September 17: The University of Toronto Students’ Union’s (UTSU) Board of Directors (BOD) discusses plans to abolish the union’s Senate, a governance body added to the bylaws last year to supplement the downsized BOD. The executive committee proposes replacing the Senate — which UTSU never actually implemented — with a group called the Advocacy Group Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from campus groups who would advise the BOD.
UTSU’s October 29 Annual General Meeting, where students planned to vote on whether to remove the Senate from the bylaws, was postponed to November 19 due to a lack of quorum.
September 23: The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union’s (UTMSU) BOD votes to hold a referendum asking UTM students whether they want to fund an expansion of the Student Centre.
The referendum, which took place from October 24–26, asked students whether they agreed to raise each full-time student’s fees by $10 per semester from fall 2024 to spring 2027 or, if it comes sooner, until the UTMSU opens the expanded building. The fee would then increase to $30 until the UTMSU pays off mortgage payments on the expansion.
As of October 29, the UTMSU has not yet announced the results of the referendum.
September 25: The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union raises wages for its part-time staff and 1265 Bistro employees to $17.55 after Ontario increased the minimum wage to $16.55 on October 1.
September 28: The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union’s (UTGSU) BOD votes to suspend its president, Lynne Alexandrova. In a private session, the BOD discusses multiple allegations, including that Alexandrova made statements contributing to Indigenous erasure. With Alexandrova suspended, half of the UTGSU’s six executive positions remain unfilled.
The BOD also decides to remove the UTGSU’s Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) caucus as a permanently funded caucus. The BDS movement aims to economically pressure the Israeli government to stop oppressing Palestinians and occupying Palestinian territories. U of T began withholding funds from the caucus in 2021 after a ruling that the caucus’ fee violated a UTGSU bylaw prohibiting discrimination based on nationality.
October 17: After approval from the UTM Campus Council, the Executive Committee confirms the UTMSU’s request to establish two five-dollar-per-session fees charged to full-time students — one levy for student sustainability group UTM Regenesis and one for Housing Our University Students Equitably Canada, a nation group that aims to build affordable student housing. In the two Spring 2023 referenda asking students whether they approved of the levies, more students abstained from the vote than voted in favour of the fee increases.
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