[GSA Council] Advocacy Fee Question Amendment

[gretchen k]

*5.5 Advocacy Fee Question Amendment *



*a. Approval of GSA fee increase*



*Motion CO-20140523-08*

Whereas a fee levy is the name used by fee levy organization for cotisation
($) from their members to be able to exist;



Whereas a fee levy organization is a specific type of organization
described by fee levy «No campaign » organizers as: « Fee levy groups are
student organizations and initiatives at Concordia University that are
student- elected through the referendum process. Fee levy groups are made
up of Concordia undergraduate (and sometimes graduate students) as well as
community members from wider Montreal communities. Fee levy groups receive
all or part of their operating budgets from a per-credit Concordia student
fee levy. Fee levy groups are autonomous from the administrations of
Concordia University, the CSU, the GSA, and all academic bodies and
associations. »

(source: http://www.qpirgconcordia.org/?p=4801)



Whereas the « virtual advocacy centre » is not run by student-elected
through elections;



Whereas the « virtual advocacy centre » is not autonomous from the
administration of GSA;



Whereas the fact that the « virtual advocacy centre » may be considered in
GSA accounting as a se charge of the advocacy accounting proves that this «
organization » is not autonomous from GSA, which contravene to fee levy
organization definition;



Whereas the  « virtual advocacy centre » is in fact an advocacy service
that GSA provides to its members and not a fee levy;



Whereas a fee levy offer an opt-out option and that it would be almost
impossible for GSA to monitor who opt-in and who opt-out the « advocacy
fee-levy » before providing services;



Whereas the disguised of an increase in GSA membership fee is not justified
since the increase itself seems justified as stated in the ballot question:
advocacy need increase;



Whereas transparency from GSA has been asked by members in different forms
in General Assembly and council and that councillors themselves asked other
organizations to be more transparent (for example CSBC), there is no
justified reasons when it comes to our own GSA fees to not be transparent
to our membership by calling a cat, a cat;



Whereas council is preoccupied by GSA fee increase that was not properly
presented in TWO GSA elections and that this increase was actually billed
to student in fall 2013;



Whereas an increase in GSA fee for advocacy purposes is justified and
members are likely to accept;



Be it Resolved that GSA fee that planned to be charged to members in fall
2014 go back to the amount of fall 2012 and that the total of money
collected without proper members approval in fall 2013 be kept aside until
proper membership approval;



Be it Further Resolved that this GSA fee increase will be brought by a team
of councillors (to be nominated by council during this present meeting) in
the next General Assembly to a vote in which the motion specifically state
that this is a GSA fee increase and not a fee levy;



Be it Further Resolved that in the case of an agreement from members in
General Assembly, the GSA fee increase collected from GSA members without
proper approval in fall 2013 could be uses as the one not collected this
fall 2014.

 *Moved by:* Audrey

*Seconded by:* Carla

*Adopted*





*b. GSA hired accountability to council and members *

*Motion CO-20140523-09*

Whereas that council is preoccupied by the omission of council amendment to
the ballot question of 2014 elections and by the previous omission of
council ratification of the ballot question of elections 2013 about
increasing GSA fees for advocacy;



Whereas this issue resulted in a misrepresentation of council ratification
ballot question to our members;



Whereas to go back to this question for a second year takes time to
councillors and members, time that could have been used to take care of
other important issues;



Whereas CRO and DRO were hired and paid to carry the responsibility of
conducting elections and referendum questions properly;



Whereas GSA hired have to be accountable to members and council;



Be It Resolved That council motion to censure Simon-Pierre Lauzon (CRO) And
Roddy Doucet (DRO) for not having presented the question as ratified by
council to GSA members in 2014 elections.



*Moved by:* Audrey

*Seconded by:* Marie-Hélène

*Abstention noted: *Trevor, Juliette

*Adopted*
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