On November 28, 2024, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the Instructional Centre. 

Approximately 120 students participated in this year’s AGM, where the agenda focused on motions to create a new land acknowledgement for UTM and change the union’s quorum for future meetings. Not all motions were voted on by the end of the meeting due to time constraints. 

Changes to quorum and club funding 

At the meeting, members discussed an amendment to Bylaw III, which outlines rules for the UTMSU’s meetings. The union’s Governance Committee proposed reducing the quorum requirements for the AGMs to address recurring challenges in meeting attendance. The quorum originally required 75 members to be present for the AGM, but students at the meeting voted to lower this requirement to 50 members.

Before the AGM, general meetings required a quorum of 100 members. During the meeting, students voted to increase quorum requirements for general meetings to 150 members, of whom at least 75 members must be present in person.

The motion also changed how students access the AGM meeting package. According to Bylaw III, the agenda and the summary of financial position are published with the AGM notice, which is posted 10 days before the meeting. 

The new amendment states that, while the notice will still be provided to members 10 days prior to the meeting, the meeting package — including the agenda and financial statements — will be available to UTMSU members three days prior to the meeting through email, website, and other platforms. 

After student consideration, the motion was carried.

Vice-President Internal Ronny Chen, reviewed the UTMSU’s and the Blind Duck Pub’s financial reports during the meeting. The union discussed the reports for the Blind Duck Pub in November’s emergency meeting, following a proposal for the pub’s renovations. Eventually, the audited statements were approved during the AGM for both the union’s and the pub’s financial reports.

Following last years motion to enhance club funding, UTMSU’s Campus Groups Coordinator, Latifah Idd, presented the follow-up report. The report showed an increase in total funding from $44,000 to $51,000. The base funding for new clubs rose from $150 to $200. The union gave a $50 increase for each recognized club and an additional $50 if the club won an award from the UTMSU in the previous year. 

Student motions 

Students submitted four motions for consideration at the AGM. Due to time constraints, the board decided to rearrange the motions in the agenda. By the end of the meeting, the board could only discuss and approve one student motion. 

Proposed by Cordelia MacDonald — a third-year theatre and drama student of Haudenosaunee Oneida descent from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory — the approved motion sought to review and revise the current land acknowledgment policy by establishing a committee to create a new acknowledgment that better represents Indigenous voices and histories. 

MacDonald criticized the U of T land acknowledgement’s last line, “we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.”

“I personally see this as… thanking the colonizers for committing… genocide and settling here on this land, whether or not that’s what [the university] intended, that is definitely how it comes across,” Macdonald explained. “Land acknowledgments are supposed to be honouring Indigenous people, not perpetuating colonialism and cultural [insensitivities].” 

The motion also called for consultation with the Circle of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Students of the Canadian Federation of Students, a national group of Indigenous students representing Indigenous post-secondary students on Turtle Island. 

After students debated, the motion passed. 

To be continued

Students raised concerns that the board could not address several motions on the agenda due to time constraints. The meeting — initially scheduled to start at 6:57 pm — started one hour later as the union waited to reach quorum. 

Some student motions that weren’t discussed at the meeting included creating the Committee to Indigenous Justice and Collaboration (CIJIC) as a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action. Another initiative was the motion to investigate the feasibility and benefits of creating a ‘makerspace’ at UTM. Makerspaces — also known as hackerspaces — are community hubs designed for hands-on learning, sustainability, and invocation. 

Among other motions left unaddressed was a proposal that called for establishing a student strike committee advocating for a national strike in solidarity with Palestine; establishing an opposition union to enhance the union’s accountability and representation; lobbying to extend the 199 Brampton Transit bus service during exam periods; and preventing the current office for the student-run Sexual Education Centre in the Student Centre from moving to a smaller space. 

According to UTM Sexual Education Centre (UTMSEC), the space allocated in Room 150 in the Student Centre will be moved to a “less confidential and less accessible space for students.” 

“We are being told that our office will be moved to a smaller space upstairs in December,” wrote the UTMSEC in a November 15 Instagram post. In a later post on December 22, the centre announced that the office would remain until the end of April. Currently, there is an online petition to keep the current office space. As of writing, 563 people have signed the petition.

Several attendees advocated for a follow-up meeting to ensure that unresolved topics receive adequate attention. 

Ultimately, the chair motioned to adjourn the meeting. The chair noted that the rest of the motions would be addressed at the union’s upcoming January Board of Directors meeting, for which the date has not been announced as of reporting.