University of Alberta Oilsands Student Delegation

Oilsands Student Delegation Constitution 2013

Article 1 Mission and Vision
1.1 Mission TheOilsandsStudentDelegation(OSD)providesanannualtriptoFortMcMurrayforUniversityof Albertaundergraduateandgraduatestudentleaders.Thistripisdesignedtoexposestudentleadersto thevariousissuesandstakeholdersinvolvedinOilsandsdevelopment.Byfacilitatingdialoguebetween studentsandstakeholders,andbetweenstudentsofdifferentfacultiesandfields,theOSDallowsthe nextgenerationofOilsandsleaderstobecomewellversedinthemanyissuesandperspectivesinvolved intheOilsands,andtoformaholisticandbiasbalancedunderstandingandappreciationofthoseissues. 1.2 Vision TheOSDstrivestoempowerUniversityofAlbertastudentleadersasameaningfulvoiceinOilsands discussions.Bypromotingandorganizingthisdelegation,itprovidesstudentleaderswiththe opportunitytointeractwithimportantfiguresandstakeholdersinOilsandsdevelopment.TheOSDs shorttermvisionistoincreasethenumberofstudentsonitstrip,andtoencourageandassistother AlbertaninstitutionsindevelopingtripstoFortMcMurray.TheOSDslongtermvisionistoincrease awarenessandunderstandingoftheOilsandsinthepostsecondarycommunity. 1.3 Values Neutrality The OSD takes care to operate in a way thatpromotesitsmissionwithoutfavouringany stakeholder group(s) providing biased, disproportionate, orfalseinformationorpromotingaparticular agendainOilSandsdevelopment. Quality The delegates selected, and the speakers and other opportunities provided by the OSD, shouldreinforcethetripmissionofhighcalibredialogueanddiscussion. Credibility TheOSDshouldcontinuetomaintainthereputationof anexcellentstudentexperienceon campus,aswellasacredible,impartialstudentvoiceamongOilsandsstakeholders. Networking The OSD should encourage leaders and stakeholders in Oil Sands development to interactwithstudents,andencouragestudentstointeractwitheachother. Education The OSD should provide meaningfulinformationandexperiencestoUniversityofAlberta studentleadersthattheycanuseintheireducationand/orextracurricularactivities. 1.4 Compliance TheOSDoperatesattheUniversityofAlberta,subjecttoUniversityofAlbertapolicies andprocedures
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as well as StudentsUnionbylawsandpolicies.TheOSDwillalsocomplywithalllocal,provincial,and federallawsandprocedures.

Article 2 Membership and Eligibility

2.1 Delegate selection The OSD Executive Committee will send invitations and application packages to selected student organizations, as well as advertise in general campus newsletters and bulletin boards. Fromthepoolof applicants, the final delegates will be selected by the Executive Committee. The number of students selected shall be based on the number of spots available onthetrip(contingentonbuses,funding,etc). Delegates will be selected based on the strength of their application, as wellastheOSDsrequirement for a balance between undergraduate and graduate students, and abalancedrepresentationofdifferent faculties,genders,andinitialperspectivestowardstheOilsands. 2.2 Membership requirements At least two thirds of all OSD members must be students at the University of Alberta. In addition, at least half of theOSDsmembershipmustbefullmembersoftheUniversityofAlbertaStudentsUnion* andatleastthreequartersoftheExecutivemustbefullorparttimestudents. *FullmembersoftheStudentsUnionareundergraduateswhohavepaidStudentsUnionfees.[formatting] 2.3 Membership eligibility Membership is open to everyone who attends the University of Alberta. Members are encouraged to attend the meetings and events that will be planned by OSD, however there will be no penalties or suspensionsissuedtothosememberswhodonotattend. 2.4 Members vs. Delegates In the 20132014 academic year, the OSD will offer a new tier of membership inordertobetterfulfill its mission of exposing student leaders to the various issues and stakeholders involved in Oilsands development. The OSD is now so popular that many deserving applicants are turnedawaybecauseof space constraints. Although they cannot be proper delegates of the OSD (i.e. participatinginthetrip to FortMcMurray),theseapplicants shallhenceforthhavetheopportunitytobecomeOSDmembers, receivingthesamecommunicationsasdelegatesandhavingthechancetoparticipateinevents. 2.5 Membership dues There will be not be a membership initiation fee. For delegates, a fee no greater than $60 per person will apply to help pay for the costs of the trip. If a delegate is unable topaytheOSDtripparticipation fee,thentheExecutiveshalldeliberatehowbesttoproceed. 2.6 Membership expulsion Any member may submit a petition to the Executive Committee for the expulsion of any member,
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provided the petition is signedbyatleast10%oftheOSDsmembership. Uponreceiptofthepetition, the Executive Committee must notify the membership within 7 school days of a special meeting to resolve the petition. The special meeting shall be held no later than 14 school days afterthereceiptof the petition. Only members registered atleast30daysbeforethedateofthepetitionshallbe eligibleto vote on the disposal of the petition at that special meeting. The term Member in Bad Standing does notapplyandhasnoforceoreffectundertheConstitutionoftheOSD.

Article 3 Executive Committee

3.1 Executive positions The OSD Executive Committee shall consist of one President or two CoPresidents, and oneormore VPEvents,VPExternal,VPFinance,VPInternal,VPLogistics,andVPOutreach. 3.2 President The President(s) shall chair Executive Committee meetings and general meeting of the OSD. The President is the spokesperson of the OSD, ultimately responsible for any communication on its behalf. The President shall be subject to the rightoftheothermembersoftheExecutive Committee,andtothe chairs of any committees the OSD may form, to speak on behalf of the OSD within their areas of responsibility. The President shall have joint signing authority for making all payments on behalf of the OSD,alongwiththeVPFinance. 3.3 VP Finance The VP Finance shallberesponsibleforOSDsfinancesandbanking.TheVPFinanceshallprepare an annual budget for OSD approval at the Annual General Meeting, to be held no later than April 1.The VP Finance shall have joint signing authority for making all payments on behalf oftheOSD,alongwith thePresident. 3.4 Other Executive positions VPEventsWillorganize(a)pretripprimer(s)and/orevent(s),andposttripevents. VP External Will coordinate Executive communications with Delegation speakers and panel members,andhandlemediarelations. VPInternalWillcoordinatethedelegateapplicationprocessandmanageOSDpolicies. VPLogisticsWillarrangetransportation,accommodation,food,andotherlogisticalmatters. VP Outreach Will be the Executives point of contact with delegates, manage advertising, and coordinatethedelegateselectionprocess. 3.5 Executive student status All Executive Committees members must be full or parttimestudentsattheUniversityofAlberta, and membersoftheOSD.

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3.6 Elections All Executive Committee members shall be elected for a term of one year, and selected bythecurrent Executive in the same manner as delegate selections: applicants will be judgedbasedonthestrengthof their individual application, as well as the need to have a representative and diverse OSD Executive in areas likefieldof study,undergraduatevs.graduateratio,andgenderbalance.Executiveselectionsshall take place no later than April 1 of each year. The duties of all Executive Committee members shall commenceonApril15andendonApril14ofthefollowingyear. Any alreadyelected Executives that express an interest in returning for anotheryearwillbejudgedina meetingoftheoutgoingExecutives. The results of the Executive Committee elections will beannouncedduringtheAnnualGeneralMeeting inMarch. 3.6.i Eligibility In order to be eligible to run and hold office, a member must meet the following requirements: full or parttime undergraduate or graduate student status at the University of Alberta and membership in the OSD. Membership is here defined as being a member (as of 20132014) who has attended at least over50%ofnonDelegationevents,orasapastdelegateoftheOSD.
In order to be eligible to vote in an election, a member must be a General or Executive member in good standing. A member is not allowed to vote for a race in which they themselves are campaigning.

3.6.ii Election supervision

Elections will be monitored by the VP Internal. If the VP Internal plans to run as a candidate, the President will appoint an impartial committee of at least one non-candidate General member and all non-candidate Executive members to promote and supervise the election process. The VP Internal or Elections Committee will provide candidates and voting members with information on the elections, campaigning, and all associated procedures, one month prior to voting.

3.6.iii Election procedures

Elections will be held in March, as part of the Annual General Meeting. Members will declare their candidacy by expressing their intent to run to the VP Internal or Elections Committee one month prior to voting. A list of the candidates will be sent to all OSD members three weeks prior to voting. The voting procedure and logistics will be at the discretion of the VP Internal and submitted for approval to all non-candidate Executives. Candidates will be given three weeks to campaign prior to voting. Any questions or concerns that members have with a candidate(s) will be accepted by the VP Internal or Elections Committee, reviewed, and then acted upon. A candidate must receive a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to be elected. If there are numerous candidates and none receives more than 50% of votes, the candidate(s) with the fewest votes will be eliminated until one candidate does receive 50% plus one vote. If an unopposed candidate does not receive a simple majority, that position is considered vacant.

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3.7 Appeals and by-elections A candidate or OSD member may appeal election results within one week of the new Executive Committee being announced. Within one week oftheappeal,theVPInternalwill chair ameetingofthe Executive to discuss whether the appealislegitimate,andhowtoresolveit.Allappealswillberesolved withinthreeweeksoftheirsubmission. If an executive position is not filled during elections, or becomes vacant due to thelossof anexecutive member, then the President shall, with executive majority, appoint a replacement if necessary. If a position becomes temporarily vacant due to an executive members illness or other leave of absence, thentheExecutiveCommitteeshalldecideonthebestcourseofaction. 3.8 Executive impeachment Executive Committee members may be impeached by the procedure set out in thisConstitutionforthe expulsionofmembers(Section2.6)

Article 4 Meetings
4.1 Meeting business Where the articles of this Constitution do not define how the business of a meeting of OSD is to be conducted,thenRobertsRulesofOrdershallapply. 4.2 Annual General Meeting An annual general meeting will be held by April 1 of each year, with at least three weeks notice providedtoOSDmembers.TheagendawillincludetheelectionofnextyearsExecutiveCommittee,as wellasanoverviewoftheyearsfinancialstatements. 4.3 Special meetings Special general meetings may be called by the Executive Committee with one weeks notice to members. If the Executive Committee declares that a meeting is a response to an emergency, then the minimumnoticegiventomembersshallbeoneschoolday. 4.4 Executive Meetings Executive meetings shall be held as often as necessary depending on the time of year and proximity to the Delegationdate.ThePresidentshallprovidetheExecutivewithatleasttwodaysofnotice, exceptin emergency circumstances. Generally, meetings will take place biweekly in the summer and weekly (or
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morefrequently)inSeptemberandOctober. 4.5 Quorum A valid OSD meeting requires a quorum of over 50% of the total membership. A motion willpassifit receives 50% plus one vote. This shall be the case for all meetings, including the Annual General Meeting,Executivemeetings,andanycommitteemeetings.

Article 5 Finances
5.1 Fiscal timeline TheOSDsfiscalyearrunsfromMay1toApril30. 5.2 Financial documents Bank statements and other documents shall be kept in an OSD binder under the possessionoftheVP Finance (the binder shall also contain the delegates consent and release forms), and shredded after at leasttwoyears. 5.3 Budget The VP Finance is responsible for creating and presenting the upcoming fiscal yearsprojectedbudget attheAGM.Thebudgetwillrequire50%plusonevotetopass. 5.4 Expenses and reimbursement TheVPFinanceandPresidentmustjointlyapproveallexpensesmadeundertheOSDsname.

Article 6 Amendment of the Constitution

Amendment of this Constitution requires approval of 50% plus one vote of the OSD membership at a general meeting. Any proposal for amending the Constitution must be presented at a general meeting. This amendment procedure shall be governed byRobertsRuleofOrderexceptasprovidedotherwise inthisarticle.

Article 7 Dissolution
The OSD may be dissolved by a two thirds majority vote at a Special General Meeting convened for that purpose. The Executive Committee must provide 90 days notice in writing to all members. The OSD shall be automatically dissolved if its membership drops below 10 members during any year.
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Upon dissolution, the Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that any remaining nancial resources are donated and the bank account is appropriately closed down. Any resources or group assets remaining will be donated whereappropriate,butwillnotbedistributedtoindividualmembersof theOSD.

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