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Help Wanted: Constitution Renewal for 2010

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Written by Denis Grey, Toronto on
Post Date: 
Mon, 2009/08/24
In 2009-10, the Constitution Committee will be working on a process to renew the Society's Constitution. The last major revision to the Society's bylaws was completed in the early 1990s. In 2009-10 the Constitution Committee will be conducting a through review of the Society's Constitution with a view to making it more flexible and modern. Two or three volunteers are needed to work on this project on a part-time basis from September 2009 until about August 2010.
 
The Bylaw renewal project has two major goals:
  1. Update the Society's bylaws and separate them into "bylaws" and "policy". The policy framework will be managed by the Society's National Council while the bylaw framework would managed by the membership as a whole.
  2. Update the Sample Centre Bylaws to bring them into compliance with recent changes to the Society's bylaws and also to ensure that they are renewed at the same time as the National Constitution.
Help Wanted!
 
Bylaw changes require a long lead time and a solid consensus must be built across the whole Society in order for bylaw adoption to succeed (no Meech Lake here please!). You can help out with this project if you can offer:
  • Legal expertise and/or board level experience with the Society or other non-profit boards
  • Attention to detail and ability to research constitutional issues with the Canada Revenue Agency and Corporations Canada
  • Willingness to travel to Centres to help promote the bylaw renewal project (Winter and Spring 2010)

The current Constitution Committee has members from Eastern Canada, Ontario and Quebec. Volunteers from other parts of the country, particularly Western Canada and British Columbia are particularly encouraged to apply.

Most committee work will be conducted by e-mail with the occasional conference call. Committee members will be asked to help draft documents and review proposals from other members. Expect about 2-5 hours per month work with time off for Christmas.

Helping the Society with this project will make the management of the Society easier for years to come. To find out more or to apply, please contact the Constitution Committee Chair, Denis Grey at denis.grey@sympatico.ca.

See how much fun you can have as part of a Constitution Committee!

 

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