Minutes - 76th Atlantic Regional Council (ARC) - May 24th - 25th, 2019

76^th ATLANTIC REGIONAL COUNCIL MEETING

Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL

May 24^th - 25^th, 2019

CHAIRPERSON:

Kimberle Skanes Regional Director CRA-AU-AFS

Mariliyn Best CRA-AU-AFS

EXECUTIVE:

Emmanuel Costain Vice President CRA-CS-AFS

Phil Wilson Treasurer CRA-AU-AFS

 Michael Basque ESDC-CS

Carolyn Hynes ESDC-NU EMA-SH

Scott McConaghy NRCAN-CS

Mike Pauley DTI-NBEN

Jason Rioux CRA-CS-AFS

TRAINING

Carolyn Hynes Chairperson ESDC-NU EMA-SH

COMMITTEE:                     

Kimberley Skanes CRA-AU-AFS

Mike Pauley DTI-NBEN

Jason Rioux CRA-CS-AFS

Phil Wilson CRA-AU-AFS

PARLIAMENTARIAN:

Emmanuel Costain CRA-CS-AFS

GUESTS:

Debi Daviau  PIPSC President

Chris Roach Chair Finance Committee

OBSERVER;

Justin Murphy CRA/CS/AFS

STAFF:

Paul Hartigan Manager, Atlantic Region

Catherine Pinks Office Administrator, Halifax

 Andrew Gize Corporate Services Officer

REGRETS: 

Marcel Journeay DND-CS

DELEGATE / CONSTITUENT  BODY REPRESENTED / DEPT/CLASS/TABLE

Allyson Garrison AYPC CRA/AU/AFS

Donald MacArthur Cape Breton CRA/AU/AFS

Sandra Taylor Cape Breton CRA/AU/AFS

Christine Dugal DND Halifax DND/CS

Joe Rossiter DND Halifax DND/EN/NR

Everett Scott DND Halifax DND/CS

Eric Thornhill DND Halifax DND/DS/RE

Jennifer Cantwell DND Halifax DND/OP/SH

Sheila MacLean Fredericton DTI/NBEN

Joshua Fox Fredericton DTI/NBEN

Melanie Crouse Fredericton SSC/CS

Melissa Cummings Fredericton DTI/NBEN

Lisa Jones Fredericton DND/OP/SH

Delbert Jenkins Fredericton RETIRED

Marcus Peck Fredericton ECC/MT/SP

Michael Taylor Fredericton DTI/NBEN

Bruce Boyd Fredericton DTI/NBEN

Herb Thoms Gander RETIRED

David Neil Gander ECC/MT/SP

Rhonda Gullage Greenwood DND/NU/SH

Graham Joanisse Greenwood SSC/CS

Erika Isenor Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Paul Hubley Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Jacquelynn Holley Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Hashem Abou-Shahla Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Catherine Hebert Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Nancy Sherry Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Christine Langis Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Tony Purchase Halifax RETIRED

Leslie Nasmith Halifax DFO/BI/SP

Fay Cormier Halifax ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Chris Coghlin Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Ashley Deighan Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Kristina Dobson Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Vicki MacKenzie Halifax ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Coralie Gallant Halifax CRA/MG/AFS

Sabet Makhoul Halifax CRA/AU/AFS

Amanda Casella Halifax CRA/MG/AFS

Heather Carr Halifax ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Muhammed Abudulai Kentville CFIA/VM

Bill MacIntyre Kentville (Moncton) ESDC/CS

Tony Chubbs Lake Melville DND/BI/SP

Fernand Hébert Moncton ECC/CH/SP

Susan Beaton Moncton CSC/NU/SH

Isabelle Chabot Moncton CSC/NU/SH

Frederic Basque Moncton SSC/CS

Gerry Saunders Moncton RETIRED

Francis Poirier Moncton SSC/CS

Thane Reeves Moncton DFO/CS

Kelly MacKinnon Moncton CRA/AU/AFS

Jean Trahan Moncton LAS/NBLA

Thomas Landry Moncton RETIRED

Matthew Lee Moncton TRANSPORT/EN/NR

Duncan Fraser NBAG DAA/NBAG

Clémence Talbot NBCC OAG/NBCC

Christopher Titus NBCP OAG/NBCP

John-Michael McPhee NBEN DTI/NBEN

Evan Pemberton NBEN FCS/NBEN

Glen MacDonald NBEN DTI/NBEN

Misty Matthews-Emery NBLA LAS/NBLA

Pamela Rose NBVM (Halifax) ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Guy Savoie Northern New Brunswick CRA/AU/AFS

Gilles Comeau Northern New Brunswick RETIRED

Lisa Richard Prince Edward Island CRA/CS/AFS

Craig Bradley Prince Edward Island SSC/CS

Geoffrey Allen Prince Edward Island ACOA/CO/AV

Barry Gerus Prince Edward Island CRA/CS/AFS

Gerald Hill Prince Edward Island SSC/CS

Christopher Gilfoy Prince Edward Island CRA/CS/AFS

Andrew Cudmore Prince Edward Island SSC/CS

Kathy McLellan Prince Edward Island SSC/CS

Don Eldershaw Retired Members Guild RETIRED

Tim McCullough Saint John CRA/AU/AFS

Michael Maxan Saint John CRA/AU/AFS

Gayle Armstrong Saint John CRA/AU/AFS

Rabindra Singh St. Andrews DFO/BI/SP

Steven Leadbeater St. Andrews DFO/BI/SP

Leslie White St. John's CRA/AU/AFS

Travis Kendall St. John's CRA/AU/AFS

Mike Lester St. John's SSC/CS

Susan Harris St. John's ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Kimberley Keats St. John’s (AYPC) DFO/BI/SP

John O'Rourke St. John's DFO/BI/SP

Roger Johnson St. John's DFO/BI/SP

Terry Fleet St. John's DFO/BI/SP

Anica Stowe St. John's ESDC/NU EMA/SH

Friday, May 24^th, 2019

Welcome and Introductions

Atlantic Regional Director, Kim Skanes called the meeting of the 76^th Atlantic Regional Council (ARC) to order at 1:30 pm.  The 76^th ARC was opened on an upbeat musical note by the Celtic Fiddlers.  Housekeeping items were reviewed. 

Kim invited those attending the ARC for the first time to stand and be recognized. 

Guests Debi Daviau, PIPSC President and an AYPC observer Jason Murphy were introduced. 

The Regional Executive and Training Committee members came to the front of the room to be recognized:  Manny Costain, Phil Wilson, Carolyn Hynes, Michael Basque, Marilyn Best, Marcel Journeay, Scott McConaghy, Mike Pauley, Christine Newhook and Jason Rioux.

Staff members Paul Hartigan, Manager, Atlantic Region, Catherine Pinks, Office Administrator and Andrew Gize, Corporate Services Officer were introduced to the delegates. 

Carolyn Hynes read the Equality Statement.

Nominations for the Atlantic Regional Executive Committee

Kim introduced Election Sub Committee member Micheal Basque.  Micheal explained there are five (5) Members at Large, two year term positions up for election.  Nominations will be made today and candidates’ addresses are scheduled  for 4:30 pm with elections taking place Saturday prior to lunch.  Candidates will be given three minutes for their address.  Nominations commenced as follows:

• Scott McConaghy nominated  Marcel Journeay (Greenwood  ) - accepted
• Shieila MacLean nominated Carolyn Hynes  (St. John’s) - accepted
• Sue Harris nominated Phil Wilson (Halifax) - accepted
• Gerry Saunders nominates Matthew Lee (Moncton) - accepted
• Hashem Abou-Shahla nominates Cathy Hebert (Halifax) - accepted
• Andrew Cudmore nominates Gerald Hill (Prince Edward Island) - accepted
• Everette Scott nominates Jennifer Cantwell (DND Halifax) - accepted

All nominees accepted and nominations closed.  Michael reminded delegates ARC voting cards will be required to obtain a ballot.  He stated there are 7 nominations for 5 positions and elections will take place Saturday.

Epic Engagement – Barry Lewis Green

St. John’s native, Barry Lewis Green, delivered a fun and engaging session which explored the  5 personality types, their strenghs, connections, what is important to them and their challenges in respect to engagement.  He touched on generational differences.  Barry examined the core strategies that help move engagement from doing  the right things to doing them with meaning. 

Executive of the Year Award

Kim presented the 2019 Executive of the Year Award to recipient Carolyn Hynes, St. John’s Branch President.

Regional Executive Candidates’ Address

Michael introduced the candidates indicating they would have three minutes each to address the delegates. Cathy Hebert withdrew from the election.  Candidates’ addresses followed.

Jennifer Cantwell

Gerald Hill

Carolyn Hynes

Marcel Journeay video clip

Mathew Lee

Phil Wilson

Recess

The meeting recessed for the day at 4:30 pm.

Saturday, May 25^th, 2019

Welcome and Opening Remarks

The business meeting of the 76^th Atlantic Regional Council was called to order at 8:40 am by Marilyn Best as Chairperson, Manny Costain as Parliamentarian and Catherine Pinks as Recording Secretary.

Marilyn reminded delegates to have any new resolutions in by the end of the morning break.

1.  Approval of Agenda

The agenda for the 76^th Atlantic Regional Council was presented to the delegates for approval.  The following changes were made:

• #4 will move to #8
• #8 will move to #4                     

Motion #1       Jean Trahan (Moncton) moved and Mike Pauley (Atlantic Regional Executive) seconded that the 76^th Atlantic Regional Council Agenda be approved as amended.    CARRIED

2.  Approval of 75^th Atlantic Regional Council Minutes

The 75^th Atlantic Regional Council minutes were reviewed and an error on Page 4 was noted – Rioux was spelled incorrectly. 

Motion #2    Christine Newhook (Atlantic Regional Executive) moved and Phil Wilson (Atlantic Regional Executive) seconded that the minutes be accepted as amended.  CARRIED

3.  Roll Call

8:45 am Catherine Pinks (Staff) and Marilyn Best (Chairperson) completed a delegate roll call.  All delegates as per the participants’ list contained in the minutes were present.

4.  President’s Address

PIPSC President Debi Daviau gave a presentation entitled One Big Union which provided updates on:  Phoenix, RCMP Civilian Members, Tax Fairness, Public Science, Outsourcing, Pensions, Employee Wellness Services Program, Open Offices and Equity and Diversity.

A question and answer session followed.   

Marilyn thanked Debi indicating we appreciate all the efforts made on behalf of the membership and for taking the time to attend our Regional Council and networking with our members. 

5.  Branch and Provincial Group Highlights

Misty Mathews Emery (NBLA) President of the NBLA Group explained that on Friday morning a meeting of the Presidents from the NB Groups and Branches was held.  Each constituent body presented a report on their activities.  Misty proceeded to provide a summary update on the NB Group reports.   There are six provincial groups in New Brunswick as Atlantic is one of the regions of PIPSC that has a significate representation of provincial employers:  NBEN, NBAG, NBVM, NBLA, NBCC and NBCP.  The NBEN, NBAG and NBVM negotiate together under one collective agreement.  Their agreement expires at the end of May so they are preparing as are the other NB Groups to begin negotiations in the fall.  The Engineers have some concerns with the change in government in the province of NB, budget cuts, hours of work, performance management and pensions.  They have a well-developed system of LMCC’s and they have been addressing these issues through consultation.  The NBCP’s are in a state of flux with a lot of turnover amongst their Executive but they are holding an AGM soon.  NBLA collective agreement expires in November so they are in a position to file now (six months in advance).  Between rounds of negotiations we focused a bit on member engagement.  Currently the NBLA have no RANDS and 1.4 of all members are trained stewards.  The NBCC group is different as their collective agreement expires prior to the others and they have already held their negotiations.  The NBCC shared a report on the agreement which expires in 2020.  In general the NB Groups are planning to work and strategize together going forward and met in January and have a second meeting scheduled for early July.

The Pension is major and an important issue for the NB Groups.  Their case is working its way through the litigation process and it is expected to be a long process.  Misty acknowledge the work of Mike Pauley for the work he has done on the pension issue.  Also on the pension issue Misty stated the NB Groups appreciate all the support received from the region on Provincial issues.  We can always “do better” as the slogan says.  Things can trickle down a little too slowly from Ottawa.  In Atlantic we do a much better job in supporting our Provincial members than in other regions.  At the Advisory Council we spend time with the other separate employer groups in PIPSC and we recognize that we have it better in Atlantic.  We are setting a good example for all of PIPSC that in Atlantic we are more inclusive.

Marilyn thanked Misty for providing an overview of the challenges faced by the New Brunswick Provincial Groups. 

Gilles Comeau (Northern New Brunswick), President of the Northern New Brunswick Branch, presented the highlights from the Branch reports tabled at the Branch and Provincial Group President’s meeting on Friday morning.   The Branch’s during the past year have been active hosting many different events.   A number of Branches joined together to collaborate on activities reaching out to more members.  Family activities were held so individuals from constituent bodies can meet and promote union activities at the same time.  By organizing activities, we are able to promote visibility in the community.  Family BBQs, bowling, skating and Do Better sessions were organized.  Presentations on the Employee Wellness program were popular and Federal Pension sessions were held.  Mike Pauley organized a presentation on the provincial pension plan.  Branches held coffee breaks to meet and connect with members, these sessions are more casual than Lunch and Learns and allow you reach out to a number of people in an informal setting.  There was a ball game with the Alliance, a session on Social Media with Max Way, session on Scientific Integrity and a Science Fair where a donation was made.  Concerns expressed were:  The SH Group concerns regarding retroactive pay with Phoenix was raised.  Many branches have difficulty with member participation often as a result of the large geographic area covered.  Emails for meetings are sent out 6-8 weeks in advance and people are busy and forget so we would like to have a reminder sent.

Marilyn thanked Gilles noting the importance of organizing networking activities to provide opportunities for members to talk together.  As constituent bodies we are always struggling to find ways for member engagement and sharing your events help other branches to come up with ideas.   

6.  Regional Training Committee Report

Carolyn Hynes (Atlantic Regional Executive) reviewed the mandate of the Atlantic Regional Training Committee.  Carolyn stated she was honoured to be selected as Chairperson of the committee and her success is due to the great teamwork by the committee members and staff.  The success of the activities is due to team’s contribution behind the scenes.  Carolyn thanks Paul Hartigan, Max Way, John Hanrahan and Barry Hébert who facilitated at April’s Regional Training School.  The region successfully presented Basic Steward Training in September in Saint John, NB; October Steward Council, Halifax, NS; November Constitute Body Training, Charlottetown, PE; November Basic Dartmouth, NS and April Regional Training School Wolfville, NS. 

The region has trained 48 new stewards and we currently have 114 stewards in total.  Carolyn reported the 2018 Steward Council reviews were positively rosy and we are currently finalizing 2019 Steward Council with the theme Cannabis.  There were 25 Lunch and Learn requests during this reporting period.  Carolyn reviewed the approval process for Lunch and Learn requests. 

Motion #3    Jean Trahan (Moncton Branch) moved and Phil Wilson (Atlantic Regional Executive) seconded that the Training Committee Chairperson’s Report be accepted as presented. CARRIED

7.  Regional Manager’s Report

Paul Hartigan (Atlantic Regional Manager) stated he was pleased to have great people to work with and without them the office wouldn’t be as effective.  Paul reported we lost Barry Hébert to the NCR and it has been a bit of a process to fill the position.  We had someone in place, but it didn’t work out, however we are pleased to report, following another competition process, we have a new candidate who accepted the offer and will start in July.

Paul stated Phoenix is broken and not going to be fixed.  At this point in time we need to someone who can take a look at our priority issues and we do have a few names we use in a various key departments.   Paul reported the pay policy grievances will be withdrawn.  However individual grievances will go forward – for example if you paid penalties on your mortgage you or if you ended up on sick leave due to the stress you could potentially grieve and get this back.

On other topics Paul report that regarding Performance Management Treasury Board has been told to look at this.  Return to work cases are complicated as some require a gradual return to work.  Duty to Accommodate cases are driven by medical information from the family physician or Health Canada doctor and are not as easy as some would like it to be. 

The New Brunswick Groups have had positive results this year in relation to dealing with some classification issues for the NBEN Group. We have had lot of good discussions with NB employer with feedback on policies. 

Following the Regional Executive Elections Paul addressed questions from the delegates.

Motion #4    Jean Trahan (Moncton Branch) moved and Isabel Chabot (Moncton Branch) seconded that the Atlantic Regional Manager’s Report be accepted as presented.           CARRIED

8.  Regional Executive Elections

Michael Basque (Atlantic Regional Executive) explained to the delegates that the room will be tiled when ballots are distributed to those who have a voting card, and will remain tiled until the ballots are collected.  He reviewed the regulations and process for the elections.  The ballots were distributed and collected.

RECESS FOR LUNCH

Marilyn reconvened the meeting at 1:00 pm.

8.  Regional Executive Elections continued

Election Results:  97 ballots distributed; 96 collected; one voter abstained

• Carolyn Hynes 87
• Phil Wilson 77
• Marcel Journeay 73
• Gerald Hill 76
• Jennifer Cantwell 63
• Matthew Lee 50

Motion #5    Mike Pauley (Regional Executive) moved and Jean Trahan (Moncton Branch) seconded that the ballots from the Atlantic Regional Executive Election be destroyed. CARRIED

Scott McConaghy (Atlantic Regional Executive) thanked outgoing Executive members Marilyn Best and Michael Basque for their contributions to the Atlantic Regional Executive.

9.  Resolutions

RESOLUTION #1

76^th Atlantic Regional Council

Sponsor:  Atlantic Regional Executive

Carolyn Hynes (Atlantic Regional Executive) moved and Scott McConaghy (Atlantic Regional Executive) seconded.   

Whereas the Training and Education Committee (TEC) is now focused on mentoring in addition to training and education;

And whereas the current acronym, TEC, is phonetically the same as the commonly accepted acronym for a technical committee, Tech;

And whereas the fact that many members refer to the Information Technology Services and Projects Committee as the Tech committee create confusion;

And whereas this is mainly Manny’s fault;

Be it resolved that the TEC committee be renamed to the Training, Education and Mentoring Committee (TEAM committee)

….

17.8 Training and Education Training, Education and Mentoring Committee

17.8.1 Composition There shall be a Committee of the Board to be known as the Training and Education Training, Education and Mentoring Committee consisting of five (5) to seven (7) members. The Chair of each Region’s Training Committee shall be the designated member to this committee. Each Region shall designate an alternate, should the Chair of the Training Committee be unable to attend.

17.8.2 Mandate The Training and Education Training, Education and Mentoring Committee shall be responsible for advising and making recommendations and/or providing advice to the Board on any issue relating to the recruitment, training, mentoring and education of Stewards/members and the Institute training program Carolyn speaks to the motion and explains its purpose. Scott to be fair to many we never thought about acronyms.

CARRIED

RESOLUTION #2

76^th Atlantic Regional Council

Sponsor:  Atlantic Regional Executive

Scott McConaghy (Atlantic Regional Executive) moved and Mike Pauley (Atlantic Regional Executive) seconded.   

Delegate Count Formula for the PIPSC AGM Atlantic Region

	Members	Members *4	Entitled/200	1 Year /4 years	Actual 2019	2020	2021	2022	Total	Extra
Halifax	1269	5076	25.38	6.35	6	6	6	6	24	1.38
Moncton	784	3136	15.68	3.92	3	4	3	4	14	1.68
St. John's	638	2552	12.76	3.19	3	3	3	3	12	0.76
Fredericton	561	2244	11.22	2.81	2	3	2	3	10	1.22
Prince Edward Island	515	2060	10.30	2.58	2	3	2	2	9	1.30
DND Halifax	350	1400	7.00	1.75	1	2	2	1	6	1.00
Saint John	176	704	3.52	0.88	1	0	1	1	3	0.52
Northern New Brunswick	135	540	2.70	0.68	0	1	0	1	2	0.70
Cape Breton	69	276	1.38	0.35	1	0	0	1	2	-0.62
Kentville	46	184	0.92	0.23	0	1	0	1	2	-1.08
St. Andrews	56	224	1.12	0.28	1	0	1	0	2	-0.88
Gander	84	336	1.68	0.42	1	0	1	0	2	-0.32
Greenwood	44	176	0.88	0.22	1	0	1	0	2	-1.12
Melville	14	56	0.28	0.07	1	0	1	0	2	-1.72
Unassigned	(To be assigned by the Regional Executive)	1	1	1	1	4
Atlantic Total	4741				24	24	24	24

Alternates over the 4 year period would be given out in the order of

Moncton

Halifax

Prince Edward Island

Fredericton

DND Halifax

St. John's

Northern New Brunswick

Amendment #1