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Fgsa Constitution Ammeded Nov 2020 - Adopted
Fgsa Constitution Ammeded Nov 2020 - Adopted
Article 1: Definitions
1.1. Association : the Graduate Students of the Forestry Association
1.2. Department : the Graduate Department of Forestry of the University of Toronto as a faculty
1.3. Faculty : the teaching staff of the Graduate Department
1.4. GSU : the Graduate Students’ Union of the University of Toronto
1.5. Rule : a rule or regulation of the Department or the School, or the Graduate Student
Association of the School
1.6. Students or Student Body: the presently enrolled Graduate Students of the Graduate
Department of Forestry of the University of Toronto.
Article 2: Name:
2.1. The name of the association shall be the Forestry Graduate Students' Association.
2.2. The name may be abbreviated to FGSA in all official documents, instruments and
communications of the Association.
2.3. The name of the Association may be altered by by-law.
Article 4: Structure
4.1. The FGSA shall consist of the General Council and of the Executive Committee. The
executive shall be elected by the General Council
5.4.1. They will receive and compile feedback from research stream students on any issues
related to the program or courses, act on and bring forward this feedback to the
appropriate committee or faculty member
5.4.2. They will liaise with the undergraduate forestry student union (The Foresters Club) to
ensure undergrads are informed of all social events occurring through the Department.
5.4.3. They will ensure undergrads are informed of the various research, volunteer, and work
opportunities available through the Department, such as NSERC undergraduate student
research awards (USRA), and the Center for Global Change Science summer internship
positions.
5.6. Treasurer
5.6.1. They will ensure the FGSA receives the complete graduate students’ union (GSU) head
grant every academic year.
5.6.2. They will ensure the amount of funds available in the FGSA bank account remains
positive (ideally $1,000+).
5.6.3. They will maintain and update the FGSA bank account when funds are spent or received.
5.6.4. They will cooperate with the executive committee to develop and implement
fundraising initiatives.
5.6.5. They will provide an update of the FGSA bank account in executive committee meetings.
5.6.6. They will write an annual report, including all funds received and spent and their
corresponding date and description, of the FGSA bank account, and distribute the
annual report to the Chair, the Vice-Chair, and the elected future treasurer by the end of
the academic year.
5.6.7. They will ensure that Woodsports receives at least $100, and up to $500 of the FGSA's
annual budget for the purposes of; purchasing equipment, attending tournaments,
attending off-campus practices.
Article 6: Meetings
6.1. Annual Meeting
6.1.1. One annual meeting with General Council shall be held at a location in the vicinity of the
Department as the General Council or Executive Committee may determine.
6.1.2. At this time the Executive Committee may present the year's agenda and receive
feedback from the General Council.
6.2. Executive Members Meeting
6.2.1. Meetings of the FGSA Executive Members shall be held at least once a month or at the
request of a General Council Member of the FGSA or any member of the Executive
Committee.
6.2.2. A majority of Executive Members present at the meeting shall be able to make decisions
on agenda items at the meeting.
Article 9: Finance:
9.1. The Executive Committee shall open bank accounts under the name of the FGSA as
necessary at a recognized Canadian financial institution.
9.2. The Treasurer shall keep records of all income and expenses.
9.3. The Treasurer shall present the group’s financial health at the annual general meetings.
9.4. The Treasurer shall keep the Executive Council aware of the financial state of the FGSA
at all times.
9.5. The Executive Committee will vote on expenditures of over $100.00 by majority vote at
an executive meeting.
9.6. The group’s executive or members may not engage in activities that are essentially
commercial in nature. This is not intended to preclude the collection of membership fees
to cover the expenses of the group, or of charges for specific activities, programs or
events, or to prohibit groups from engaging in legitimate fundraising. However, the
group will not have as a major activity a function that makes it an on-campus part of a
commercial organization, will not provide services and goods at a profit when that profit
is used for purposes other than those of the organization, and will not pay salaries to
some or all of its officers.
11.1. This Constitution comes into force upon the affirmative vote of the majority of members
present at a meeting called for this purpose, provided at least two days’ notice is given to every
member
11.2. This Constitution may be amended by two-thirds vote of members present at a meeting.
11.3. Minor amendments to the constitution may be made by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Council
11.3.1. A minor edit is defined as any change to the constitution that does not affect the
operations of the FGSA. These include structural changes to the body of the
constitution, grammatical corrections, and updates that reflect activities that are
already being carried out by the Council but are not detailed in the Constitution.
11.4. Enactment and major edits of the Constitution requires 2/3 vote of FGSA members.
11.5. Major edits are defined as any change to the constitution in which all FGSA members may be
immediately affected, e.g.) the removal of a major event as outlined in Article 10.
11.4.1. Prior to any vote to enact the Constitution, the Constitution must be made available to
all Members of the FGSA for a period of no less than seven days.
11.4.2. Any amendments must be highlighted in the copy that is made available
11.6. This Constitution may NOT be suspended
11.7. The current version of the Constitution must always be available in an online, accessible format
to current FGSA members.