PREAMBLE
These By-Laws, in general, pertain to matters of Branch organization not covered by the By-Laws and Regulations of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada or of the Ontario Region, and are made pursuant to those By-Laws and Regulations.
DEFINITIONS
"Institute” and/or “PIPSC" means The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
“Members” means those who meet the requirements of By-Law 3 Membership.
“President” means President of the Branch unless otherwise specified.
“Vice-President” means Vice-President of the Branch unless otherwise specified.
"Voting Opportunity" means an opportunity for a member to cast a ballot in the election. A voting opportunity will occur up to three times prior to the Annual General Meeting, as determined by the Elections Committee, and as noted in the notice of the Branch Annual General Meeting.
BY-LAW 1 NAME
The name of the Branch shall be PIPSC Toronto West Branch, hereinafter referred to as the "Branch".
BY-LAW 2 BRANCH AIM
The aim of the Branch shall be to represent Branch interests, to provide a forum for the discussion of Institute affairs, to administer this Constitution and By-Laws, to make recommendations to Regional Council and to the Institute on topics or matters within the objectives of the Institute, and to nominate delegates to Regional Council and Institute meetings in accordance with the Constitutions and By-Laws of those constituent bodies.
BY-LAW 3 MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Every Regular member located within the geographic area of the Branch as described by the Institute shall be a Regular member of the Branch.
3.2 Every Retired member located within the geographic area of the Branch as described by the Institute shall be a Retired member of the Branch.
BY-LAW 4 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
4.1 All members shall be eligible to hold office, nominate members for positions on the Branch Executive, propose amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Branch and vote in Branch affairs.
4.2 All members shall be eligible to attend and speak at General meetings of the Branch.
BY-LAW 5 FINANCES
5.1 Fiscal Year: The fiscal year of the Branch shall be the calendar year.
5.2 Expenditures: The Branch Executive shall expend such monies as it considers necessary for the conduct of the business of the Branch.
5.3 Branch Funds: Branch funds will be maintained in an account assigned by the Institute.
5.4 Signatures: Financial transactions shall require the signature of any two (2) of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Branch. A written account shall be kept of all expenditures.
5.5 Auditing As required, auditing and verification procedures shall be carried out by members of the Institute who are not responsible for the administration of funds of the Branch.
BY-LAW 6 EXECUTIVE
6.1 Role: The Branch Executive shall exercise the authority of and act on behalf of the Branch on all matters subject to this constitution between general meetings of the Branch.
6.2 Composition The Branch Executive shall be composed of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and Members -at-Large to the maximum permitted by Institute By-Laws, elected by and from the Branch members casting ballots at voting opportunities. Up to two (2) voting opportunities prior to the Annual General Meeting may be held at the office to ensure maximum participation of the Branch.
6.3 Term of Office The term of office shall be two (2) years with the exception of the first election when half the members shall be elected for a two (2) year term and the remainder for a one (1) year term.
6.4 Meetings The Branch Executive shall meet as frequently as is required, but at least three times a year.
6.5 Quorum A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Branch Executive.
6.6 Voting Decisions shall be by majority vote.
6.7 Vacancies
6.7.1 If the position of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume the position of the President until the next election.
6.7.2 If a position, other than that of the President, becomes vacant for any reason, the remaining members of the Executive may select an eligible member of the Branch to fill that vacancy until the next election.
6.7.3 Any member who is absent from two (2) consecutive meetings of the Executive without valid reason shall be considered to have resigned from the Executive.
6.8 Duties
6.8.1 President The President shall call and preside at all meetings of the Branch and of the Branch Executive, and shall present to the Annual General meeting a report on Branch activities.
6.8.2 Vice-President The Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of his duties and, in the absence of the President, perform the duties of that position.
6.8.3 Secretary The Secretary shall be responsible for sending notices of all meetings of the Branch and of the Branch Executive. The Secretary shall record minutes of meetings, including attendance, maintain records and correspondence of the Branch and of the Branch Executive, and shall ensure that a copy of minutes are filed with the Institute. The Secretary shall also be responsible for submitting reports as required by the relevant Institute and Region By-Laws and Regulations.
6.8.4 Treasurer The Treasurer shall maintain the financial records of the Branch as required by Institute policy, prepare a financial report for each meeting of the Branch Executive and each General Meeting of the Branch, submit a detailed financial statement to the Institute as required, and prepare the request for the annual allowance of the Branch. Copies of the financial report shall be available to all Branch members.
6.8.5 Members-at-Large Members-at-Large shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Executive.
6.8.6 Committees The Executive may establish Committees as necessary, with terms of reference and membership to be decided by the Executive. Copies of committee reports shall be filed with the Branch Secretary. Committees shall be dissolved by majority vote of the Executive.
BY-LAW 7 ELECTIONS
7.1 Elections Committee The Executive shall appoint an Elections Committee to receive nominations for positions on the Branch Executive, and to conduct the elections. Any member of the Committee who becomes a candidate in the elections shall resign from the Committee.
7.2 Procedure for Nominations
7.2.1 A call for nominations for election to the Branch Executive shall be included with the notice of the Branch Annual General Meeting. (See 8.1.2)
7.2.2 Nominations must be submitted in writing and delivered to the Elections Committee. The nomination period will start at least 28 days before the Annual General Meeting and close 14 days after the start of the nomination period.
7.2.3 Reserved
7.2.4 The Elections Committee shall satisfy itself that the candidates for election are eligible and willing to serve.
7.3 Election Procedure
7.3.1 The Elections Committee shall serve as Returning Officers and shall establish procedures for the efficient conduct of an election, the counting and tabulating of ballots and all matters directly related thereto.
7.3.1.1 Every eligible member may vote at only one of the voting opportunities.
7.3.2 Reserved
7.3.3 Reserved
7.3.4 The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for a position shall be declared elected. For the election of the Members-at-Large, the candidates with the highest votes shall be declared elected.
7.3.5 The results of the election shall be announced at the Branch Annual General Meeting and subsequently distributed.
7.3.6 The newly elected Branch Executive shall take office at the close of the Branch Annual General Meeting.
BY-LAW 8 BRANCH MEETINGS
8.1 Annual General Meetings
8.1.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Branch is its governing body. All members are entitled to attend.
8.1.2 The Branch Executive shall call an Annual General Meeting once each calendar year. The interval between such meetings shall not exceed fifteen (15) months. Members shall be notified of the meeting and of any proposed changes to this constitution at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
8.1.3 Quorum Fifty percent (50%) of the members in attendance at the beginning of the meeting shall constitute a quorum.
8.1.4 Agenda The agenda shall include the following items:
Approval of the Agenda
Adoption of the minutes of the previous Annual General meeting
Business arising from the Minutes
Report of the President
Annual Financial Report
Approval of Budget
Report of the Elections Committee
New Business, including By-Law amendments
8.1.5 Voting All eligible members of the branch will have voting opportunities as noted in the Notice of the Branch Annual General Meeting. Voting for positions on the Branch Executive shall be by secret ballot. Each member shall have one (1) vote. Decisions shall be by a simple majority vote.
8.1.6 Filing of Documents Each year, following the Annual General Meeting, the Branch Executive shall submit a copy of the draft AGM minutes, the annual financial report and the elections report to the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Institute prior to end of the calendar year.
8.2 Special General Meeting
8.2.1 A Special General Meeting of the Branch shall be called by the Branch Executive or at the written request of at least 10% of the Branch members and shall be held within six (6) weeks of such decision or request.
8.2.2 Only the matter(s) for which the Special General Meeting was called shall appear on the agenda.
8.2.3 The same requirements shall apply to the notice, quorum, governance, attendance and voting at a Special General Meeting as is prescribed for the Annual General Meeting.
BY-LAW 9 RULES OF PROCEDURE
At any meeting of the Branch, Branch Executive or Committees thereof, matters of procedure, insofar as they are not specifically provided for, shall be governed by a majority vote of the members present and voting on the matter of procedure. The Chair of such meeting shall first rule on a matter of procedure or order and shall, in the absence of any By-Law to the contrary, rely upon and be governed by the latest edition of the American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure or “Le code des procédures des assemblées délibérantes” available at the meeting.
BY-LAW 10 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
10.1 These By-Laws may be amended at a General Meeting of the Branch. Approval of proposed amendments requires a simple majority of those voting.
10.2 All proposals for amendments to these By-Laws shall be submitted, in writing, to the Branch Executive. Proposed amendments may be submitted by any member of the Branch. The notice of the Branch meeting at which the amendments will be considered, shall include:
a) the article to be amended; and
b) the new wording.
(See 8.1.2)
10.3 New Constitutions and By-Laws, as well as any amendments, shall be submitted to the Institute By-Laws and Policies Committee and the appropriate Regional Executive for review.
10.4 This Constitution and By-Laws and any amendments thereto shall take effect upon ratification by the Branch membership and approval by the Institute.
10.5 These Constitution and By-Laws are adopted simultaneously in both English and French, each version being equally authoritative.
BY-LAW 11 REGULATIONS
11.1 Branch Executive may make such Regulations, and any amendments thereto, not inconsistent with these By-Laws, as it deems necessary or convenient for the operating of the Branch.
11.2 All proposed Regulations and amendments thereto shall be submitted to the Institute for review and approval. They shall take effect on a date determined by the Branch Executive, but not earlier than the date they were approved by the Institute.
11.3 Each such Regulation shall be presented to the next General Meeting of the Branch, and may be rescinded or amended by such meeting. These constitute changes to the Regulations and shall be subject to Article 11.2.
BY-LAW 12 CONTEXT AND GENDER
In this Constitution and By-Laws, expressions in the masculine or feminine, in plural or in singular, may be substituted to give effect to the true meaning of the Constitution and By-Laws.
REGULATIONS – Voting Procedures
1. The Branch Executive will appoint members of the Election Committee (members in good standing not running for a position in the upcoming election) consisting of Election Chair and Election Committee Members (ECMs).
2. Election Committee will issue the Notification of Election eight (8) weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM):
- Notification to consist of:
- Positions up for election
- Eligibility requirements to run for a position
- Nomination period to start at least 28 days prior to the AGM and end 14 days after the start date
- Dates for voting opportunities
- Locations of the voting opportunities
3. a. Election Committee will obtain a ballot box for each of: voting opportunity (ies) (up to 3)
b. Election Committee will produce consecutively numbered ballots with the Positions up for election noted therein.
c. Election Committee will request a membership list of Toronto West Branch from the Institute and use it as a basis for the Voting Eligibility List.
4. Election Process:
a. All members in good standing from Toronto West Branch, based on a membership list issued 2 weeks prior to the AGM and provided by the Institute, will be eligible to vote.
b. The election committee will issue a ballot to every member who wishes to vote at the polling station of the voting opportunity, provided the member is on the membership list. After the marked ballot is returned by the member, the ballot will be placed in voting box by the ECM.
c. The election committee will issue a ballot to a member who is not on the membership list only on voting opportunity (ies) that is (are) held. After the marked ballot is returned by the member, the ballot will be placed in an envelope, with the name of the member marked on the envelope, pending confirmation by the Institute that the member is in good standing. Upon receiving confirmation from the Institute, the envelope containing the marked ballot will be opened, and in the presence of at least 2 ECM to ensure ballot secrecy, the ballot will be placed in the ballot box. If there is no confirmation by the Institute that the member is in good standing, the envelope will be set aside and the ballot shall not be counted for the election.
d. ECM will note the last ballot issued at each voting opportunity.
e. ECM will seal the ballot box, secure the ballots of members not on the voting membership list, and secure the unused ballots, noting the numbers of the first and last ballots, and ensuring the remaining ballots are in consecutive order, and store them in a secure location
f. Steps a) to e) are repeated for each voting opportunity
g. Election Committee will close balloting as noted on the Notification of Election and seal the ballot box.
h. Election Committee will tally the ballots from each ballot box and reconcile the number in each of the boxes should be equal to the number of ballots issued at the voting opportunity (ies), including the AGM. Candidates may observe the tallying process but must remain quiet and not interfere with the process.
i. The Election Committee will declare the candidate with the most votes in each of the positions up for election as the winner. For positions with multiple vacancies, the Election Committee will declare the candidates with the highest votes (up to the number of vacancies) as the winners. The Elections Chair will prepare a report of the election results, including the name(s) of the candidates, the number of votes each candidate received, if any (zero in the case of acclamation), and the names of the elected officials. The Election Committee will convey only the result of each candidate in person, by email or telephone. The Election Committee will present the report of the election results to the Branch members
j. Candidates may appeal the election results to the National Elections Committee, if sitting, or a member, mutually agreeable by the contesting candidates, of the former National Elections Committee, if not sitting, for recourse and resolution.
Approved by the Board of Directors
June 17, 2017