CONSTITUTION OF THE. New Democratic Youth of Canada

CONSTITUTION OF THE New Democratic Youth of Canada

CONTENTS ARTICLE I NAME... 2 ARTICLE II INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS... 2 ARTICLE III MANDATE... 2 ARTICLE IV LANGUAGES... 3 ARTICLE V MEMBERS... 3 ARTICLE VI YOUTH CLUBS AND SECTIONS... 3 ARTICLE VII EXECUTIVE... 4 ARTICLE VIII CONVENTION... 7 ARTICLE IX COUNCIL... 9 ARTICLE X ADVISORY COUNCIL... 9 ARTICLE XI DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS... 9 ARTICLE XII RULES OF ORDER... 9 ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENT... 9 1

ARTICLE I NAME The name of this organization shall be The New Democratic Youth of Canada (NDYC). 10. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer shall be understood to include all persons who identify as such, as well as to include transsexual, inter-sexed, two-spirited or questioning people. 11. Francophone shall be understood to mean any individual ARTICLE II INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS 1. This Constitution shall be interpreted by the presiding Co-chair; s/he may be overruled by a majority vote of the Executive, or by a majority vote of delegates present and voting at NDYC Council or Convention. 2. This Constitution shall not be interpreted in any way that conflicts with the Constitution of the NDP. 3. Gender parity shall be understood to mean at least fifty percent persons who identify as women. 4. Youth shall be understood to mean persons aged 25 and below. 5. Aboriginal shall be understood to mean First Nations people, status and non-status Indians, as defined by the Indian Act, Métis and Inuit people. 6. Visible minority shall be understood to mean all persons who self-identify as a person of colour. 7. Women shall be understood to mean all persons who self-identify as women. 8. Labour shall be understood to include all persons with union membership in good standing. 9. Disability shall be understood to mean all persons who self-identify as having a disability, be it mental, physical or psychiatric. a) whose mother tongue or primary language of use, is French, and b) has a level of proficiency in French that enables her/him to fully participate in a meeting conducted.... exclusively in French. In cases of conflict or ambiguity, this policy shall be interpreted to the benefit of equity seeking groups. No article in the NDYC Constitution shall be interpreted in such a manner as to empower any member of the NDYC Executive to perform a function or fulfill a responsibility that is outlined under the Federal Party s collective agreement with its staff. ARTICLE III MANDATE 1. The NDYC is an autonomous organization that shall serve to further the purpose and objectives of the NDYC, which are: a) To develop, determine and actively advocate and promote the policy positions of the NDYC b) To promote the election of New Democratic Party candidates, and in particular, to promote the nomination and election of youth candidates c) To provide support and assistance to provincial sections in their efforts to organize young New Democrats at a local 2

and provincial level, and to assist and support the organization of young. New Democrats on post-secondary campuses across Canada d) To promote the New Democratic Party among youth e) To facilitate cooperation between provincial/territorial youth sections; f) To promote youth issues, the advancement of equity seeking groups, and the interests of young workers and other progressive movements, within the Party and in society at large. ARTICLE IV LANGUAGES 1. The official languages of the NDYC shall be French and English. 2. All official publications and documents of the NDYC shall be available in both official languages. 3. Any member may address meetings of the organization in either official language. 4. The Constitution is to be available in both official languages, and both versions shall be equally binding. 5. a)..prior to publication or distribution, all NDYC documents must be verified and approved by the Francophone Director and/or the Francophone Caucus and/or the New Democratic Youth of Quebec. b) The Francophone Caucus is responsible for establishing an effective verification procedure keeping in mind francophone regional specificities. ARTICLE V MEMBERS 1. Membership in the NDYC shall be open to all members in good standing of a chartered provincial/territorial youth section or affiliated provincial/territorial youth section who are of the age 25 or younger. 2. Affiliated membership in the NDYC shall be open to all affiliated union members of the New Democratic Party of Canada in accordance with the NDP Constitution, who are of the age 25 or younger 3. Youth in provinces and territories with no chartered section shall be eligible to apply for a federal youth chapter, affiliated to the NDYC. 4. Affiliated chapters members shall be granted speaking and voting privileges at NDYC conventions only. 5. There shall be only one affiliated youth chapter per province or territory. 6. Provincial, territorial and affiliated sections shall be admitted by a 2/3 vote of the NDYC Executive, Council or Convention, and may be suspended or expelled through the same process. ARTICLE VI YOUTH CLUBS AND SECTIONS 1. The chartering and discipline of provincial youth clubs shall be the responsibility of provincial/territorial youth sections. The discipline of and chartering of federal youth chapters and federally affiliated campus clubs shall be the responsibility of the NDYC Executive. 3

ARTICLE VII EXECUTIVE 1. At the biennial Convention of the NDYC, the delegates shall elect the following Executive members, who shall be members in good standing of the NDYC, as described in Article IV, Section 1 a) Two Co-chairs, at least one of whom shall identify as a woman, shall share leadership of the NDYC and NDYC Executive, including: i) Chairing meetings of the NDYC Executive ii) Promoting the interests and positions of the NDYC within the Federal Party iii) Representing the NDYC on Federal Executive iv) reporting to the NDYC on the activities and decisions of Federal Executive; and v) Serving as chief spokespersons for the NDYC. b) The Francophone Director shall: i) Assist the Co-chairs with their organizational duties ii) Attempt to relay and voice the concerns of Francophone as they relate to NDYC policy and functions iii) Participate in every ad hoc executive committee on which a Francophone perspective is preferable iv) Review French language material. upon request v) Assist the Co-chairs with their spokespersons duties in the Francophone media vi) Co-ordinate the organizational activities of the NDYC to Francophone in co-operation with provinces and territories vii) Where possible, work with the Francophone Federal Executive representatives; and viii) Shall be elected by the Francophone caucus. c) The Outreach Director shall: i) Ensure communication between the NDYC and the provincial and territorial youth wings of the NDP ii) Edit and distribute internal communications tools iii) Liaise and build communications and relationships with other groups affiliated to the NDP and likeminded organizations and persons. d) The Secretary shall: i) Maintain the minutes and ensure the security and storage of all documents of administrative and historical importance to the NDYC ii) Assist Co-chairs with the facilitation and planning of Executive meetings; and iii) Be responsible for internal correspondence with and between sections. e) The Treasurer shall: i) Coordinate fundraising proposals and projects ii) Work with Federal Office to maintain the financial records iii) Prepare an annual budget iv) Provide quarterly financial updates v) In consultation with the NDYC Executive and Federal Office, disburse travel pool for NDYC Council and Convention; and vi) Work with Federal Office to handle disbursements and receipts. 4

f) The Communications Director shall: i) Solicit articles for NDYC publications ii) In conjunction with Federal Office, develop and coordinate production of external communications tools; and iii) Be responsible for the NDYC Executive and general membership list-servers. g) The Policy Director shall: i) Draft policy initiated by the NDYC Executive ii) Maintain the policy manual of the NDYC iii) Liaise with the Federal Policy Committee; and iv) Liaise with provincial sections on policy initiatives of the NDYC. h) The Labour Director shall: i) Relay the voice and concerns of the labour movement with regards to NDYC policy and functions ii) Be responsible for strengthening ties between the NDYC and labour iii) Outreach to labour youth iv) Serve as the voice of young New Democrats on the Youth Committee of the Canadian Labour Congress; and v) Shall be elected from the labour caucus. i) The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgendered and Queer Director shall: i) Relay and voice the concerns of LGBTQ people as they relate to NDYC policy and functions ii) Liaise with other LGBTQ youth and activists and LGBTQ supportive allies to encourage their participation in the NDYC iii) Where possible, work with the LGBTQ Federal Executive Representatives; and iv) Shall be elected by the LGBTQ Caucus. j) The Women s Director shall: i) Represent the issues of women in regards to NDYC policy and functions ii) Participate in POW (Participation of Women) Committee and liaise between POW and NDYC women s caucus iii) Be the advocating voice of gender parity in NDYC iv) Perform outreach to young women who are members or are interested in becoming members of the NDP; and v) Be elected by the women s caucus. k) The Aboriginal Director shall: i) Relay and voices the concerns of Aboriginal peoples as they relate to NDYC policy and functions ii) Be responsible for outreach to Aboriginal youth iii) Where possible, work with the Aboriginal Federal Executive Representatives; and iv) Be elected by the Aboriginal Caucus. l) The Participation of Visible Minorities Director shall: i) Represent and voice the concerns of visible minorities with regards to NDYC policy and functions ii) Be responsible for outreach to youth visible minorities iii) Where possible, work with the Participation of Visible Minorities Federal Executive Representatives iv) Be elected by the Participation of Visible Minorities caucus; and v) Work to establish connections with grassroots networks. 5

m) The Francophone Outreach Director shall: i) Relay and voice the concerns of Francophone as they relate to NDYC policy and functions ii) Co-ordinate outreach to Francophone provincial and territorial representatives iii) Co-ordinate the recruitment activities of the NDYC to Francophone in co-operation.... with provinces and territories iv) Liaise and build communications and relationships with likeminded French language grassroots and community organizations v) Assist the Francophone Director with the co-ordination of organizational activities of the NDYC to Francophone in co-operation with provinces and territories vi) Where possible, work with the Francophone Federal Executive representatives; and vii) Be elected by the Francophone caucus. n) The Disability Rights Director shall: i) Represent and voice the concerns of persons with disabilities, be they physical, psychological or psychiatric ii) Be responsible for outreach to youth with disability(ies) iii) Be elected by the Disability Rights Caucus iv) Be responsible for outreach to likeminded groups around disability rights; and v) Where possible work with the Disability Rights Federal Executive Representative. 2. Gender parity shall apply to all NDYC Executive elections, including the Co-chairs. 3. No provincial/territorial youth section shall have more than three (3) members serving in the position of Executive member. 4. Vacancies on the NDYC Executive shall be filled by the Executive. The NDYC Executive must give notice of vacancy to all provincial/ territorial sections within seven (7) days of any resignation. All provincial and territorial sections must receive at least twenty-one (21) days notice of the by-election. 5. The Executive shall meet a minimum of four (4) times per year, in addition to meeting at all NDP Federal Council meetings. Additional meetings may be called by the Co-chairs. Special meetings will be called by the Cochairs at the request of a majority of the members of the Executive. 6. At least fourteen (14) days notice must be given for an NDYC Executive meeting. In cases of emergency, at least three (3) days notice of a meeting of the NDYC Executive shall be given. 7. The Co-chairs shall be authorized to make any decisions of an urgent nature, subject to later ratification by the Executive. 8. Quorum at Executive meetings shall be 1/2 of the Executive. 9. Executive members shall be elected by majority vote. 10. At least two (2) Executive members must be francophone. 11. Executive members may be removed from office after a show cause hearing, by a 2/3 vote of the Executive. 12. NDYC Executive members are required to submit a report for approval by Convention at the conclusion of their term. 13. Each Executive member must submit brief reports of their activities to the Communications Director to be compiled 6

into a comprehensive Executive report and circulated on the NDYC list-serve. Each report must be submitted in the last week of November, March and July, no later than the last day of the month. Failure to submit two consecutive reports on time will result in an automatic removal of that Executive member from office. 14. Any Executive member who fails to attend three successive meetings without adequate justification - shall be immediately removed from the Executive. ARTICLE VIII CONVENTION 1. The NDYC biennial Convention shall be the supreme governing body of the NDYC and shall have final authority over all decisions of the NDYC and all matters of Constitution and policy. 2. The NDYC shall meet in Convention at least once every two years. 3. Every delegate to the NDYC Convention shall be a member in good standing of the NDYC. Notwithstanding Article VII, Section 4. a), in cases where an outgoing member of the NDYC Executive is no longer a member of the NDYC, they shall be allotted automatic observer status, rather than delegate status. 4. The basis of representation at the NDYC Convention, when it is not held in conjunction with a New Democratic Party of Canada Convention shall be: a) Members of the NDYC Executive, as set out in Article VI; and b) Six (6) delegates per chartered youth section plus one (1) delegate per fifty (50) members or a major fraction thereof, up to a total of two hundred (200) members, plus one (1) delegate for each additional one hundred (100) members, or major fraction thereof; and c) Affiliated youth chapters shall be entitled to one (1) delegate for every fifty (50) members or major fraction thereof, up to a total of two hundred (200) members, for a maximum of five (5) delegates; and d) Six (6) delegates per affiliated union, plus one (1) delegate per fifty (50) members or a major fraction thereof, up to a total of two hundred (200) members, plus one (1) delegate for. each additional one hundred (100) members, or major fraction thereof; and e) All Members of Parliament who are members of the NDYC shall be delegates to NDYC Convention; and f) Each chartered campus club of the New Democratic Youth of Canada shall be entitled to representation on the basis of one (1) delegate for every fifty (50) members or less and one (1) delegate for each additional fifty (50) members or major fraction thereof. 5. In selecting delegates, all provincial and territorial youth sections, chartered campus clubs, affiliated unions delegations and affiliated youth chapters shall be required to conform to the NDYC s requirements of gender parity. 6. At least six months notice of the date and location of the NDYC Convention shall be given to each provincial/territorial youth section or youth chapter. 7. Whenever possible, the NDYC Convention shall be held in conjunction with the Convention of the New Democratic Party. In such cases, all youth delegates to the Federal New Democratic Party Convention 7

shall be entitled to delegate status at the NDYC Convention. 8. Convention proceedings shall be conducted in both official languages. 9. All resolutions for discussion at the Convention must be received at least 45 days prior to the start of the Convention. Resolutions may only be submitted by: a) The NDYC Executive b) The NDYC Council c) Affiliated labour organizations entitled. to delegate status d) Chartered campus clubs entitled. to delegate status e) Provincial and territorial youth sections. 10. Emergency resolutions at Council and Convention may be submitted by the above bodies, or by any registered delegate with the written support of three additional delegates. Such resolutions will be submitted to the NDYC Policy Review Committee. The PRC will accept or reject the resolutions based on their classification as an emergency (i.e., the substance of the motion must relate to something which could not have been submitted prior to the resolutions deadline), and will present the plenary with a prioritized list of emergency resolutions for discussion in the appropriate period. 11. Quorum at Convention shall be one-half of all registered delegates to the Convention 12. The biennial Convention of the NDYC shall: a) Elect members of the NDYC executive b) Receive and consider the reports of the NDYC Executive c) Consider: i) The policies of the NDYC ii) Proposed amendments to the NDYC Constitution iii) Resolutions to be sent to the Federal NDP Convention or Federal Council iv) Any other business deemed necessary 13. A special Convention must be called when 50% of the Executive positions are vacant for a period of 60 days, or when requested by 2/3 of the Executive. 14. At least 90 days notice of the time and location of an NDYC Special Convention shall be given to each provincial or territorial youth section or youth chapter. 15. Prior to the submission deadline for Council and Convention, the NDYC Executive shall strike a Policy Review Committee (PRC). The PRC shall include the Policy Director, Francophone Director, one Co-chair, and any two other members of the NDYC Executive. 16. The NDYC PRC shall be chaired by the Policy Director, and shall be charged with: a) Reviewing submitted policy resolutions b) Offering revisions on submitted resolutions as necessary (including grammatical and necessary structural changes) c) Prioritizing resolutions for Council/ Convention debate d) Reviewing submitted emergency resolutions 8

ARTICLE IX COUNCIL 1. The NDYC Council shall meet in alternate years to the biennial Convention. 2. Special meetings of the NDYC Council may be called by a 2/3 majority vote of the NDYC Executive. 3. The Council shall be the supreme governing body between conventions and shall have authority over all decisions of the NDYC in matters of policy, and the NDYC Constitution. 4. All provincial and territorial youth sections may send up to four voting delegates to Council. Youth sections may designate alternates as necessary. 5. Labour may send up to four voting delegates to Council, with delegates being recommended by the Youth Vice President of the Canadian Labour Congress, and confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Canadian Labour Congress. By this process, alternates may be designated as necessary. 6. All resolutions for discussion at the Council must be received at least 45 days prior to the start of the Convention. Resolutions may only be submitted by: a) The NDYC Executive b) Affiliated youth labour organizations entitled to delegate status c) Provincial and territorial youth sections. ARTICLE X ADVISORY COUNCIL The Advisory Council shall consist of one representative from each province and territory, elected by their respective sections, and chaired by the Outreach Coordinator. The Advisory Council is to advise the NDYC Executive on all matters of concern to sections and regional issues. Representatives to the Advisory Council act as a liaison between the NDYC and their respective sections, and are responsible for NDYC activism in their section. ARTICLE XI DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS Discipline of NDYC members shall be governed by Article VII of the Constitution of the New Democratic Party of Canada. ARTICLE XII RULES OF ORDER All proceedings of the NDYC shall be governed by Robert s Rules of Order, latest edition. Where conflict exists between Robert s Rules of Order and the NDYC Constitution, the latter shall prevail. Resolutions from other bodies (such as chartered campus clubs) shall be submitted through their respective provincial and territorial youth section, or the NDYC Executive. All members of the NDYC Executive shall be voting delegates to Council. ARTICLE XIII AMENDMENT All Constitutional amendments require the approval of 2/3 of the delegates present and voting at NDYC Convention or at NDYC Council. 9

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