University of Waterloo New Democratic Party
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be University of Waterloo New Democratic Party. We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
a) Provide a place and presence for NDP politics, policy, and values;
b) represent young New Democrats; and
c) help organize around progressive causes of interest on topics such as, but not limited to, housing affordability, labour relations, economic issues, and social justice.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
a) discussion with members and students on political issues such as local, provincial, federal, and labour politics, as well as;
b) coordinate outreach and advocacy on current events and social issues;
c) host and support events with other like-minded organizations in pursuit of common progressive causes;
d) encourage and facilitate connections between students, and the local riding association(s);
e) be a platform for New Democrats from across Canada to be involved locally in the university and the region.
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is one academic term, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The Co-President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
- The duties of the President are undertaken in his/her absence; and
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessible to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
The Co-President is a signing authority.
The Co-President ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution, and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership;
The Co-President is a signing authority.
The VP Finance ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
The VP Finance is a signing authority.
The VP Events ensures that:
- Termly event schedules are well maintained and properly planned ahead of time;
- Events are booked early and on time, and are properly advertised; and
- Ensures that the next VP Events is trained.
The VP Outreach ensures that:
- Outreach is conducted to members of other clubs and organizations to create partnerships;
- Work on collaborative events is shared to achieve common goal; and
- Ensures that the next VP Outreach is trained.
The VP Communications ensures that:
- The numerous social media accounts associated with the club are appropriately managed;
- Posters and templates for the club are designed and created on notice; and
- Ensures that the next VP Communications is trained.
The VP Activism ensures that:
- The objective of pushing for change in the community is aligned with organizing students and meeting with officials;
- They lead discussions on new progressive causes for the club to tackle; and
- Ensures that the next VP Activism is trained.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Junior Leadership Rep ensures that:
- Support the co-presidents in their work
- Represent junior students
- Ensures that the next Junior Leadership Rep is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold termly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold monthly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
- and other forms of electronic communication as may be convenient, whichever is best suited
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
- and other forms of electronic communication as may be convenient, whichever is best suited
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
No organization(s) is/are currently affiliated with this club.
Assets
In the event the club is closed while the club is affiliated with the NDP, the club executives for the last active term are required to transfer ownership of all club assets not originating from WUSA to the local NDP riding association that covers the main campus of UW. Should affiliation with the NDP end before the club is closed, the ownership of all club assets are transferred as normal to WUSA.
Vacancy and Resignations of Executives
The position of an executive officer becomes temporarily vacant if they become inactive by not attending executive meetings for two months or sufficient contact cannot be established between that executive officer and the remaining executive. An executive may resign from their position with notice to the remaining leadership team. In the case of temporary or permanent vacancies, the remaining executive officers may unanimously decide to transfer the powers and duties of that executive officer to another person until the remaining executive unanimously agree that the temporarily vacant executive officer makes sufficient contact and returns. If a permanent vacancy occurs before a term’s general meeting, the position may instead be filled in a by-election for the remainder of the term.
The position of an executive officer becomes temporarily vacant if they become inactive by not attending executive meetings for eight weeks or sufficient contact cannot be established between that executive officer and the remaining leadership team.
An executive may resign from their position with notice to the remaining leadership team, which creates a permanent vacancy.
A temporary vacancy may be declared permanent by supermajority of the remaining leadership team.
In the case of permanent vacancies, the remaining voting members of the leadership team may decide by supermajority to transfer the powers and duties of that executive officer to an appointed club member.
For a permanent vacancy, the new appointed executive officer remains until the next general meeting where a by-election may be held for the position for what would be the remaining term of the executive position.
Leadership team
The leadership team consists of the executive officers and directors of the club.
Executive officers and elected directors have voting power within the group. Non-elected directors do not have additional voting powers beyond those of the general membership.
There may be additional non-voting invitees to the leadership team’s meetings from time to time.
Voting members may agree on whether a non-voting member will have the ability to have a vote recorded, though the votes of non-voting members cannot determine the outcome of a motion.
Directors (Executive Support Officers)
The leadership team may create a director role to help them perform certain duties as required by the executives, with consent of the majority of the remaining voting leadership team, during an official executive meeting.
Directors chosen to assist executives with the operations of the club may be appointed by majority of the remaining voting leadership team, but may otherwise be elected at general meetings when there are executive elections.
For the purpose of impeachments, elected directors are impeached in the same manner as executives, but without involvement of Clubs Manager, and leadership members composing the “executives”.
An appointed director role may be disbanded in the same manner as the creation of the role itself.
An elected director role must first be vacant before it can be disbanded, in the same manner as the creation of the role itself.
Vacancies of directors are determined in the same manner as executives.
Permanent vacancies of appointed directors may be filled by a new appointment to the position during an official executive meeting.
Permanent vacancies of elected directors are to be conducted in the same manner as permanent vacancies of executives.