Statements from Students at Large: Council heard from Franz Kurtzke, who urged Council to address male discrimination issues by creating a Men’s Centre.
Council also heard from Rodney Little Mustache, who said Council should have found the money to fund the Indigenous Committee without going to referendum.
Professional Governance Act: VP External Cristina Ilnitchi presented an update on the new Act, which may affect students in such programs as Engineering. Councillors raised questions about the involvement of the AMS Advocacy Committee in preparing feedback on the Act.
Budget Update: VP Finance Kuol Akuechbeny said AMS business operations have performed well and investment income is on track, as is the overall budget. Elections will need an additional $10,000 because of the large number of candidates this year and the extra week of campaigning.
Fall Reading Break: VP Academic & University Affairs Max Holmes announced that Senate has created a working group to look into the options for a break, in accordance with the recommendation passed at the last regular Council meeting. He added that the AMS report on the break will go to Senate and Council in March.
Safewalk: In response to a question about wait times, Student Services Manager Piers Fleming said Safewalk may pursue more volunteers, but said wait times are not that bad.
Student Loan Interest: VP External Cristina Ilnitchi noted a big victory for students in the provincial budget: interest on student loans is being eliminated.
UNA: AMS President Marium Hamid told Council that the AMS made a presentation to the University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA) about the UNA’s plans to remove the AMS seat on its board. She said it had been made clear to the UNA that the AMS would like to keep that seat.
Ticket prices: In response to a question from Councillor Jerome Goddard, Managing Director Keith Hester said it was unlikely that prices for Block Party and Welcome Back Barbecue would come down, because of high production costs and artists’ wages.
Grad Class Council: Council voted to remove the Grad Class Council from Code. There will now be a Grad Class Subcommittee reporting to the Student Life Committee. Funding for the Grad Class gift will be overseen jointly by the Student Life Committee and the Finance Committee.
Code rules on collective bargaining: Council voted to alter the rules so that the report on bargaining will go to the Executive Committee rather than the Advisory Board.
Executive Goal Setting: Council approved an amendment to the policy on how the Executive’s goals get approved, mostly adjusting the timeline.
Psychological Counselling: Council approved an increase in the Health and Dental fee, in part to pay for increased coverage of psychological counselling.
Constituency election rules: Council discussed the issue of communicating new election rules to the Constituencies.
Next meeting: The next regular Council meeting will be at 6 pm on March 13, 2019 in the Michael Kingsmill Forum on the fourth floor of the Nest.
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