G21-B008 Young Greens: Attainable Quorum for Participation

Submitter Name

Young Greens of Canada

Ratification Vote Results: Adopted

Proposal

To replace the current Young Greens of Canada Bylaw 1.5:

“1.5 This bylaw may be amended by a 50% vote of approval with at least 10% of the YGC members voting at a General Meeting of the Party, and shall become effective following a vote of approval of greater than 50% of votes cast by the YGC membership.”

With the following text:

“1.5 This bylaw may be amended by a 50% vote of approval with at least 25 YGC members voting at a General Meeting, and shall become effective following a vote of approval of greater than 50% of votes cast by the YGC membership.”

Objective

The purpose of this proposal is to change the onerous requirement of having 10% of Young Greens present and voting at a BGM to make changes to the YGC bylaws, which would make any future changes to the Bylaws at an in-person convention more feasible and attainable.

Benefit

For the YGC Bylaws to continue to improve and adapt, we need a feasible amendment process. Travel to in-person BGMs is often inaccessible for Young Greens for a variety of reasons. This proposal supports Participatory Democracy by removing the requirement for an unreasonable number of YGs to make the trip.

Supporting Comments from Submitter

It is evident that the current bylaw cannot be expected to be effective. There are approximately 1500 Young Greens, and under the current amendment procedure this means that 150 Young Greens would have to be physically present at an in-person BGM in order to even consider an amendment to the YGC bylaws. The quorum for a General Meeting of the entire party is 50 people, or approximately 0.15% of the total membership. All motions passed at General Meetings are subject to subsequent online confirmation votes, meaning that all Young Greens would still have the opportunity to participate in final decisions on bylaw changes.

Green Value(s)

Participatory Democracy, Respect for Diversity

Relation to Existing Policy

This proposal would rescind and replace Bylaw 1.5 of the Young Greens of Canada Bylaws.