AUSU needs to make changes to the AUSU bylaws in order to bring them into alignment with the Post Secondary Learning Act legislation, which mandates that bylaw creation and amendment is the sole responsibility of council, and cannot be delegated to the membership.

To begin this process, AUSU passed a motion at the February 11, 2016 council meeting outlining the proposed bylaw amendments. 

Council extensively researched other students' unions to find out how they involve the membership in bylaw revisions. We found that some unions have consultations with the membership, some provide notice periods, and some require two readings and larger majorities to adopt changes. In order to provide full transparency for our membership, AUSU is incorporating all four steps in the proposed bylaw changes. We will include: 

The proposed changes are as follows: 

To bring the process of AUSU bylaw amendment in line with the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta, section 95 (1) and 95 (2), whereby creation and amendment of bylaw is the sole responsibility of council, the following portion of Article 10 Amendment will be repealed:

These bylaws may be amended, in whole or in part, by a special resolution of AUSU as defined in these bylaws.

and will be replaced with the following:

10.1       Amendment
These bylaws may be amended, in whole or in part, by motion of council passed by a two thirds majority on first reading at a public meeting of council, and passed by a two thirds majority on second reading at a public meeting of council to be held no sooner than 30 days and no longer than 90 days from the first reading.

10.2       Notice to Members
10.2.1   AUSU will provide the membership with 21 days’ advance notice of a meeting in which the first reading of a motion to amend the bylaws will be brought forward.
10.2.2   The notice to members will include the proposed bylaw amendments and the rationale behind the proposal.
10.2.3   The notice will include details of the member consultation opportunities prescribed by section 10.3.

10.3       Member Consultation
10.3.1   AUSU will provide a minimum of two member consultation opportunities, which may include town hall style meetings, online forums, or other as deemed appropriate by council.
10.3.2   A minimum of three AUSU Councillors, including at least one Executive Officer, must participate in each of the member consultation opportunities.        
 

In keeping with full transparency and consultation with our membership, AUSU scheduled two meetings for the membership to discuss the bylaw changes with AUSU council. 

These meetings will be held by teleconference, and are open to all members. We encourage your feedback! 

Meeting Dates:

AUSU has also created an online forum for our membership to pose questions and hold discussions about the proposed bylaw changes. AUSU will regularly monitor the forum for questions from the membership and to address any concerns.   

The forum can be accessed online at http://ausugovernance.freeforums.net/.

You will need to make a new account for your first visit, and log in to post.

Please note, this forum is for AUSU members only. All posts must be respectful and courteous, and profanity will not be permitted. Any posts failing to comply with these requirements may be deleted. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the AUSU Executive Director at executivedirector@ausu.org or the President at president@ausu.org.