whether his actions were intentional or not.
“I think that when you’re in a position of leadership, you have the responsibility to make sure that you’re not making careless mistakes that are harming the student population and the world beyond,” Chloe Wei, U1 Science, told The Tribune.
Kennedy McDiarmid, U3 Arts, expressed frustration at how Taylor handled the strike motion and spoke to a feeling that SSMU is “constantly band-aiding” its problems.
“It would just be nice to have a student union that’s effectively run and represents the voices of the people in a factual, […] and effective manner,” McDiarmid said.
