The McGill Senate convened on Sept. 18 for its first meeting of the academic year, discussing topics such as the suspension of the Fiat Lux Library Project, private security on campus, and freedom of assembly and expression. 

Among the first items on the agenda were memorial tributes for Linguistics professor emeritus Douglas Ellis, Medicine professor emeritus Norbert Gilmore, and Pharmacology and Therapeutics professor Barbara Hales, followed soon after by remarks from McGill President, Vice-Chancellor, and Senate Chair Deep Saini. 

Saini began by speaking about the university’s enrolment, which he noted was comparable to the previous year’s. This comes despite Quebec’s tuition increase for out-of-province students, which is offset by McGill’s Canada Award for students in most bachelor’s programs. He also shared that there has been an increase of 5.2 per cent in the number of students coming from Cegeps enrolled in bachelor’s programs. 

Saini went on to note that the provincial government’s proposed bill seeking to limit the number of international students in the province will be tabled at the National Assembly of Quebec this fall. McGill has asked to present arguments in favour of international students to the government during that time.

“McGill is working in concert with other research institutions in the province to develop key points of common interest to stress in conversations with the Minister, stressing growth and development occasioned by the presence of international students which benefits all Quebecers,” Saini said.

Saini then turned to the provincial government’s new spending limit on capital funding for university construction and renovation projects. Due to these funding changes, Saini announced that McGill has suspended all work on the Fiat Lux Project. Construction for this new library project—which was set to incorporate the McLennan Library Building and the Redpath Library Building—was previously planned to begin in 2026.

“I want to emphasize our collective sadness at this reality, because there was much excitement about this project, and I want to express our gratitude to the many staff members, supporters, and champions of the Fiat Lux project who have been involved,” Saini said. 

Answering a question from Senator David Greene, Vice-President (VP) (Administration and Finance) Fabrice Labeau noted that although project development has been halted, it is possible that the project or a “modified version” of it could eventually be realized. Saini noted that the university is looking into other ways to increase library space and that it is also conducting a review of other infrastructural projects.

The Senate later turned to a question on demonstrations on campus, which was submitted by Senator and Students’ Society of McGill University VP University Affairs Abe Berglas and Senator Nicholas Chow. The question asked whether the Charter of Student Rights was upheld while campus was restricted from mid-July to Aug. 5 following the dismantlement of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the Lower Field. The question also asked how security personnel were trained to intervene in demonstrations during that period and going forward. During the meeting, Berglas also stated that a student had reported to them that a security guard had instructed the student to leave campus for carrying a flag, stating “no protesting is allowed during this period.” Berglas then reiterated their question on whether the university had respected the Charter of Student Rights in light of this student’s experience.

Senator, Provost, and Executive Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi responded that he was unaware of any formal complaint like what Berglas described, and that the Charter of Students Rights was upheld throughout the period specified.

Labeau also drew attention to the last paragraph of his and Manfredi’s written response, which notes that McGill hires private security, who they do not train on all university policies. These private security guards work under the university’s permanent security team, who supervise all operations and who McGill trains on their policies. 

“We of course train our staff in the best possible way […] sometimes these mistakes can happen, but definitely that’s not policy,” Labeau said.

This was followed by an open discussion on the university’s policies for freedom of expression and assembly, particularly in relation to “political activism” on campus. 

Saini began this period by stating that over the past year, McGill administration has had to make decisions regarding student demonstrations in “extremely challenging circumstances.” Saini emphasized that actions on these matters should be guided by governance bodies such as the Senate, not just senior administration.

“It is our collective responsibility, and indeed duty, as a Senate to discuss and debate these difficult matters and to come together to chart a course that serves the best interest of our institution and its mission,” Saini said. “The goal of today’s open discussion is therefore to give us all a chance to examine collectively and collegially some of the difficult questions we have encountered over the last months.”

Senators then broke into smaller groups to evaluate fictional case studies and to discuss which of McGill’s policies might apply to these examples to best steer decision-making. The groups then briefly shared their findings with the entire Senate.

Following a report providing updates from the Board of Governors (BoG) given by Senator Edith Zorychta, Senator Marc Richard asked for more information on an item stating that at the request of the donor, the board had rescinded the renaming of the Leacock Building to the ‘Rimer Building.’ In 2021, McGill reported that donations totalling $13 million CAD from alumnus Gerald Rimer and the Rimer family would go towards a number of initiatives on campus, including the renovation of the Leacock Building and its renaming. Senator and VP (University Advancement) Marc Weinstein explained that donations allocated towards the renaming will now go towards scholarships for McGill students.

Drawing from a report item on McGill’s approval of a contract extension with the private security firm Garda, Senator Ipek Türeli asked about any ongoing contracts between McGill and Sirco, the private company that it hired to dismantle the Palestine Solidarity Encampment. Türeli stated that some have reported Sirco taking photos and videos of student protestors, and asked for McGill to describe the cost of these services and its broader decision-making process for hiring private security.

Labeau responded by saying that the university does have a contract with “an additional security service” other than Garda, and that the university does not have a timeframe for when this might change.

Moment of the meeting: While the Senate was discussing the training of private security on campus, Senator Catherine Lu suggested the university offer students a way to report incidents with security guards in an informal capacity. Students can file formal complaints through the Code of Student Grievances.

“It already seems that we know that there is defective or incomplete training. Perhaps there’s a way in which we can give students and others who have encounters with security an avenue to report any incidents […] so that we have an actual empirical record of the kinds of problems that people face,” Lu said. “Because we all want to have a community where people are able to exercise their rights respectfully and not be disciplined or fear that they will be on the campus.”

Soundbite: “[The BoG Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility (CSSR)] has to present a report with any recommendations to the board by their meeting in December 2024, so that’s fairly soon. CSSR has sent an email […] whereby you can send a response to the committee. The committee will take in all of the input from the university community and has also looked into a lot of information […] and it will work very hard to come up with a report by the designated time.”

— Senator Zorychta, on the CSSR’s mandate to evaluate “the question of divestment from direct investments in companies that derive a dominant portion of their direct revenues from the production of military weapons regardless of the countries in which they operate.”