[MathSoc Council] Societies Agreement

Hello Council, I have written a detailed brief regarding MathSoc's issues with the Societies Agreement and the Federation of Students' response. Please pass this on to your constituents. TL;DR: MathSoc has issues with the Societies Agreement. FEDS provided minimal legal evidence that the contentious clauses are necessary. *FEDS' Board of Directors has decided that if MathSoc does not sign the agreement with section 3 left as is, it will cease to recognize MathSoc as a society.* * *Before going into impartial mode, I would like to express my opinion that we should weigh the consequences of our decisions very carefully, and I am very concerned for the best interests of math students. At the same time, I would not like to see threats from FEDS interfering with the democratic process. * --- Background: * By an agreement between the University administration and FEDS, MathSoc must be recognized by FEDS to maintain its Society status, in which it serves as the official advocate for undergraduate mathematics students. FEDS has recently undergone an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which has led to a revisit of many of FEDS' relationships where money is involved. Among its internal relationships, the relationship with the Societies of each of the respective faculties has been a main focus. FEDS last signed an agreement with the Societies in 2001 [Societies Agreement 2001.pdf], outlining the responsibilities of each party in their relationship, including FEDS' liability coverage of the Societies, and the financial responsibilities of the Societies. Representatives from FEDS have stated that they believe that this agreement provides the liability coverage necessary for University-affiliated events. Recently, FEDS has revisited the agreement, and in light of the CRA audit, has drafted a new agreement [Societies Agreement March 27.pdf]. Only a decision at a general meeting of mathematics students can approve the new agreement, as per the results of a recent referendum. At the general meeting on March 27, math students expressed their support of the agreement with two amendments: 1. To amend in Section 6, Renewal, "This agreement shall be reviewed by the Federation’s Board of Directors and the Committee of Presidents a minimum of once every three years." to "This agreement shall be re-ratified by the Federation’s Board of Directors and the Societies a minimum of once every three years." FEDS took this motion as friendly. 2. To strike all but the first paragraph of Section 3, Responsibilities. The second change was proposed in order to bring the Responsibilities section of the March 27th agreement in line with the 2001 agreement. As representatives from FEDS stated publicly that they believe that Societies currently have liability insurance under the 2001 agreement, the new provisions, which serve to reduce the autonomy of the Societies and grant FEDS new powers, were called into question. A decision regarding the approval of the agreement has been postponed until the meeting returns from adjournment on Tuesday, April 3rd at noon. The week-long break was approved to give FEDS the time to provide legal justification for the provisions in Section 3. FEDS provided a letter from their lawyer, who stated that he believes the provisions in section 3 are "essential from the perspective of the Federation of Students because of its legal liability for the action of the Societies and because of its potential income tax liabilities relating to its not-for-profit status under the Income Tax Act." [Lawyer's Letter.pdf] The new provisions require the approval of event forms for Societies to run events, and allow FEDS to withhold the Societies' funds if it chooses to reject multiple event forms (and the events are held regardless) from one unit under the Society. However, math students express that they are still skeptical of the legal necessity of the event forms. The question stands: if FEDS believes that the Societies are covered for insurance under the current agreement, then why is there a new legal necessity for the forms to maintain coverage? Students doubt that the forms would constitute due diligence, due to the very little information they provide about an event. For an example of an approved event form, see the attached document [CSC Event Form.pdf]. *Issue: * Representatives from FEDS have publicly stated that with the proposed amendments, the agreement is unacceptable from a legal perspective. If MathSoc does not sign the current draft of this agreement with the amendments removed, FEDS will cease to recognize it as a Society. If MathSoc is no longer recognized as a Society, FEDS will no longer collect student fees for it. This jeopardizes the day-to-day functioning of its Coffee and Donut shop, the services provided by the MathSoc office for all math students, and the operations of the academic clubs affiliated with it. Additionally, it will no longer be recognized by the University as the official advocate for mathematics undergraduate students. *Question:* Are the provisions in section 3 of the March 27 Societies Agreement necessary for liability coverage? A detailed brief from a lawyer examining this section is desired before a decision is made. In the case that the decision of the general meeting causes the FEDS Board of Directors to cease to recognize MathSoc, math students have already began a petition to call a general meeting of FEDS to discuss the matter. -- Elana Hashman Computer Science Representative, Winter 2012 MathSoc Council -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mail-stanton.mathsoc.uwaterloo.ca/pipermail/council/attachments/20120402/aaa507e2/attachment-0001.html> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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