The results of the 2026 NUGSS Health & Dental Referendum are now available.

Referendum Question:
Do you approve of increasing the NUGSS Health & Dental Fee annually in line with market rates, up to a maximum of 20% per year?

Voting Results:
• Total Votes Cast: 137
• Yes: 70 (51%)
• No: 61 (45%)
• Abstain: 6 (4%)

Update: The NUGSS Board of Directors has received legal opinion and this referendum is now considered PASSED.
The voting link was distributed via the NUGSS President’s email on Monday, March 9. Voting was conducted through Microsoft Forms from March 9 at 9:00 AM to March 11 at 8:00 AM and was sent to the undergraduate NUGSS Society fee-paying student list provided by UNBC IT Services.

We have obtained the following legal opinion from independent counsel regarding the March 18 referendum:

“Section 4 of the Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS) Bylaws creates some ambiguity, because there is no equivalent to a "referendum" under the Societies Act, SBC 2015, c 18 (the “Act”). Our review of the Bylaws and relevant facts leads us to conclude the appropriate interpretation is that a simple majority is sufficient to pass a referendum, unless the board specifically put the matter forward as a special resolution. 

Accordingly, whether the question was presented to the members as a “special resolution” or as a referendum question must be determined. Under the Bylaws, a referendum is defined as a question that can be answered with a “Yes” or “No.” If the matter was in fact a referendum, Bylaw VI, section 13 supports the conclusion that a simple majority is sufficient. Sections 13.1 and 13.2 provide that the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) shall declare the referendum "Passed" or "Defeated" based on which option obtains a majority as per section 4.1. Section 13.3 provides that an equal number of votes results in the referendum being declared "Defeated." If the intent were for passage by a two-thirds vote, section 13.3 would address the two-thirds threshold not being met, rather than only an equality of votes. This framing is consistent only with a simple majority standard.

Further, the Act requires special resolutions for certain decisions, such as changing the constitution and bylaws, removing directors and members, amalgamation, and sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the society's undertaking. The Act does not require general financial matters to be decided by special resolution. Societies may implement higher voting standards in their bylaws pursuant to section 11(4) of the Act, but NUGSS Bylaws do not do that. Rather, Bylaw VI section 4.1 states "a majority, or greater percentage as may be required by the Society Act, of the votes cast support the Referendum," tying the higher threshold only to matters where the Act demands it.

Finally, the NUGSS Bylaw XIX deals with “Student Society Fees” with section 3.2 providing that "membership fees for the Society shall only be changed upon a resolution of the Society through a Referendum." The use of "resolution" rather than "special resolution" indicates that changes to membership fees require only a simple majority. While section 3.5 distinguishes the Health and Dental Plan Policy from "membership fees," the Bylaws suggest that financial decisions regarding broader "society fees," which includes the Health and Dental Policy, are similarly made through a resolution rather than special resolution, further supporting that a simple majority is the applicable threshold."