Senate Meeting Timeline

Senate Executive Committee Meeting

(2-3 weeks before Senate meeting)

Regular items of business are included in a draft Senate agenda for consideration by the Senate Executive Committee, which normally meets 2-3 weeks before the Senate meeting.

It is the responsibility of Senate Executive Committee to review and approve the agenda on behalf of Senate. While additional items of business may still be added to the Senate agenda thereafter, most of the regular business to be included on the agenda of Senate is approved this way.

Preparing for a Senate Meeting

(1-2 hours in the week before the Senate meeting)

Seven days before the Senate meeting, the approved agenda will be posted publicly to the Senate website. A separate version of the agenda package including the confidential materials is distributed to Senators through a secure SharePoint site; confidential materials are not posted publicly and are circulated directly and confidentially to senators.

As part of your preparation for the meeting, please download and review the entire agenda package; Senators may wish to set aside an hour or two in the week leading up to each Senate meeting to review the agenda package.

Most items have a covering memo or executive summary, and senators often find it useful to focus on this material first and use it to decide which items to review in detail based on their own competencies and interests.

Feel free to connect with members of the Secretariat if your review brings any questions or concerns — we are able to facilitate answering your questions in time for the meeting.

Attending a Senate Meeting

(Day of Senate meeting)

Senators are encouraged to attend in person in Needles Hall Board & Senate Chambers (NH 3407) as much as possible (within public health guidelines). An option to participate via Microsoft Teams may be provided as an exception.

Attending via Microsoft Teams

A few minutes ahead of the meeting, please access the Microsoft Teams link sent to you via email so that we can confirm the quorum of those on Teams and those in the room before we begin the meeting.

Senators participating via Teams can expect a similar, but not identical, experience to those attending in person. You will be able to ask questions, vote, and participate in discussions.

Participating in a Senate Meeting

(Day of Senate meeting)

As a Senator, your voice matters and you are encouraged to contribute actively during the meeting.

At various times the Chair will invite questions on the item under discussion and will moderate discussion to ensure that the ability of Senate to conduct its business is respected.

You may move or second a motion for approval when called for by the Chair. To move or second a motion, you do not need to be in favour of the item — rather, this shows that you support putting forward the motion and the beginning of the discussion on the item.

If the item of business requires a decision, you may be asked to vote.

On any motion, you may vote in favour, against, or to abstain. Abstention is typically used when an individual feels as though they do not have sufficient information to make a decision.

Abstentions do not count towards “yay” or “nay” vote counts.

Reporting On and Discussing Senate Business

(After Senate meeting)

You are free to report back to your electing body on all business conducted in open session at Senate — this business was conducted in public and no constraints exist on relaying this information. You may similarly convey information to any standing committees you are on.

If the business was conducted in a closed session, you may not relay any of the content of discussion or outcome of any vote.

Please consult the Secretariat if you require any guidance or advice on such matters.