April 7, 2022

Whereas the Member Services and Group Policies need to be clear and outline the requirements established in the Letter of Agreement of the Constituency Groups that have letters of agreement;

Whereas this would help Council and Staff understand the process under which Constituency Groups operate and outline funding, space, staff support, and autonomous governance subject to reporting and base governance requirements as outlined in letters of agreement as well as provide clarity and empower the Constituency groups that don’t have letters of agreements;

Be it resolved to rename the acronym for the Member Services and Group Policies “MGP” to “MSGP” and reflect this change throughout the policies, and in all other policies;

Be it further resolved to Amend the  Member Services and Groups Policies under Administrative Policies as follows;

Add Section 3.4 (and renumber the sections afterwards accordingly):

Constituency Group Letter of Agreements, Allocated Space and Support Staff, Dedicated Fee Levy and Funding

Letter of Agreement

3.4) If a Constituency Group has an established letter of agreement with the SFSS, the following apply:

a)    The letter of agreement is the primary agreement between the SFSS and Constituency Group, and all relevant policies and motions passed by Council should be in line with the Letter of Agreement.

i)   If there is a constitutional conflict between the bylaws and constitution of the Constituency Group and that of the SFSS, as outlined in the letter of agreements, the SFSS constitution and bylaws shall prevail.

ii)    If there is a conflict between a motion or policy passed by the SFSS Council and the letter of agreement between the Constituency Group and the SFSS, the letter of agreement shall prevail.

b)    In the case that a Constituency Group is allocated space but does not have a letter of agreement with the SFSS, then:

i) The SFSS shall strive to establish a letter of agreement with the Constituency Group aligned with the provisions in the Letters of Agreement currently signed with Constituency Groups, and in line with these policies

ii) The operations of the centre, space, funding, and governance autonomy shall be as close as possible to reflect these policies and Letters of Agreement currently signed with Constituency Groups.

Allocated Space and Support Staff

b.)    If a letter of the agreement includes an allocation of space, that space will be: governed autonomously by the Constituency group for the benefit of its members, operated by the Constituency Group and assisted by dedicated staff supported as laid out in the letter of agreement in a collaborative manner, and governed inline with all other clauses outlined in the letter of the agreement including the length of time.

i)    If there is an SFSS-supported Constituency Group Centre or Office with support staff operating from the space the:

1)    Constituency Group serves as the decision-making body that guides the types of services, resources, and advocacy support within the Centre/Office

2)    Staff support shall provide support to the Constituency Group as well as its constituents at large, including support to other community groups serving similar mandates, as guided by the Constituency Group and in line with the staff support’s job description

3)    Constituency Group or its representatives are in no way prevented or precluded from engaging in collective action, social and/or academic advocacy as the Constituency Group membership and representatives see fit

4)    Constituency Group and support staff are deemed to have separate and distinct voices, as such, no disciplinary action shall fall on the support staff for any collective actions taken by the Constituency Group and its representatives

5)    Staff support should ensure that year-to-year turnover of information, policy, letter of agreement, and other documents retention and training, and recruitment are done to ensure continuity. 

ii)    If support staff job descriptions contain roles and responsibilities outside of supporting the Constituency Groups’ Centre/Office, the SFSS Executive guides the operations of that work, and the staff support hired shall work closely with any other committees, or roles, as outlined in the respective Job descriptions.

1)    HR matters shall be brought to the Staff Liaison Officers of the SFSS in line with the SFSS collective agreement. 

2)    The Staff Liaison Officers must check in with the Constituency Groups on the operations of the Centres in relation to feedback on how staff support is meeting the groups’ needs and what additional support may be needed from time to time.

Dedicated Fee Levy and Funding

c)    If a dedicated fee levy exists (as established by an SFSS member referendum), the Constituency Group shall have full and autonomous jurisdiction over the levy fund and is subject to the provisions in the latest signed letter of agreement and the following applies and should be included:

i)    At least two members of the Constituency Group act as signing officers for the dedicated levy fund account, and the Constituency group shall have full management and jurisdiction over the activities, and disbursements in line with the Letter of Agreement. 

1)   Hired support staff may be additionally assigned signing authority, subject to the approval from the Constituency Group representatives for the disbursement of funds from the dedicated levy.

2)   Hired staff support, jointly with the representative designated by the constituency group, shall ensure that regular requests to the SFSS Finance Department and subsequent reporting to the constituency group are continuously done, on the status of the dedicated levy fund account.

ii)    Changes to the levy collected and the use thereof can only be approved through an SFSS member referendum.

iii)   Staff support hired to assist the Constituency Group’s centre is paid for by the SFSS operating budget unless there’s a mutual agreement between the Constituency Group and the SFSS deciding otherwise. 

iv)    Though not necessary (as the dedicated levy exists and may cover the full costs of the Center’s and Constituency Group’s activities and programming), a portion of the SFSS operating budget for the Centre’s Department activities may additionally be set aside for the Center’s activities and programming as guided by the Constituency Group. Further, a portion of what is allocated may be set aside directly for campaigns, activities and programming of the Constituency Group.

1)    The Constituency Groups’ staff support shall be the signing authority assisting with managing the Constituency Groups Centre’s Department budget line item (not the dedicated levy) under the SFSS Operating fund and ensure that the activities, disbursements and status from the department line item are continuously reported to the Constituency Group. 

d)    If there is no dedicated levy established by referenda for the Constituency Group, 

i)    SFSS shall cover the full cost of the Constituency Groups staff support and Centre programming and activities from the SFSS Operating fund.

ii)    A portion of the SFSS operating budget must be set aside for the Centre’s Department activities and operations as guided by the Constituency Group. Further, a portion of what is allocated must be set aside directly for campaigns, activities and programming of the Constituency Group.

1)    The Constituency Groups’ staff support shall be the signing authority assisting with managing the Constituency Groups Centre’s Department budget (not the dedicated levy) under the SFSS Operating fund and, shall ensure that the activities, disbursements and status from the department line item are continuously reported to the Constituency Group. 

e)  Regardless of the existence of a dedicated fee levy, the Constituency Group shall have also access to core and grant funding, as outlined in these Member Services and Groups Policies (MSGP-3), which must be listed on the SFSS Constituency Groups’ portal and shall receive support from the Member Services – Student Unions and Groups Department.

i)    The Constituency Group Centre staff support may provide logistical assistance and liaise with the Member Services – Student Unions and Groups department from time to time, on behalf of the Constituency Group, as requested by the Constituency Group. The Member Services – Student Unions and Groups Department shall have authority over the decisions made on grants and other requests within the department as outlined in these Member Services and Groups Policies.

f)    If the Constituency Group has an external bank account

i)    Hired Centre staff support may additionally be delegated signing authority upon approval from the Constituency Group to assist in the disbursement of funds 

ii)   Hired Centre staff support are required to follow all SFSS reporting and governance requirements as lined out in the letter of agreement

Amend 3.3 to read 

3.3    The sections below (3.5 to 3.19) on “Funding” for Constituency Groups shall provide a base level of funding, accessible to all Constituency Groups, including Constituency Groups with dedicated Centre space, and/or, Departmental funding or Dedicated Levy funding such as: Women’s Centre Collective, the Out on Campus Collective, Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry, the Disability and Neurodiversity Alliance, and the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Student Association (FNMISA) Constituency Groups, who have dedicated funding to support their Constituency Group’s Centre.

(a)    The Women’s Centre Collective shall have a portion of the Women’s Centre budget line item in the Operating fund allocated to their activities and campaigns. The Women’s Centre Collective shall guide the preparation of the Centre’s SFSS departmental budget drafted by the staff support to be approved by Council.

(b)    The Out on Campus Collective shall have a portion of the Out on Campus line item’s budget in the Operating fund allocated to their activities and campaigns. The Out on Campus Collective shall guide the preparation of the Centre’s SFSS departmental budget drafted by the staff support to be approved by Council.

(c)    The First Nations Students Association shall have full jurisdiction over the FNMISA fund as established by member referendum. The currently signed SFSS/FNMISA letter of agreement on the administration and distribution of funds for the benefit and use of FNMISA shall apply. Any changes to the fund or rerouting thereof must be approved through a referendum of the Society membership. The Society may hire staff for the FNMISA to support the FNMISA’s work – funded by mutually agreed-upon terms (e.g. the SFSS Operating Budget).

d)    The Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA) have full jurisdiction over the SOCA fund as established by the member referendum. The currently signed SFSS/SOCA letter of agreement on the administration and distribution of funds for the benefit and use of SOCA shall apply. Any changes to the fund or rerouting thereof must be approved through a referendum of the Society membership. The Society may hire staff for the SOCA to support the SOCA’s work – funded by mutually agreed-upon terms (e.g. the SFSS Operating Budget).

e)    The Disability and Neurodiversity Alliance (DNA) has full jurisdiction over the DNA fund as established by the member referendum. The currently signed SFSS/DNA letter of agreement on the administration and distribution of funds for the benefit and use of DNA shall apply. Any changes to the fund or rerouting thereof must be approved through a referendum of the Society membership. The Society may hire staff for the DNA to support the DNA work – funded by mutually agreed-upon terms (e.g. the SFSS Operating Budget).