Sustainability Projects Fund passes by landslide

From left to right: School of the Environment student Jonathan Glencross,  Rebecca Dooley, VP, University Affairs, SSMU; and Jim Nicell, Associate VP, University Services have combined forces to promote the Sustainable projects Fund. / Photo: Owen Egan
From left to right: School of the Environment student Jonathan Glencross, Rebecca Dooley, VP, University Affairs, SSMU; and Jim Nicell, Associate VP, University Services have combined forces to promote the Sustainable Projects Fund. / Photo: Owen Egan

By McGill Reporter staff

A student referendum on the proposed Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) passed resoundingly last week, with 79 per cent of voters downtown voting to adopt the fund. Some 5,300 students voted, the second-highest total in SSMU history.

As reported in the Nov. 5 edition of the McGill Reporter, the SPF would see the administration and the student body team up to create a fund that would finance sustainability projects across both University campuses. The SPF would be worth approximately $840,000 per year over the three-year trial period from the winter semester of 2010 until the winter semester of 2013, and will be accessible to everyone in the McGill community. The student contribution would consist of a $0.50 per credit “non-opt-outable” fee for the duration of the trial that would be matched dollar-for-dollar by the administration, and governed by a consensus-based parity committee with equal representation from both parties.