General Assembly
The UOSU’s General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the UOSU. All members of the UOSU – meaning, all undergraduate students – are welcome to submit and vote on motions that bind and direct the activities of the UOSU. If you want the Union to take specific action, come to the General Assembly and make your voice heard!
General Assemblies can be called by the Board of Directors, or by a requisition signed by 500 Members of the Union and delivered to the Chair of the Board.
If you have any questions about our General Assemblies, please email the Chair of the Board of Directors at bod-chair@seuo-uosu.com.
Thank you to everyone who attended our Winter General Assembly! We’re looking forward to seeing you all again in the Fall. In the mean time, feel free to get in touch with us at info@seuo-uosu.com if you have any concerns or suggestions!
If you cannot attend the GA in person, a Zoom registration link will be shared upon completion of the GA registration form. Zoom registrants will not be approved into the meeting room without a valid student number and uOttawa student email.
About the General Assembly
Here are the important dates regarding the General Assembly.
Members submit motions: January 1st to January 30th
Notice period (registration is open): Feb 18th to March 8th
Proxy appointment: February 18th to March 6th
General Assembly: Sunday, March 10th, 10 AM, Alumni Auditorium (UCU Basement)
Motions adopted by the General Assembly direct and bind the UOSU. For example, an amendment to the Constitution which is adopted by the GA changes the rules and governance of the Union. Additions or amendments to the Positions Book lay out the UOSU’s position on a given political and/or social issue, and compel the organization to action. Other motions which do not fit in these two categories
- Is the motion pertaining to actions or policies under the purview of the UOSU?
- If the motion is instead directed at the actions or policies of the University of Ottawa, consider formulating your motion in a different way, such as calling on the Union to take a stand or represent a position to uOttawa. Although the UOSU can attempt to influence and challenge uOttawa, they are two separate, independent organizations.
- Is the motion clear and specific about the action it wants to take?
- Although symbolic motions can be important, motions that are specific about the kinds of action they would empower the Union to take are also powerful. If you would like the Union to sign onto a specific petition or endorse a campaign, the motion should say so. If you would like the Union Executive to write a report or attend specific meetings, the motion should say so.
- For political stances or social causes, adopting a change to the Positions Book empowers the Executive Committee to support the new Position and take action.
- Unclear and/or vague motions that get adopted might have rhetorical or symbolic value, but might not realistically be meaningfully implemented.
- Keep in mind that your motion will be debated by dozens, if not hundreds of students. Confusing or inflammatory language is bound to generate conflict and hours of changes at the General Assembly.
- Is the motion formatted in the correct manner?
- There are three parts to a motion: a title, Whereas clauses, and Be it resolved clauses.
- The title of the motion outlines what the motion is about.
- Whereas clauses list out facts or arguments regarding your motion. Think of Whereas clauses as evidence or justification for why your motion is factually important and relevant.
- Be it resolved clauses outline the specific action items that you would like to see take place if the motion passes.
- Motions will be listed in the agenda and read out at the start of debate by the Chair of the General Assembly, so formatting them properly and persuasively is a great way to get your point across, before anyone even starts speaking!
All Members are entitled to one vote at General Assembly meetings.
Members who cannot attend can request another Member attend and vote in their place. This is called attending and voting by proxy. Ahead of each General Assembly, Members will have up to 14 days to appoint proxies. The process for doing this will be outlined in the “Notice” email, sent about a month prior to the General Assembly.
For questions, feel free to contact the Chair of the Board (bod-chair@seuo-uosu.com)
Proxy at the General Assembly
What should I know about proxying?
- An authorized proxy can be any other Undergraduate Student currently enrolled at the University of Ottawa.
- Each student may proxy for up to four other students.
The UOSU’s General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the UOSU. All members of the UOSU – meaning, all undergraduate students – are welcome to submit and vote on motions that bind and direct the activities of the UOSU.
Not happy with what we are doing? Submit a motion and Vote in the GA.
GA represents the direct democracy. As an undergraduate student, GA is the time when YOU can make a change at UOSU and direct our actions to improve YOUR experience at uOttawa. Tell us what you want us to work on more.
Raise awareness of a cause or an issue that matters to YOU!
Everyone has an equal voice in the GA. Caring about tuition fees, Russia-Ukraine war, climate change, students’ debt? GA offers the opportunity for every student to encourage the Union to take a new political stance or lend support to a campaign or initiative.
Participate in informed discussion and collective decision-making
Our executives cannot decide on everything on behalf of our 35K student body. General Assembly enables an informed discussion and collective decision-making process where new viewpoints and perspectives are raised so that the uOttawa community can work together to solve the problem.
All Members are entitled to one vote at General Assembly meetings.
Cannot attend the GA? Appoint a proxy!
Members who cannot attend can request another Member attend and vote in their place. This is called attending and voting by proxy. An authorized proxy can be any other Undergraduate Student currently enrolled at the University of Ottawa. Each student may proxy for up to four other students.
There are so many people working to make the General Assembly perfect! From the Chair of the Board, to the Communications Commissioner, and the UOSU’s Communications staff. We have the communications team hard at work to create posters, emails, and social media posts to bring you all the pertinent information. We are looking for ASL translators to join our team of translators from French to English and back! Finally, we need YOU, the students, to make the General Assembly Day perfect! Please come out to our GA!
The UOSU’s Fall General Assembly is a yearly meeting, called before November 30th of each year by the Board of Directors.
At this meeting, Members vote to ratify the hiring of a new Public Accountant, the previous year’s audited financial statements, and all changes to the Constitution and Positions Book made by the Board of Directors since the last General Assembly. Members are also encouraged to write and submit their own motions, either to amend the UOSU’s Constitution, or to encourage the Union to take a new political stance or lend support to a campaign or initiative. These will also get voted on at the Fall GA. Lastly, Members will receive midterm reports from each member of the Executive Committee, so that students are updated on what their Union Executive has been working on since taking office in May.
The Board shall hold the Winter General Assembly no later than 15 March and no earlier than 15 February. The Winter General Assembly shall be a supplementary meeting to the Fall General Assembly. Its agenda of the Winter General Assembly shall include ratifying the results of that year’s General Elections, any motions submitted for consideration by Members and any other business deemed appropriate by the Board.
Although the Fall General Assembly and the Extraordinary General Assembly are the two regularly scheduled General Assemblies, it is possible for the Board or for 500 Members to call other General Assemblies, often about a specific topic or agenda item.
The rules for this are outlined in Article 3.3 of the UOSU’s Constitution.
To propose a motion please write it in the format required (examples are on our UOSU website) and email your motion to bod-chair@seuo-uosu.com before January 30th at 11:59p.m.
Amendments will be done the day of the General Assembly! If it is a friendly amendment (from the mover or approved by the mover) we can just change your motion. If it is an unfriendly amendment (not approved by you) then we will need a new mover and a new seconder for the amendment plus we will have to do a separate vote on the amendment before the vote on the whole motion.
We will release a quick Robert’s Rules explanation on our website soon and the Chair of the Board of Directors will do a quick explanation and Robert’s Rules run through at the beginning of the General Assembly
When a rule is being broken please call for a point of order which will interrupt discussion and you can alert us to the rule violation.
We will be releasing a proxy form closer to the day of the General Assembly for you to fill out!
General Assemblies may adopt resolutions that direct the activities of the UOSU, except as limited by the Constitution. Such resolutions shall bind the UOSU.
- General Assemblies may adopt resolutions on any matter, except where the matter is under the exclusive authority of the Board, the Commissioners, or the Managing Commissioners.
- The Fall General Assembly shall have the exclusive authority to approve the
audited financial statements of the UOSU, as recommended by the Board. - General Assemblies shall have the exclusive authority to adopt amendments to the Constitution, subject to Article XIII.
- Resolutions that are not consistent with the Constitution shall not be considered at General Assemblies. Any resolution that is not consistent with the Constitution shall be ruled out of order by the Chair of the General Assembly. Such a ruling of the Chair of the General Assembly shall not be challenged.
General Assemblies shall be chaired by the Chair of the Board, unless a two-thirds (2/3) majority of a given General Assembly elects an alternative Chair, who shall serve for the given General Assembly only.
- No member of staff of the UOSU shall serve as Chair.
- A member of staff shall preside over the election of an alternative Chair.
Quorum for General Assemblies shall be three hundred (300) Members, at least one-hundred fifty (150) of whom shall be present in person.
- Quorum for the Fall General Assembly shall be seventy-five (75) Members, at least fifty (50) of whom shall be present in person.
General Assemblies may be called by the Board, or by a requisition signed by any five-hundred (500) Members and delivered to the Chair of the Board.
- Should a General Assembly be called by the Board, the Board shall approve the agenda of the General Assembly.
- Should a General Assembly be called by any five-hundred (500) Members, the agenda shall be included in the requisition. The UOSU shall give notice of the requisitioned General Assembly no more than fourteen (14) days after verifying that the requisitioned has been signed by at least five-hundred (500) Members.
Notice of any General Assembly shall be given to every Member no less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the General Assembly. The notice shall include the time, place, and agenda of the General Assembly.
- “Notice” means emails sent to every Member, a notice on the UOSU website, notices displayed in at least eight (8) buildings at the University of Ottawa campus, and notices published in the major student newspapers at the University of Ottawa.
The agenda of a General Assembly shall not be amended other than to reorder or remove items.
General Assemblies shall be conducted in accordance with the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, subject to Article 4.4.1.2.
The Board shall hold the Fall General Assembly no later than 15 November and no earlier than 15 October. The Fall General Assembly shall be the annual meeting of the UOSU, as defined by the Act.
The agenda of the Fall General Assembly shall include:
- a motion to approve the audited financial statements for the previous Fiscal Year;
- a motion to appoint a Public Accountant for the current Fiscal Year;
- a motion to approve any amendments to the Constitution adopted by the Board since the previous Fall General Assembly;
- any motions submitted for consideration by Members, as described in Article 3.4.3;
- any other business deemed appropriate by the Board.
No less than thirty (30) days prior to giving notice of the Fall General Assembly, the UOSU shall invite Members to submit motions for consideration at the Fall General Assembly.
- “Invite members” means emails sent to every Member, a notice on the UOSU website, notices displayed in at least eight (8) buildings at the University of Ottawa campus, and notices published in the major student newspapers at the University of Ottawa.
- Motions submitted by Members may be ruled out of order by the Board under s 162(6) of the Act.
- The Board may, on the advice of legal counsel, rule out of order any motions submitted by Members that are not compatible with the fiduciary duty of Commissioners and Directors. All Commissioners and Directors shall have a right to receive the relevant legal advice in writing.
- Motions submitted by the advertised deadline shall not be excluded from the agenda of the Fall General Assembly, except as permitted by Article 3.4.3.
- Every Member shall have the right to attend any General Assembly by proxy.
- Only Members may act as proxies, and no Member may act as a proxy for more than four (4) other Members.
- Members present by proxy shall be counted towards quorum.
- There shall be a period of no less than fourteen (14) days in which Members may appoint proxies. The process for appointing a proxy shall be described in the notice of the General Assembly.
- No proxies shall be appointed less than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the General Assembly.
Any provision of the Constitution that applies to General Assemblies shall apply equally to the Fall General Assembly, unless the Constitution provides otherwise. In the event of an inconsistency between a provision that applies to General Assemblies and a provision that applies to the Fall General Assembly, only the latter shall apply to the Fall General Assembly.
- Should a General Assembly, including a Fall General Assembly, adjourn or be declared inquorate without an item of business having been considered, the item may be considered by the Board before the next General Assembly, except as limited by Article 3.2 or Article 3.7.
- Should the Fall General Assembly adjourn or be declared inquorate without the audited financial statements having been approved and/or without a public accountant having been appointed, the Board shall hold another Fall General Assembly as soon as possible, without regard for the timeline established by Article 3.4.1.
- Should the Fall General Assembly adjourn or be declared inquorate without a constitutional amendment having been approved or rejected, the amendment shall be deemed to have been rejected.
- Should the Fall General Assembly fail to reach quorum, the Board shall hold another Fall General Assembly as soon as possible, without regard for the timeline established by Article 3.4.1.
Below you will find access to all of the previous General Assemblies (both Fall and Winter).