DATE: March 3, 2021

TO: BC/Yukon Branch Presidents and Vice-Presidents
       BC/Yukon Regional Executive

FROM: Robert K. MacDonald, B.A, MRM 
             Director, BC/Yukon Region
             robertmacdonald@pipsc.ca 

The 76th British Columbia/Yukon Regional Council Meeting is scheduled from 9:00am - 1:00pm PST on Saturday, May 29th, 2021 and will be held virtually over Zoom.

Delegate Allotment

 The delegate numbers for this virtual Council are as follows:

Fraser Valley Branch

3

North-Central Vancouver Island Branch

3

Northern BC Branch

1

Okanagan Branch

4

Vancouver Branch

19

Vancouver CRA Branch

11

Victoria Branch

9

Victoria CRA Branch

2

Yukon Branch

4

Young Professional / Employment Equity

5*

Members of the Regional Executive

7

TOTAL

68**

*Up to 5 additional delegates as selected by the Regional Executive.
**The Regional Director is not part of the delegate count.

Branch Presidents, please provide the name(s) of your delegate(s) and alternate(s) no later than Friday, April 16th, 2021 to Patricia Fung at pfung@pipsc.ca. Delegates will be contacted with details for registration.  Information on the virtual format, including details on zoom, will be provided to delegates in advance of the meeting. 

Salary replacement will be provided for those delegates who are required to miss work to attend on Saturday, May 29, 2021. Delegates whose normal day of rest is Saturday will not be eligible for salary replacement. Please note that full participation and attendance in the Council is required or salary replacement may not be covered.  

As approved at our 75th Regional Council, the Regional Executive may  be selecting up to five (5) additional delegates who are young professionals and/or self-identify from the following employment equity seeking groups: women, LGBTQ2+, indigenous persons, persons with a disability; or visible minority. Branches are always  encouraged to ensure increased representation of young professionals (those 40 and under) and diversity groups as part of their own delegate selection process.

Observers are welcome, but all associated expenses must be covered by the sponsoring Branch. Names of observers are required by Monday, May 3rd, 2021

The meeting materials will be available for review in an online virtual binder. Notification will be sent to delegates when the binder is posted, anticipated in May. 

Virtual Council 

Overall, we will be able to conduct all of the scheduled and mandatory business at this year’s Council. In order to meet these requirements the following modifications have been made:

  • Call for Volunteers on the Elections Committee:  At this time the Regional Executive is seeking volunteers to sit on the Election Committee for Council. Volunteers must be a delegate to the Council. Nominations are being accepted for five positions and expressions of interest should be submitted as part of your Delegate list no later than Friday, April 16th, 2021. To facilitate the elections, the Regional Executive has approved an updated Procedure and Election Process for the 76th Regional Council, click here.
  • Voting:  Voting for the Regional Executive elections will be conducted with the Zoom voting function. Results will be captured pursuant to the Institute’s election requirements. The Elections Committee will review this process to ensure it meets all By-Laws and requirements. 
  • Observers: Observers will only be able to participate via the conference call feature of zoom in order to preserve the voting functionality of this virtual platform. 

Draft Agenda

Pursuant to our Constitution and By-Laws, below is the draft agenda for the virtual Council: 

  1. Welcome and Introductions
  2. Call to Order
  3. Adoption of Agenda
  4. Adoption of Minutes from 2019 75th BC/Yukon Regional Council
  5. Business Arising from 2019 75th BC/Yukon Regional Council
  6. PIPSC Update – Guest Speaker - President Daviau 
  7. Regional Executive Election – Call for Nominations
  8. BC/Yukon Treasurer’s Report
    1. Financials (2 years)
    2. Budget (2021 – 2022)
  9. Call for Nominations
  10. Regional Director’s Report
  11. Election Speeches
  12. Regional Executive Election (Ballots)
  13. New Business (including proposed by-law amendments)
  14. Election Results
  15. Closing Remarks
  16. Adjournment

The Regional Council will commence at 9:00am and end at 1:00pm Pacific on Saturday, May 29, 2021.

Branch Reports, Committee Reports and Resolutions 

Please note, Branch reports, Committee reports and resolutions to be included in the virtual binder are due by Friday, April 9th, 2021. In order for documents to be translated and included in the virtual binder, please respect this due date for materials.

Branch Presidents’ Meeting 

Traditionally a Branch Presidents’ Meeting is held in advance of the Regional Council. At this time, could Branch Presidents kindly let me know if they would still like to hold a meeting this year and include their availability and any specific agenda items for discussion. 

Please provide your responses regarding the Branch Presidents’ Meeting to robertmacdonald@pipsc.ca by Friday, April 23rd, 2021. Based on feedback, we can schedule a virtual meeting sometime in advance of Council. Details will be confirmed in early May. 

Nominations for Regional Executive

Nominations are being accepted for three (2) year positions and one (1) year position to be elected at the Council meeting. Please click here for the nomination form to be submitted in advance to the Vancouver office. Candidates do not need to attend Council to seek election to the Regional Executive. 

While this year’s Regional Council will be different and will lack many of the most enjoyable features of past meetings, it is important that we continue the business of our Region in an open and transparent manner. Soon we will be back to seeing everyone in person and enjoying all of the associated networking and social opportunities that go with such events!  

Should you have any questions on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact me at 236-888-8739, through the Vancouver office at 1-800-663-0485 or at robertmacdonald@pipsc.ca.