Legislative Council

AUS Legislative Council meets biweekly during the academic year, and is the legislative governing body of the Arts Undergraduate Society, subordinate only to the AUS General Assembly. Legislative Council meetings are open to the public, unless a confidential session is declared.

Article 6.1 of the AUS Constitution outlines the functions of AUS Legislative Council:

“The governing body of the AUS shall be known as the Legislative Council (hereinafter, Council) and as such shall:
(a) Recognize the supremacy of the AUS Constitution and be bound by it;
(b) Be empowered to make all decisions and take action on behalf of the AUS in accordance with and subject to the constraints imposed by the General Assembly;
(c) Adopt the AUS annual budget;
(d) Establish Committees of Council where and when it deems necessary;
(e) Have the power to mandate any of its representatives to adopt and defend a specific stance.”

Voting membership on AUS Council includes the AUS Executive, the Arts Representatives to SSMU, the Arts Senators, a representative from each of the AUS’s 29 departmental associations, a representative from FEARC (the AUS’s first-year committee), the AUS Equity Commissioners, and a representative from AUSec (the AUS Environmental Council), a representative from ACE (the Arts Community Engagement Committee), and a representative from EPIC (the AUS Event Planning and Implementation Committee).

AUS Council operates under a modified version of Robert’s Rules of Order so that meetings can occur in an organized and efficient fashion. A summary of these rules may be found here. Most decisions of AUS Council are made by way of motions submitted to and approved by AUS Council. A brief guide on what a motion is, why we use them, and how to write a motion can be found here.

Short summaries of past AUS Council meetings can be found on the President’s Blog

The most recent version of the standing rules, as adopted and amended by the 2019-2020 AUS Legislative council can be found here.


LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DOCUMENTS 2020-2021

Fall 2020

Winter 2021


If you have any questions about AUS Legislative Council, please contact the AUS President at president@ausmcgill.com or the AUS Council Speaker at speaker@ausmcgill.com 

Past Council Documents