GUSS, UPA and GeoGrad Students Vote Yes for Accreditation

Results Await Official Approval from the Quebec Government

NewsVince Morello — Published February 21, 2017

According to election results, 370 votes were cast during the polling period of Feb.13 to 17, which was about 44 per cent of the 846 eligible students.

In order for the vote to pass, 25 per cent of all eligible voters needed to vote “Yes”, and the majority of the votes cast, also had to be in favour of accreditation.

The federation, which is now known as the Geography, Planning, and Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Federation, will now send the results of the vote to the Quebec government for acceptance.

Accreditation means that the group would be able to have a positions book to properly represent their students, a guaranteed office space and, as a federation, the ability to represent themselves at the academic level, within their departments, when seats are made available to students. It also means that the federation can pursue a fee levy.

The counted ballots are as followed:

“Do you agree that the Geography, Planning, and Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Federation becomes accredited to represent undergraduate and graduate students in the Geography, Planning, and Environment Department at the department level in accordance with An Act Respecting the Accreditation and Financing of Students’ Associations, s R.S.Q.,c. A-3.01?”
Yes: 362
No: 6
Abstentions: 2