Constitution of Forestry Graduate Students’ Association

(Amended November 2020)

The Graduate Students of the Graduate Department of Forestry of the University of Toronto, with a view to speaking
with a single voice on matters of importance, declare their intent to constitute themselves into an association.

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 3: Objectives of the FGSA:

3.1. To represent the Students in dealings with (a) the Department, (b) the University, (c)
other organizations operated by the graduate and undergraduate students of the
University of Toronto.
3.2. To co-ordinate and enable the activities of graduate students.
3.3. To encourage and improve co-operation and understanding within the Students and between
the Students and the Faculty and undergraduate students of the Department.
3.4. To organize and finance social and educational events involving the Students.
3.5. To represent the Students on decision-making committees and councils of the Department and
in the Graduate Students Union.
3.6. To work towards improving the academic and working conditions of the Students.
3.7. Nothing contained in this Constitution in any way limits the right of Students to represent
himself/herself in respect to any matter where he/she would have had such a right or
privilege prior to the adoption of this Constitution.

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

Article 4.1: General Council:

4.1.1. Every Student will be a member of the General Council of the FGSA.(2) Cessation of the
membership of a General Council member
4.1.2. A person’s Membership in the General Council is automatically terminated at the time
when the person ceases to be registered as a Student in the Department at the
University of Toronto.
 Article 4.2: Executive Committee:
4.2.1. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of:
4.2.1.1. The Chair
4.2.1.2. The Vice Chair Public Relations
4.2.1.3. The Master of Forest Conservation (MFC) Student Representative and
Undergraduate Student Liaison
4.2.1.4. The Research-Stream Student Representative and Alumni Liaison
4.2.1.5. The Treasurer
4.2.1.6. The Athletic Representative
4.2.2. A new position shall be created with a vote of more than 50% of the Executive
Committee members’ approval.
4.2.3. A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be at least 51% of the Members of
that Committee.
4.2.4. The Executive Committee shall manage the day-to-day affairs of the Association.
4.2.5. The Executive Committee shall negotiate agreements on behalf of the FGSA.

Article 4.3: Standing Committee:

4.3.1. The Student Equity Alliance (SEA)
4.3.1.1. The Student Equity Alliance is a joint standing committee between the FGSA,
Graduate Architecture Landscape and Design Student Union and Architecture and Visual
Studies Student Union made up of all Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and
Design students.
4.3.1.2. The Equity Officer from the FGSA Executive Committee shall be a member and a
representative of the FGSA on SEA
4.3.1.3. The mandate of this committee is to bring forth and discuss equity issues within
the Faculty.

Article 5: Responsibilities and Duties of Executive Positions

5.1. All Executive Members
5.8.1. All members must engage in organizing and/or assisting in events
5.8.2. All members must aid in orientation events in September
5.2. Chair
5.2.1. They will ensure the constitution is upheld by all the executive members
5.2.2. They will coordinate weekly or bi-weekly FGSA meetings as needed and ensure that
meetings are conducted in an organized and respectful manner
5.2.3. They will assist all other members in executing their duties whenever necessary
5.2.4. They will keep track of and answer the e-mails to the FGSA account
5.2.5. They will attend the Faculty Council meetings as a voting member
5.2.6. They will attend to the monthly GSU meetings
5.2.7. They will take minutes at the GSU meetings and relay these to the Association
5.2.8. They will convey the important decisions and votes that were made during the meetings

5.3. Vice-Chair Public Relations

5.3.1. They will assume all duties of the chair in their absence
5.3.2. They will be responsible for recording, writing up, and presentation of meeting minutes
 5.3.3. The Vice Chair will be responsible for coordinating the development of the FGSA agenda
with the chair
5.3.4. They will update the social media accounts including but not limited to facebook,
twitter, Instagram and the website

5.4. Research-Stream Student Representative and Undergraduate Student Liason

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.

5.5. Masters of Forestry Conservation (MFC) Student Representative / Alumni Liason

5.5.1. They will receive and compile feedback from MFC students on any issues related to the
program or courses, act on and bring forward this feedback to the appropriate
committee or faculty member
5.5.2. They will facilitate career-building or networking opportunities for MFC students as
appropriate
5.5.3. They shall liaise with the Faculty of Forestry Alumni Association (FFAA)

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.

5.7. Athletic Representative

5.8.1. They will coordinate athletic events for general council, specifically Timbersports.
5.8.2. They will liaison between the general council and athletic programs available at the
University.
5.8. Equity Officer
 5.8.1. They will attend Student Equity Alliance Meetings as an FGSA representative and give
updates to the FGSA executives
5.8.2. They will ensure all events and promotional materials are created and executed in an
equitable and accessible manor
5.8.3. They will help the Vice – Chair with the social media accounts
5.8.4. They will be required to attend at least one (1) equity workshop offered through ULife in
each the Winter and Fall semester.

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 7: Election of Officers and Members of the Executive Committee:

7.1. Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected from and by the General Council. General
Council members may nominate themselves or may be nominated by any other member.
7.2. The election of the Executive Committee Members shall take place within three months after
the commencement of the fall term. Procedures for elections may be established and altered by
by-law.
7.3. The term of office of each Executive Committee Member shall be from the time of her or his
election until the time of the election of her or his successor.
7.4. A member of the Executive Committee shall nominate themselves to organize and execute the
election. The member shall be assisted by other Executive Members and/or Students. An
announcement should be made two weeks before the elections are conducted. At this time,
the candidates shall provide a short summary of their agenda.
7.5. The results of voting shall be counted by the Faculty. Physical and/or online voting shall
occur simultaneously and over two week days. The results of the voting shall be
announced within two business days after the election.
7.6. In the case of an uncontested position, there shall be a vote of confidence requiring
50% of votes in favour of the candidate. In the case of a contested position, the
candidate with the most votes in their favour shall be elected.
7.7. After elections have taken place and the newly elected Executive Committee has been
announced, a turnover meeting between past and current (newly elected) committees
must take place, no longer than two weeks after the results are announced.
7.8. Past representatives of each position are required to meet with the new
representatives taking over their positions no later than one week following the larger
turnover meeting between new and old Executive Committees.
Article 8: Removal/Withdrawal of Elected Positions
8.1. An Executive Committee member is entitled to resign of their position/duties/responsibilities.
A notice shall be sent by the member to all the Executive Committee Members before
officially resigning their duties.
8.2. Upon request by the Students or an Executive Member, the Executives can remove an elected
Executive from the Executive Committee via a vote with all other Executives' approval.
8.3. In the case of resignation or termination, the position will become a non-voting position and
must either be internally filled or filled by a general member of the larger FGSA until a new
election is held.

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.

Article 10: Events

10.1. Specific events are the responsibility of the Executive Council and shall take place on a
yearly basis. These are:
10.1.1. Forestry Social
10.1.2. FGSA elections(see Article 7)
10.1.3. Social events / Fund raising event
10.2. Every member of the executive committee may be requested to assist on the organization of
these events regardless of their own agendas.

Article 11: Constitutional Enactment and Amendment:

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.

Article 12: By-laws and Resolutions:

12.1. The Membership may enact such by-laws or pass resolutions as it considers necessary to carry
out the objects of the Association.
12.2. By-laws and resolutions are binding on the Executive Committee unless otherwise specified.
12.3. By-laws and resolutions may be passed at any meeting held pursuant to article.