U of T ECE Graduate Students Society

Constitution of ECEGSS

You can find the PDF version of the constitution here.

Original version enacted during term of 2017-2018 (date unknown).
Amended September 4, 2026, by a vote of the ECEGSS membership.

Article I. Name  

  1. The name of the society shall be the Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Students’ Society, hereinafter referred to as “the Society”.  

Article II. Purpose  

  1. The purpose of the Society shall be to represent the common interests of the graduate students enrolled in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), at the University of Toronto, hereinafter referred to as the “Department”.
    • A graduate student is a full-time or part-time student pursuing an MEng, MASc, or PhD degree in the Department.

Article III. Membership  

  1. All the graduate students registered in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering shall be the Members of the Society, hereinafter referred to as the “Membership”.  

Article IV. The Executive

  1. The Executive Council shall consist of:
    • The Executive shall consist of the President, Vice-President (VP) Finance, VP Communications & Marketing, VP Social(s), and VP Professional Development(s). 
    • The President, held by one individual, shall:
      1. Act as the official representative of the Society and undertake all duties assigned to them by the Society and by the department. 
      2. Act as the Chairperson at the Annual General Meeting and Executive Meetings. 
      3. Promote co-operation, participation and cohesion of the Membership. 
      4. Be responsible for the execution of all the Society’s legislation. 
      5. Call the Annual General Meeting. 
      6. Present a program of activities for the office to the Executive. 
      7. Accomplish duties established by the resolutions of the Executive, by-laws or the Constitution, including future amendments. 
      8. Ensure that the Society has at least one Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) Council Representative. 
      9. Assume the duties of the VP Finance in their absence. 
      10. Attend GSU Council meetings in the absence of all the GSU Council Representatives.
      11. Schedule and meet, along with the rest of the Executive, with the chair of the department at least once every two months. 
      12. Complete the Co-Curricular Record (CCR), from the University of Toronto, for the Executive.
      13. Have any other powers or duties as may pertain to the Office.
    • VP Finance, held by one individual, shall:
      1. Assume the duties of the President in their absence. 
      2. Present, according to the times established by the Executive, the financial statements of the Society to the Executive. 
      3. Be responsible for keeping records of the General and Executive Meetings and disseminating them to the Executive. 
      4. Be responsible for compiling a list of the by-laws and Constitutional Amendments of the Society. 
      5. Fulfil the Financial Management responsibilities contained in this Constitution.
      6. Accomplish the duties established by the resolutions of the Executive, by-laws, and the Constitution, including future amendments. 
    • VP Communication & Marketing, held by one individual, shall:
      1. Work with the Executive to promote events of the Society.
      2. Create posters, manage the Society’s website, and social media engagement.
      3. Work with the communications officer in the ECE chair’s office on event ideation and promotion. 
    • VP Professional Development, held by up to three individuals, shall:
      1. Work with the Executive to identify potential professional development events for the Membership.
      2. Work with the VP Finance on the budget of the potential events and choose the suitable ones.
      3. Take the leading role in organizing the planned events and delegate tasks to the Executive. 
    • An Executive member will be removed from office if any of the following events occurs before the Annual General Meeting:
      1. They cease to be a Member of the Society. 
      2. They explicitly resign by notice to the Executive. 
      3. They fail to comply with the Constitution and by-laws of the Society.
      4. They are removed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance at the duly constituted General Meeting.
      5. They are removed by a unanimous vote of the Executive officers present, excluding the officer in question, at a duly constituted Executive Meeting at which no fewer than three-quarters (3/4) of the Executive are present.
    • The President may serve as acting VP President and vice versa should the events of Clause 6 of this Article occur between the Annual General Meeting and the end of the term of office of the Executive. If all Executive members resign or are removed during this period, the Executive member-elects may take office immediately to serve until the end of their designated term of office.  
    • The Executive shall meet with the chair of the department at least once every two months during their terms in office.
    • Members of the Executive, who have attended and helped with 75% of the Executive Meetings and events related to their role described in this Constitution, are signed up for the CCR from the University of Toronto.

Article V. Graduate Students’ Union Council Representatives

  1. The number of GSU Council Representatives is established by GSU by-laws.  
  2. The President shall nominate candidates from members of the Executive to fill all vacant positions of GSU Council Representatives. The President shall convene an Executive Meeting, to approve each candidate by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance at the duly constituted Executive Meeting. Approved candidates are appointed by the President, and shall be announced to the Membership. The newly appointed representative shall serve until the end of the term of the incumbent representative.
  3. The President should try to include members in separate degrees of MEng, MASc, and PhD during the nomination process.
  4. The GSU Representatives shall:
    1. Attend the meetings of the GSU Council. 
    2. Follow the administrative procedure to obtain the GSU Head Grant for the Society. 
    3. Inform the Membership of business concerning the GSU Council. 
  5. In the event of a removal from office of an Executive member who is a GSU Council Representative, their position of the GSU Council Representative becomes vacant, and shall be filled in accordance with Clause 2 of this article.

Article VI. External Liaisons

  1. External Liaisons shall attend and represent the Society in external organizations, including, but not limited to, Graduate Engineering Council of Students (GECoS) and Faculty council. 
  2. External Liaisons shall report relevant activities back to the Executive and act as a liaison between the Society and external groups. 
  3. The President shall nominate candidates from members of the Executive to fill all vacant positions of External Liaisons. The President shall convene an Executive Meeting, to approve each candidate by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance at the duly constituted Executive Meeting. Approved candidates are appointed by the President, and shall be announced to the Membership. The newly appointed representative shall serve until the end of the term of the incumbent representative.
  4. In the event of a removal from office of an Executive member who is an External Liaison, their position from the respective external organization becomes vacant, and shall be filled in accordance to Clause 3 of this article.

Article VII. Executive Meetings

  1. The President shall convene Executive Meetings; however, any member of the Executive may convene an Executive Meeting.  
  2. The convener(s) of an Executive Meeting will notify the Executive members of the meeting at least three (3) business days prior to the meeting date.  
  3. A quorum for an Executive Meeting shall consist of three members of the Executive. Attendance by proxy to meet quorum is not permitted.  
  4. Executive meetings shall be chaired by the President or VP Finance.  
  5. Any motion placed before an Executive Meeting shall be passed by a simple majority of the attendees unless specified otherwise in this Constitution or a by-law of the Society. A single Executive member shall cast only one vote and voting by proxy is not permitted.  

Article VIII. Vacancies

  1. A position is vacant upon the resignation, graduation, or removal of its holder, or where a position remains unfilled following a completed Election at the Annual General Meeting.
  2. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of President, the VP Finance shall assume the office of President for the remainder of the term, and the office of VP Finance becomes vacant.
  3. In the event of a vacancy occurring in one of the offices of the Society, with the exception of the office of the President, the Executive shall notify the Membership of the vacancy, and candidates will be selected based on suitability. The format of the application required will be determined by the Executive and announced along the open positions.
  4. The President shall convene an Executive Meeting for candidate selection. The candidate with a simple majority vote is appointed by the President, and shall be announced to the Membership.

Article IX. General Meetings

  1. A duly constituted General Meeting is a meeting of the Society membership, which conforms to the clauses of this Article.  
  2. The President shall convene the Annual General Meeting of the Society within the first month of the academic year. 
  3. The President, the VP Finance, or any three members of the Executive may convene a General Meeting for an express purpose.  
  4. The President will notify the membership of the meeting at least five (5) business days prior to the meeting date. 
  5. A quorum for a General Meeting shall consist of three (3) members of the Executive and 25 members. Attendance by proxy to meet quorum is not permitted.  
  6. General Meetings shall be chaired by the President or the VP Finance or a member chosen by the Executive.  
  7. Any motion placed before a duly constituted General Meeting shall be passed by a simple majority of the members in attendance at the meeting unless specified otherwise in this Constitution or a by-law of the Society. A single Society member shall cast only one vote and voting by proxy is not permitted.  
  8. A petition of one-quarter (1/4) of the Membership can trigger an emergency meeting.   

Article X. The Chief Returning Officer

  • The Executive shall elect from its members the Chief Returning Officer ahead of the Annual General Meeting to be held in the Fall term. 
  • The role of the Chief Returning Officer shall be to carry out the elections for the new Executive in accordance with the rules and stipulations of Article XI below.  
  • Should the Chief Returning Officer fail to complete their term of office, the Executive shall elect a replacement as soon as possible.  

Article XI. Elections

  1. The Officers of the Society shall be elected by a plurality vote at the Annual General Meeting for a one-year term beginning after elections.
  2. In the event that more than one position of the same title is to be filled, each member in attendance may cast one vote, and the nominees receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to the available positions.
  3. The electoral process shall begin with the call for nominations by the Chief Returning Officer(s) at least two weeks before the Annual General Meeting. The nomination period shall be at least one week.
  4. All nominees must be members of the Society at the time of taking office.
  5. At the meeting, the election shall begin with presentations by the candidates for the positions to be filled at the election. The presentations shall be followed by a question and answer session, which is in turn followed immediately by the voting period in which any member of the Society, except the Chief Returning Officer, may vote. Voting shall be conducted strictly during the voting period by secret ballot. Voting by proxy is not permitted.
  6. At the meeting, only nominees who have served at least one term in the Executive shall be eligible for election to the office of President. Where no such nominees stand, all nominees for the office shall be eligible.
  7. The President cannot hold the position for more than two years.
  8. In the event that only one nominee stands for a position, election requires a simple majority of votes cast in favour of that nominee. Where approval is not obtained, the office shall be deemed vacant and filled in accordance with Article VIII.  
  9. The Chief Returning Officer shall count the votes immediately after the election meeting. Each candidate may appoint one scrutineer to observe vote counting. Should there be a tie in any contest, the Chief Returning Officer shall cast the deciding vote. 
  10. The Chief Returning Officer shall announce the election results within the 24 hours following the Annual General Meeting. 
  11. The Chief Returning Officer may not be a candidate in any election during their term of officer.  
  12. The Executive shall determine the duration of the presentations, the question and answer session, and the voting period in consultation with the Chief Returning Officer. 
  13. In the event that the Annual General Meeting does not achieve quorum, the outgoing Executive shall continue to hold office and shall exercise the functions of the Executive. Nominees will be selected based on suitability instead of first-come first-served basis. The format of the application required will be decided by the Executive and announced to the nominees at the Election.
  14. In the event that the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article are not complied with, a new Executive may be elected from the Members by a plurality vote at a General Meeting called in accordance with Clause 8 of Article XI, to take office immediately.  
  15. The Executive shall, upon the advice of the Chief Returning Officer, enact or amend a by-law to supplement this Article.  

Article XIII. Financial Management

  1. The Executive shall open and maintain a bank account at a commercial bank, trust company, or credit union.  
  2. There shall be two signatories, including the President and the VP Finance, for each cheque issued by the Society.  
  3. The VP Finance shall be responsible for keeping accurate records of all the financial transactions of the Society and the supporting documents. The records shall be posted on the Society website.  
  4. The fiscal year shall be from September 16 to September 15 of the following year.  
  5. The VP Finance shall present the financial statement of the previous fiscal year at the Annual General Meeting for adoption by the Membership.  
  6. At the beginning of each fiscal year, the Executive shall draw up a budget for the year.  
  7. The Society shall enact a by-law to regulate the expenditure of its funds.    

Article XIV. Commencement and Constitutional Amendment

  1. This Constitution comes into force immediately upon passing by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance at a duly constituted General Meeting or referendum, and acceptance by the Graduate Students’ Union.  
  2. The Executive shall call a General Meeting to consider a proposal to amend the Constitution at the request of the three-quarters (3/4) of Executive members or two-thirds (2/3) of the Membership.  
  3. The proposed amendments take effect immediately upon passing by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance at a duly constituted General Meeting and acceptance by the Graduate Students’ Union.  
  4. This Constitution shall be posted on the Society website.