The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Board of Directors (BoD) met on Jan. 21 to discuss proposed changes to referendum processes and a motion to increase gender-neutral washrooms in the University Centre.

First, the Board discussed Elina Qureshi’s resignation as a Nominating Committee Director. The Board appointed member-at-large Fawaz Halloum to take her position.

SSMU President Dymetri Taylor then stated that Halloum’s term on the Nominating Committee should last until May 31 rather than Nov. 14, as Quereshi had been appointed as a short-term director. Halloum questioned this reasoning, as in the past, members-at-large serving on committees remained until their terms ended, regardless of their predecessor’s title. As per precedent, the Board decided to end Halloum’s term in November 2025, planning to review the issue further at a later date. 

The Board then discussed the motions for ratification approved at the Jan. 16 Legislative Council Meeting. First, the Board unanimously ratified the Motion Regarding the Internal Regulations of Representation and Advocacy, which stipulates that SSMU University Affairs take into account the identity and lived experience of candidates when appointing representatives to the McGill Senate—one of the university’s highest governing bodies. 

The Board also ratified the Motion Regarding Interim Club Status for the Green Olive Chinese Christian Club and the Motion Regarding Constitution Changes for the McGill Students Chinese Music Society. 

Taylor then summarized the Motion Regarding Interim Provision of Elections and Referenda, which aims to adjust the structure of SSMU’s referendum and executive election process by shortening campaign periods, altering the structure of debates, and increasing the number of signatures required to submit a referendum question to the ballot.

Taylor proposed the current requirement of 100 signatures be increased to 250 to represent approximately one per cent of the student body. He also introduced a mandate that the Legislative Council and the executive board must review submitted initiatives at least two weeks prior to the referendum, to prevent initiatives that are legally unfeasible from reaching the ballot, then having to be annulled. 

SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Affairs Hugo-Victor Solomon noted that multiple students have approached him with apprehension about the Motion, expressing concerns that these additional barriers would discourage engagement in the referendum process. 

“The way that this is being perceived by a lot of students is that SSMU is trying to make it hard for students to participate in democracy,” Solomon said. “This is a pretty consequential point given the ongoing case regarding the Policy Against Genocide [in Palestine].” 

Halloum also expressed concerns with the Motion, arguing that the Board’s review of student-submitted initiatives should only pertain to the legal implications of motions, not their subject matter.

“Complicating direct democracy is not the direction we should be going,” Halloum said.

Taylor accepted these critiques as friendly amendments, agreeing to keep the number of required signatures at 100. The Board ended the non-confidential section of the meeting by unanimously ratifying the Motion.

During the confidential section of the meeting, the Board debated the Motion Regarding SSMU Building Gender Neutral Washrooms. SSMU VP University Affairs Abe Berglas proposed the Motion on Dec. 5, and its ratification was postponed during the previous BoD meeting. This Motion stands to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms in the University Centre, and has drawn opposition from some Directors who claim that these washrooms would impede safety for some women students.

“The motion is waiting for legal review—but even after being seen by our lawyers, Councillors and Directors have indicated that their concern is about women’s safety,” Berglas wrote to The Tribune. “It’s upsetting to hear that they believe women’s safety is at odds with non sex-segregated spaces, especially when Trump used the same talking points to justify his executive order.”

Moment of the meeting: The Board put the Motion Regarding Gender Neutral Washrooms back under legal review, delaying its ratification once more. 

Soundbite:

“By taking it to the next Board of Directors instead of involving the Legislative Council, we are taking the Legislative Council out of this referendum process.” — Simone Brown, SSMU Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, on the Motion Regarding Interim Provision of Elections and Referenda.