Why the AGM?
As a not-for-profit corporation registered in the Province of Ontario, the Graduate Student Association (GSA-UW) is required to hold an Annual General Members Meeting (AGM). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Ontario has temporarily given corporations flexibility to hold their AGMs online, even if the By-laws do not mention online formats. The GSA-UW By-laws give all members the right to attend and receive documents such as the corporation’s financial statements and auditor’s report.
The AGM is a member’s opportunity to engage with the democratic process of their student representatives. The Board hopes that students near and far from Waterloo can engage with their student leaders and be informed of the status and future of their GSA.
One of the most important activities of the AGM is the election to fill seats on the Board of Directors. Directors act as stewards of the GSA-UW over their two-year terms, and the Board regularly reports updates and progress throughout the year at meetings of the Council.
AGM 2025 Date & Location
The date of this year’s Annual General Meeting will be April 3rd, 2025 at 4:30 PM EST.
The AGM will be held virtually over a Teams Meeting.
AGM Agenda Items and Supporting Documents
Please review the AGM 2024 Agenda. The AGM will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.
At the AGM, graduate students will:
- Vote to approve the minutes from the 2023 AGM:
- Vote to appoint GSA financial auditors
- Vote to confirm changes to the GSA By-Laws
- Receive informational reports or presentations:
Board of Directors Election 2025
Elections are being held to select new Directors for the GSA Board!
There are two (2) vacancies for Directors, with terms beginning May 1, 2025 and ending April 30, 2027.
Director nomination forms and additional information can be found here
Voting Information
Votes at the AGM will be conducted via the Vote/Proxy form. GSA members will be sent an email that contains the GSA AGM Notice and Vote/Proxy form on March 25th. Please double check your spam folder for this email. If you have not received the link email the Chief Returning Officer at gsa-cro@uwaterloo.ca for help. This vote link is personalized to each member and can only be used once.
Members have 3 options for voting:
- They may submit their vote “live” during the AGM. The meeting will start with Formal Business that requires members’ votes. Members may decide how they wish to vote based on the information presented, and after the Formal Business, there will be a designated voting period where members make their selections and submit the vote link.
- They may submit their vote before the AGM, indicating their position on all voting topics on the AGM Agenda via the vote link. A vote submission before the meeting will designate the Corporate Secretary to serve as their “proxy”, but these votes cannot be changed from their submitted form.
- They may designate another person as their “proxy”, who will submit the member’s vote on their behalf after receiving information live at the AGM. Proxies may cast a member’s vote subject to restrictions placed on them by the member, but responding to information presented during “Formal Business”.
After the end of the Formal Business section of the AGM, it will be announced that members must submit their votes. The Corporate Secretary will validate submissions against a membership list, then tally members’ votes and tally proxy votes. The Chief Returning Officer will oversee and authenticate the votes at the AGM.
Submitting Proxies
Instructions for Members
If you wish to cast your vote, follow the link sent to you via email that contained the GSA AGM Notice and Proxy/Vote form. Please double check your email spam. This link will instruct the Corporate Secretary to cast a vote on your behalf at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) exactly as you specified. The Secretary will not have any discretion in such votes. Note, once you submit your vote, you cannot change it. See the AGM website on how to vote “live” during the AGM.
If you do not want to cast your vote early or live during the AGM, you may designate someone else to act as your “proxy” who will vote on your behalf live during the AGM.
If you wish to appoint a person as your proxy please do the following:
- Contact your proxy and make sure they agree to act on your behalf,
- Submit the proxy form, indicating who you authorize to serve as your proxy. You must complete this step by 2 hours prior to the time of the AGM.
- Communicate in advance clearly to your proxy your voting instructions/preferences, and
- Forward in advance to your proxy the unique link that you were sent in the email that contained the GSA AGM Notice and Vote/Proxy form, to enable them to cast a vote on your behalf.
Please note, you must follow steps 1 through 4 in order for your proxy vote to count during the AGM. If you skip step 2 for instance and do not tell us who is your authorized proxy, we cannot validate your vote. Also note, your unique link can only be used once, so if you have already submitted that poll, you cannot designate someone else to make or change your vote.
Instructions for Proxies
To cast a vote on behalf of a member who has assigned you as a proxy:
- Make sure the member followed the “Instructions for the members” above.
- Follow the unique link the member forwarded to access the voting form. Each of these links is connected to that member and can only be used once.
- On the first page “Membership Information and Declaration” enter your name and your student id number. The GSA-UW will validate the member’s email address associated with the link, your name/id against the membership list and submitted proxy forms.
- Proceed to the next page to cast the vote.
Agenda Submissions
Have a motion you would like to move at the AGM? Now is your chance to submit an agenda item for the 2025 AGM.
Submitting this form is the official way of proposing an agenda item for the AGM where it can be discussed with other students. All submissions will be approved by the Board or Chair of the AGM and applicants will be informed whether their submission has been accepted. Please provide as much detail as possible to give context to your submission.
Form closes March 10th, 11:59 PM ET.
Questions
For questions regarding the AGM 2025 or the Board of Directors Elections, please email the CRO at gsa-cro@uwaterloo.ca.