The Japan Canada Student Association Constitution

Section 1.0: NAME

Section 1.1: Summary

This club shall be known in the English language as the "Japan-Canada Student Association"
(JCSA), and in the Japanese language as "Nikka Gakusei Kyoukai"

Section 2.0: OBJECTIVES

Section 2.1: Summary

The JCSA has as its main objective cultural exchange of Japan and Canada.

1. To help the Japanese Visa students and new students from Japan adjust to
Toronto
2. To act as a source of Japanese and Canadian cultural exchange by and for the
members of the JCSA and ultimately the whole community at large.

Section 2.2: Methods

The objectives of the JCSA are to be accomplished through the following

methods:

1. Displaying to the University of Toronto community and in particular, to the

members of the JCSA, the culture of Japan by means of participating in and
organizing events that promote such.
2. Willing members of the JCSA can assist new students from Japan adjust to life
in Canada. Social events would help promote such meetings between interested
people.
3. Providing information on working / studying abroad in Japan for those
interested and to encourage and support these interests.

Section 3.0: MEMBERSHIP

Section 3.1: Summary

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To become a member of the JCSA, one must pay a membership fee as outlined in s. 5.

Section 3.2: Rights of U of T members

A University of Toronto member (All Students, Staff, Faculty and Alumni) of the JCSA is
eligible to:

1. Vote for the elected position in the JCSA.

2. Nominate elected positions
3. Run for a position in the JCSA
4. Vote on or bring up amendments concerning this constitution.

Section 3.2a Rights of non-U of T members

A non-member or not a student of U of T who chooses to join JCSA is eligible to:

1. Be appointed as a volunteer (or title fitting to such a similar position) by the

sitting executive committee.
2. Actively seek out a volunteer position.
3. Bring up amendments concerning this constitution

Section 3.3: Entitlements

A member of the JCSA is entitled to be informed of all JCSA events. All executives and staff
have the responsibility to keep membership information of JCSA members in strict confidence.
This information is only for internal JCSA administrative purposes and shall not be divulged to
any other person. If a breach of privacy occurs, the member must be informed and the Executive
Committee must take appropriate action.

Section 4.0: DUTIES OF OFFICERS

• Section 4.1 : President

• Section 4.2 : Vice-President
• Section 4.3 : Treasurer
• Section 4.4 : Social Director
• Section 4.5 : Event Coordinator
• Section 4.6 : Communications Officer

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 • Section 4.7 : Membership Coordinator
• Section 4.8 : JCSA Staff
• Section 4.9 : Position Termination

Section 4.1: President (Elected position)

The President shall preside at all JCSA meetings, JCSA events etc. unless he [or she] has
informed the JCSA executive committee and no less then 51% of the executives are in agreement
upon he [or she] being absent. The President shall enroll, complete all forms and be able to
qualify for governing powers within University of Toronto such as UTSU and Student life to the
best of his [or her] abilities. The President shall be able to complete all necessary documents, aid
with the handling of money, assist other officers, and transact such other business as may of right
pertain to his [or her] office and which may be necessary for the JCSA. Any nominees or sitting
President shall have the abilities to sign up for UTSU and Student Life or qualify for governing
powers within University of Toronto and in the lot time allowed within signup schedule or he [or
she] shall withdraw from his/her entitlement as President of JCSA or their nominated position.

Section 4.2: Vice-president (Elected position)

The Vice-President (VP) shall preside at all meetings and JCSA events, and will take over any
role of the absent executive member upon his/her instructions. The vice-president shall also aid
with handling of money. Also he [or she] will perform the duties of the President in the absence
of that officer, and in the case of resignation of the President, until such vacancy is filled. Any
nominated or sitting Vice-President shall have the abilities to sign up for UTSU and Student Life
or qualify for governing powers within University of Toronto and in the lot time allowed within
signup schedule or he [or she] shall withdraw from his/her entitlements as Vice-President or their
nominated position.

Section 4.3: Treasurer (Elected position)

The Treasurer shall preside at JCSA meetings regularly and maintain a correct and proper
account of the JCSA finances. He [or she] shall receive all membership fees and deposit these in
the name of the JCSA. He [or she] shall make a financial report to the officers monthly. It shall
be the duty of the Treasurer to keep on file all receipts for money spent on behalf of the JCSA
during the year. At the end of his term of office, the Treasurer shall turn to his successor all

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books and records belonging to the JCSA. Any nominated or sitting Treasurer shall have the
abilities to qualify for most governing powers within University of Toronto.

Section 4.4: Social Director (Elected Position)

This Social Director will be responsible for planning pub night related events, which would help
members to socialize and become well acquainted with one another. He [or she] will preside at
all executive meetings and contact all executives in association with such events.

Section 4.5: Event Coordinator (Elected Position)

The Event Coordinator presides at JCSA meetings and communicates regularly with the JCSA
members. His [or her] duties consist of planning events of social, charitable or academic nature,
making necessary arrangements and organizing a voluntary event committee for such events as
required. He [or she] will preside at all executive meetings and contact all executives in
association with such events.

Section 4.6: Communications officer (Elected Position)

The Communications Officer presides at all JCSA executive meetings and takes minutes of such
meetings, and makes them available to the executive committee. He [or she] is responsible to
send regular updates to JCSA members by e-mail, organizing and maintaining the executive
committee, and bringing forth any relevant input from the JCSA members to the executive. He
[or she] is also responsible for advertising JCSA events to both the members and the University
community.

Section 4.7: Membership Coordinator (Elected Position)

The Membership Coordinator presides at JCSA meetings and communicates regularly with the
JCSA members. He [or she] is responsible for granting JCSA membership, keeping track of
JCSA membership, updating the membership list, and bringing any relevant input from the JCSA
members to the executive. He [or she] is also responsible for recording the expiry, suspension,
and exclusion details of membership. With notice to at least two of the executive committee, the
membership coordinator may be permitted to be absent from JCSA language exchange and/or
meetings and his or her duties on a whole for a short duration of time.

Section 4.8: JCSA Staff (Non-elected positions)

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The President or executive committee has the ability to appoint staff in a semi-official capacity.
These JCSA Staff or voluntary members will attend staff meetings and on occasion attend JCSA
executive committee meetings, run organized events and make necessary arrangements once
approved by the President or the executive committee. Under this composition the President or
executive committee has the ability to give title to each Staff selected but not give title to any
current listed position already established within this constitution. On occasions and with
Presidents’ or one executives member’s approval the JCSA Staff can be permitted to be absent
from JCSA and his or her duties.

Section 4.9: Position Termination

In the event that an executive or JCSA member fails to fulfill his or her duties based on the JCSA
constitution, any current member or JCSA executive has the right to issue a written complaint to
the JCSA executive committee. The executive member will receive up to three written warning
outlining the issues of the complaint. The second and third final warning will involve a
discussion with the executive committee, and the executive will be given two months after the
final warning to correct his or her behavior after the executive committee hears his/her defence.
Should the issue continue after two months The Executive Committee will then take a vote and
should the motion to impeach be met with a 50% plus 1 vote, the executive member will be
removed from their position. The Executive member may appeal the decision of the Executive
Committee to the general membership of JCSA. The impeachment will be revoked should the
general membership vote in 50% plus 1 in favour of the member keeping their officer position.
The complaint record of the executive will last up until the end of his/her election term.

Section 5.0: FINANCES

• Section 5.1 : Membership Fees

• Section 5.2 : Other Fees
• Section 5.3 : Responsibilities
• Section 5.4 : Financial Status
• Section 5.5 : Property Rights
• Section 5.6 : Expenditure

Section 5.1: Membership Fees

Membership fee for the JCSA for University of Toronto community members are $5 for a year.

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Non-U of T members have the option of purchasing a 3 month membership of $4, 6 month
membership of $6, or a year membership of $10.

Section 5.2: Other Fees

Other monies are collected through JCSA fund-raising events.

Section 5.3: Responsibilities

All finances will be handled by the treasurer with assistance from the President and vice-
president.

Section 5.4: Financial Status

The current status of the JCSA's finances will be available to any member upon request, and it is
to be printed bi-annually in a public bulletin. A financial status report will be made available to
all executives once every three months either by e-mail or by hardcopy.

Section 5.5: Property Rights

All monies are the property of the JCSA and no individual member is entitled to any portion of
the savings for his [or her] personal use.

Section 5.5a: Property Rights

All property or items belonging to JCSA will be used accordingly as property of JCSA and no
member or individual can stake claim to the said items or ownership of items. Therefore no
individual member is entitled to any item or property of JCSA.

Section 5.6: Expenditure

Most of the money collected over the year will be spent for the benefit of all JCSA members,
since this is a non-profit organization.

Section 6.0: MEETINGS

Section 6.1: General Meetings

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JCSA general meetings shall be held on a regular basis, and the time for the next meeting will be
announced at each meeting. These meetings are open to all members but are mandatory for the
executives, unless advised differently by President or Executive Committee to take other actions.
Disambiguation: The General Meetings are the Language Exchange Meetings.

Section 6.2: Executive Meetings

JCSA executive meetings are mandatory for members of the Executive Committee. Unless
advised differently by President or Executive Committee to take other actions.

Section 6.2a: Events

It is strongly advised for every JCSA executive to attend all events and functions held by the
JCSA. All activities and promotions of outside events must be authorized by Executive
Committee members as a group.

Section 7.0: ELECTIONS

• Section 7.1 : Election Call

• Section 7.2 : Election Preparation
• Section 7.3 : Nominations
• Section 7.4 : Election Procedure
• Section 7.5 : Runners-Up
• Section 7.6 : Filling Positions
• Section 7.7 : Postponed Elections
• Section 7.8 : Conflict of Interest
• Section 7.9: Election Eligibility
• Section 7.10: Voting Eligibility
• Section 7.11: Election Officer
• Section 7.12: By-Election

Section 7.1: Election Call

Elections will be held every year between March and May for the elected positions (President,
Vice- President, Treasurer, Social Director, Events Coordinator, Communications Officer and
Membership Coordinator).

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Section 7.2: Election Preparation

Elections will be announced at least 3 weeks in advance during a general meeting.

Section 7.3: Nominations

1. Nomination forms will be available no later than three weeks in advance if possible.
2. Nomination forms will be collected no later than two weeks in advance.
3. No member shall nominate two different people for the same position.
4. Any current U of T member, who is not currently an executive member, is eligible to
nominate one individual to run for a position as long as he/she fill out a nomination form.
5. The list of nominees will be available at least one week before the election.

Section 7.4: Election Procedure

At the election, the nominees for each position will be announced and voted on individually, in
order of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Social Director, Events Coordinator,
Communications Officer, and Membership Coordinator. Speeches will be optional.

Section 7.5: Runners-up

If the winner of an elected-position chooses to withdraw from his [or her] position, then the
candidate who receives the second most number of votes will win that position.

Section 7.6: Filling Positions

A person who receives the largest number of votes fills the position. If the nominee wishes to
withdraw from that elected position, he [she] must advise the current President and Executive
committee clearly that they wish to withdraw their nomination in writing.

Section 7.7: Postponed Election

An election may be postponed for a maximum of one week if less than 50% of the voting
members are present.

Section 7.8: Conflict of Interest

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All candidates must disclose any conflict of interest that may put the candidate at odds with the
interests of the JCSA upon nomination to the present Executive Committee. Any candidate who
fails to do so is in contravention of JCSA election rules and can have their candidacy revoked. A
failure to disclose a conflict of interest that has been discovered after a candidate wins an
election constitutes grounds for position termination. This is an on-going duty that continues
after the election, and the executive member must disclose all associations which may constitute
a conflict of interest to the executive committee with reference to s. 9.1.

Section 7.9: Election Eligibility

A U of T member who has held his/her valid membership for a minimum of 3 months is allowed
to run for a JCSA election. No member can run for the same position consecutively for over four
years.

Section 7.10: Voting Eligibility

A U of T member who has held his/her valid membership for a minimum of 3 months is allowed
one vote per position upon a JCSA election. Votes are non-exchangable, and proxy voting is
not permitted.

Section 7.11: Election Officer

The EC will appoint a Chief Election Officer (CEO) to run the election process as outlined in s.
7, and this appointment must be made clear to the membership at the time of the appointment.
Once the appointment is made, the CEO will select two persons to be Scrutinizers of the election
process. All three election officers cannot be in a conflict of interest, and is prohibited from
running or voting in the election for the term which he or she is appointed as election officer. The
Executive Committee (EC) shall provide the registered voter list of members to the CEO. The
CEO or Scrutinizers shall not campaign on behalf of or against any candidate standing for
election or comment favourably or unfavourably on any of the candidates. Before proceeding to
the election, the CEO and Scrutinizers must ensure the nominated candidates are valid based on
their membership eligibility and those being nominated. The CEO shall not release the names of
candidates until the nomination period has closed. The CEO and Scrutinizers will prepare the
paper ballots and provide them to voting members on the date of election while crossing them off
the registered voter list. The voting member will then place their vote in secrecy and then place

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the paper ballot in a sealed box. The Scrutinizers will tally all ballots once the voting period ends
and announce the winner of each position. The CEO and Scrutinizers may censure publicly or
disqualify any candidate who violates the rules of the election.

Section 7.12 By-Election

Should the position of an executive be terminated by impeachment or the resignation of an

executive, a by-election should be held within two months unless the next election term comes
before this period. The member whose executive status was revoked under Section 4.9 may re-
run for the by-election, but cannot win by appointment.

Section 8.0: GRIEVANCE AND COMPLAINTS

Should any current member of the JCSA have a grievance or complaint in regards to decisions or
processes of the group such as elections, misconduct, referenda or constitutional amendments,
the member should direct their grievance or complaint to an executive member who is not part of
the grievance or complaint themselves. The executive member, upon hearing the complaint, has
the duty to notify the EC immediately.

Section 8.1: Procedure

The member’s grievance or complaint should be in written or typed format, and include any
details and documents to support the claim of the grievance or complaint before being presented
to the executive member. The executive member shall bring the complaint to Executive
Committee (EC) members who may hold a hearing with the member to determine the allegations
in the member’s grievance or complaint. The EC will respond to the member’s grievance or
complaint in a timely manner with any recommendations, resolutions or sanctions appropriate to
the grievance or complaint. The preferred response time is one week. Should the executive
committee find ambiguities in the complaint, they may request for clarification. The EC will
produce a written minutes of the hearing outlining their decision in regards to the resolution of
the complaint and/or grievance, and these reasoning will be provided to the complainant. All
proceedings of the complaint resolution shall be recorded by the executive committee. An
executive member who is part of the grievance or complaint (as a complainant or the accused) is
excluded from the decision making process with regards to the particular grievance or complaint.

Section 8.2: Grievances Regarding Harassment

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JCSA values peace and harmony among its members by establishing a social atmosphere during
JCSA meetings. Therefore, acts of harassment which disrupt these values are not to be tolerated.
More specifically, harassment is defined as intentionally threatening or disrupting someone,
directly or indirectly. Sexual harassment is defined as intentionally and repeatedly making sexual
advances without one’s consent. Given, that under these circumstances the emotional toll on the
victim in handling the grievance procedure may be too onerous, complaints regarding any form
of harassment that occur within JCSA activities will be handled formally without the victim
producing a written statement if he/she so chooses. However, the executive committee is still to
test the values of evidences to the same strictures as any other complaint, outlined in s. 8.5.

Section 8.3 Rights of the Complainant

The Complainant is entitled to the following rights:

1. To file a complaint and get a fair review of his/her situation without fear of reprisal.
2. To be kept informed of the process by the JCSA executive.
3. To be interviewed separately during the investigation
4. To simultaneously pursue other options of redress.
5. To receive fair treatment in an environment free of harassment and discrimination.
6. To have the complaint dealt with confidentiality to the best of the executive committee’s
capability

Section 8.4 Rights of the Accused

The accused, if one exists, is entitled to the following rights:

1. To be informed as soon as reasonably possible that a formal complaint has been filed.
2. To be presented with the allegations and to be afforded the opportunity to respond to
them
3. To be kept informed of the process by the JCSA executive.
4. To simultaneously pursue other options of redress and/or defence.
5. To receive fair treatment in an environment free of harassment and discrimination.
6. To have the complaint dealt with confidentiality to the best of the executive committee’s
capability

Section 8.5 Standard of Proof

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The executive committee has the usual burden of proof to show just cause for the sanctions
and/or resolutions imposed, and to prove that the penalty and/or resolution are appropriate under
the particular circumstances. The standard of proof in such cases is normally on a balance of
probabilities. In cases of dismissal from the club or where there is a serious disciplinary
response, the standard of proof is to be clear and convincing evidence.

Section 8.6 Appeals

Any decisions made by the executive committee in the resolution of the complaint can be
appealed by any current JCSA member, provided he/she gives a written or typed letter of appeal.
The executive committee, upon receiving the appeal, should again follow procedures outlined in
s. 8.1. Should the appeal be dismissed, the complainant may appeal to higher University of
Toronto authorities including Office of Student Life.

Section 9.0: EXTERNAL GROUPS/AFFILIATIONS

The JCSA does not have any affiliations to any external groups. The JCSA may choose to
cooperate and/or collaborate with any external groups if it deems such activities in the best
interests of its organization and members. Any such activities must abide by the JCSA’s
constitution and also by all pertaining University documents and guidelines. The Executive
Committee needs to discuss and approve the endorsement or promotion of another organization’s
events and/or activities before they are advertised to the general membership.

Section 9.1 Rules Concerning Conflict of Interest

An executive or staff member who has a potential conflict of interest as defined by s. 7.8 may not
participate in any JCSA meeting or decision making that may reasonably be affected by this
potential conflict of interest. If 50% or greater of the JCSA executives are in a position of
conflict of interest with regards to a particular decision, the executives can appoint neutral U of T
JCSA members to discuss, act, and vote in lieu of the executives who have the conflict of
interest.

Section 10.0: AMENDMENTS

Section 10.1: Amendment rules

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Amendments to the JCSA Constitution can be proposed by any current members of the JCSA to
the executive committee. If 3/4 or greater of the executives deem the amendment viable, such
suggestions are to be brought up at a general meeting. Amendments will be passed if 50%+1 of
voting members are in favor and at least 50%+1 of voting members are present.
Disambiguation: voting members are defined as those members who are eligible to vote for
elections as defined by s. 7.11.

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