Dear 鶹Ʒ members,
We wish to inform you that on November 8, 2023, the Office of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) delivered a letter to the 鶹Ʒ President regarding the ballot question on the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine being asked in the 鶹Ʒ Fall 2023 referendum.
The letter states that:
“Should this referendum question pass and become a 鶹Ʒ policy, the University will consider that 鶹Ʒ is in breach of its own constitution, and hence also in default of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between 鶹Ʒ and McGill University, as per Section 12.1.2 of this MoA.”
The letter also expresses concerns about the contents of the policy and its claims and urges the 鶹Ʒ’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to consider several options including rejecting the referendum and engaging the Board to seek outside legal counsel.
Elections 鶹Ʒ is a politically autonomous body responsible for running elections within the Students’ Society of McGill University, and as per the Internal Regulations of Elections and Referenda, Elections 鶹Ʒ is the sole body to administer the Society’s Referenda (Article 1.2).
The 鶹Ʒ wished to maintain the integrity of the democratic process and avoid any undue influence on voters. That is also the reason why this communication is being sent to 鶹Ʒ members after the voting period has closed.
Thank you all for voting.
Գ,
The 鶹Ʒ’s Executive Committee
