The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Fall 2024 Referendum questions. The Tribune‘s editors researched and discussed each question  before voting on each endorsement. The endorsements reflect a majority vote of the editorial board, with the option for editors with conflicts of interest to abstain from pertinent questions.

Radio CKUT Fee Increase: Yes

Radio CKUT, McGill’s 24/7 non-profit campus-community radio station offers music, news, arts, and cultural programming, providing a unique media outlet for students and the Montreal community. With inflation driving operating costs, the proposed opt-outable fee will increase by $3.00 CAD, which would bring the total fee to $7.00 CAD per semester for full-time and $5.50 CAD per semester for part-time undergraduate students in professional programs (Dentistry, MDCM, Law). The total fee would be $8.00 CAD per semester for full-time and $6.00 CAD per semester for part-time undergraduate students in all other programs. This increment will start in Winter 2025 to Winter 2027 (inclusive), with the understanding that a majority “No” vote will keep the fee at its current rate. The increased fee will help CKUT maintain its operations and avoid a future budget deficit.

 In the absence of a journalism program at McGill, CKUT fills an important educational gap by providing one of the only spaces on campus for students to gain hands-on experience in broadcasting and radio production. In voting “Yes,” The Tribune highlights CKUT’s commitment to providing valuable learning opportunities for students, building community connections, and supporting sustainable operations in the workplace. 

Ambassador Fund Fee Increase: Yes 

The proposed $2.00 CAD increase to this opt-outable fee, bringing the total to $4.00 CAD per semester for both full-time and part-time students, would continue to fund student participation in off-campus academic and extracurricular conferences, competitions, and other events through Fall 2029. This increase, which would bring in an additional $40,000 CAD in funding available to students, will allow more students to participate in off-campus events without facing financial barriers. In recent years, demand for the Ambassador Fund has exceeded the available resources, demonstrating that students need the support of this fund to attend external events. The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote to this fee increase. 

Community Engagement Fee Renewal: Yes

The Community Engagement Fee is a source of financial assistance provided to incentivize the charitable work of McGill students and further the connection between the McGill student body and its surrounding communities. This opt-outable fee is $0.72 CAD per semester for both full-time and part-time students. The fund is primarily intended for community engagement initiatives, not for events with the sole purpose of fundraising—including projects in community development and social services. In 2023-2024, however, more than 12 per cent of funding applications were directed to the Community Engagement Fund, despite this being the smallest of the fees disbursed by the funding committee. The Tribune supports this opt-outable fee renewal. 

Equity Fund Fee Renewal: Yes

The Equity Fund Fee is an opt-outable $1.00 CAD per semester fee for full-time and part-time students, beginning in Winter 2025 and ending in Fall 2029 (inclusive and excluding Summer terms). 

The SSMU Equity Fund was created to empower campus members to engage in initiatives that foster leadership, encourage civic engagement, and make observable or measurable differences in the representation or experiences of individuals who are members of historically and currently disadvantaged groups. The fund supports projects, research and policies that aim to end discrimination and promote accessibility and inclusiveness in the McGill community.

Should it fail to pass, there will no longer be a dedicated fund reserved for the purpose of supporting equity-related initiatives through funding applications. The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote to this fee renewal. 

Legal Essentials Fee Renewal: Yes

The Legal Essentials Fee is an opt-outable, $30 CAD per year fee that will cease to exist if not renewed during this Fall 2024 referendum. The Legal Essentials program makes legal aid accessible, affordable, and safe. It is complementary to the Legal Information Clinic at McGill (LICM) and fills in gaps that other legal sources at McGill cannot; specifically, services like the LICM can only inform students about their legal rights and assist only in disputes at the university level, but cannot advise on the specific legal actions students should take. Meanwhile, Legal Essentials offers students access to consultation and representation by accredited lawyers who can represent them in cases regarding any area of the law, including disputes and violations regarding housing, academics, human rights, employment, and assist with small claims and civil mediation. 

For a fraction of the price, they cover both case and legal fees, and expenses that accumulate during proceedings. Access to legal aid is often costly, complicated, and daunting, but Legal Essentials works in conjunction with other legal sources at McGill to break down these barriers. By endorsing a “Yes” vote for the opt-outable fee, The Tribune supports the rights of students to have a certified advocate during legal proceedings, and seeks to ensure this support system is protected for years to come.

Création d’une cotisation de soutien aux affaires francophones/Creation of a contribution to support francophone affairs: Yes

The creation of a contribution to support francophone affairs would promote the growth and endurance of the Francophone Affairs Committee (CAF), which currently receives no funding, as well as the McGill francophone community. This opt-outable fee will be $1.00 CAD per semester for full-time and part-time SSMU members, excluding the summer term. It is set to begin in Winter 2025 and will continue until Winter 2030 (inclusive). The fund will help cover the salary of the Commissaire des affaires francophones, as well as part-time translation interns. It will also be allocated to francophone groups, francophiles, and anglophones undertaking projects aimed at enhancing accessibility for Francophones, organizing community events, and establishing partnerships with Francophone organizations to provide learning opportunities. 

Currently, 20 per cent of the student body and 21 per cent of staff report that French is their mother tongue, making the fee important for the CAF to fulfill its mandate of representing the francophone student body on campus. The Tribune supports the creation of this opt-outable fee to support francophone communities on campus.

SSMU Membership Fee Increase For Operations: Yes, with reservations

This question seeks to increase SSMU’s base fee for student members. For full-time students not enrolled in Medicine, Dentistry, or Law, the fee will increase by $14.86 CAD, from $70.95 CAD to $85.81 CAD per semester. For part-time students in the same faculties, the fee will increase by $7.22 CAD, from $34.44 CAD to $41.66 CAD. The funds generated from the increase will go entirely toward the salaries of SSMU’s full-time and part-time employees, not toward those of the executives. SSMU claims this will allow them to dedicate more of their operational budget to addressing their deficit and to offer new initiatives for students.

Since its last increase in 2019, students have voted against raising the membership fee many times, including in both semesters last academic year. The 2023-2024 academic year saw SSMU struggle against the financial strain of its deficit, which one executive estimated exceeded $726,000 CAD in February 2024. SSMU has cited budget constraints as the reason for employee layoffs, reduced operations, and an abrupt interruption in service for two weeks in April 2024. SSMU offers countless vital services to students, including funding clubs and student initiatives, managing Gerts, running a daycare on campus, offering the Menstrual Health Project, the Grocery Program, and more. Considering this, it is vital that SSMU secures the funding necessary to continue serving students and its employees.

However, SSMU must strengthen its relationship with its constituency. Between a lack of candidates applying for executive positions, dismal voter turnout, and consistently poor attendance at governance meetings, SSMU is struggling to engage the student body. Furthermore, its repeated failed attempts to raise the base fee suggest it must rebuild trust with students by clearly communicating how their money is managed and why the deficit has persisted. Finally, SSMU must extend better training and care for the executive team, some of whom have reported a lack of support in the demanding role. The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote for the referendum question, while demanding that SSMU foster student engagement, increase financial transparency, and better support its executives.

QPIRG Fee Increase: Yes

The Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill (QPIRG) is seeking a fee increase from $5.00 CAD to $6.75 CAD per semester. QPIRG fosters community and engages students in social justice causes by offering educational initiatives, the Free Textbook Loan Program, and an Alternative Research Library. The group also organizes Rad Frosh each year. The organization’s fee has not increased since 2015; meanwhile, inflation has posed a strain on the group’s budget, resulting in a reduction of programming. 

QPIRG’s mission to provide alternative educational spaces on campus is invaluable in promoting community and solidarity. As it has been nearly a decade since the organization last recieved a fee increase, The Tribune supports a “Yes” vote on this opt-outable fee.