AFS QUÉBEC CITY SUB-GROUP CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
PREAMBLE
These By-Laws, in general, pertain to matters of Sub-Group organization not covered by the By-Laws and Regulations of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada or of the AFS Group 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 Sub-Group unless otherwise specified.
“Vice-President” means Vice-President of the Sub-Group unless otherwise specified.
“AFS” means the Audit, Financial and Scientific Group.
BY-LAW 1 NAME
The name of this Sub-Group shall be the PIPSC Québec City AFS Sub-Group, hereinafter referred to as the “Sub-Group”.
BY-LAW 2 SUB-GROUP AIM
The aim of the Sub-Group shall be to further the professional interests of its members, to protect the status and standards of their profession and to formulate and express the views of the members on matters affecting them.
BY-LAW 3 MEMBERSHIP
Every Regular member of the AFS Group working in Québec City shall be a Regular member of the Sub-Group in accordance with Institute By-Laws.
BY-LAW 4 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
4.1 All members shall be eligible to vote to elect officers and nominate members as per these By-Laws, propose and nominate members for positions on the Sub-Group Executive, propose amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Sub-Group and vote in Sub-Group affairs.
4.2 All members shall be eligible to attend and speak at General Meetings of the Sub-Group.
BY-LAW 5 FINANCES
5.1 Sub-Group Finances: Sub-Group finances shall be consistent with Institute policies.
5.2 Fiscal Year: The fiscal year of the Sub-Group shall be from November 1st to October 31st.
5.3 Expenditures: The Sub-Group Executive shall expend such monies as it considers necessary for the conduct of the business of the Sub-Group, subject to expenditure restraints.
5.4 Sub-Group Funds: Sub-Group funds will be maintained in an account assigned by the Institute.
5.5 Signing Officers for Bank Accounts: Signing officers for Bank Accounts are elected or appointed by the Constituent Body executive with the decisions being recorded in the appropriate minutes.
5.6 Signatures: Financial documents of the Sub-Group shall require the signature of any two (2) of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Sub-Group.
5.7 Records: A written account shall be kept of all expenditures.
5.8 Auditing: As required, auditing and verification procedures shall be carried out by members of the Sub-Group who are not responsible for the administration of the Sub-Group funds.
BY-LAW 6 SUB-GROUP EXECUTIVE
6.1 Role: The Sub-Group Executive shall exercise the authority of and act on behalf of the Sub-Group on all matters subject to this Constitution between general meetings of the Sub-Group.
6.2 Composition: The Sub-Group Executive shall be composed of a President, a first Vice-President, a second Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and Members-at-Large to the maximum permitted by Institute By-Laws, elected by and from the Sub-Group members at the Sub-Group Annual General Meeting. The positions of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into a single Secretary-Treasurer position if there are not separate candidates for both positions.
6.3 Term of Office: The term of office shall be two (2) years.Elections shall be held for the positions of President, Treasurer. Secretary and three (3) Members-at-Large on even-numbered years, and first Vice-President, second Vice-President, and the remaining Members-at-Large on odd-numbered years.
6.4 Meetings: The Sub-Group Executive shall meet as frequently as is required, but at least twice a year. Decisions shall be by a majority vote.
6.5 Quorum: A quorum for meetings of the Executive shall consist of half (1/2) of the elected officers rounded up to the next number when the Executive has an odd number of members, and half (1/2) plus one (1) when the Executive has an even number of members.
6.6 Voting: Decisions shall be by a majority vote.
6.7 Vacancies
6.7.1 If the position of President becomes vacant, the first Vice-President shall assume the position of the President until the next AGM.
6.7.2 If a position other than that of the President becomes vacant, the remaining members of the Executive may select an eligible member of the Sub-Group to fill that vacancy until the next AGM.
6.7.3 An elected officer may be removed from office in accordance with Institute By-Laws. An officer who fails to attend two (2) or more meetings of the Executive without valid reason may be removed from office.
6.8 Duties
6.8.1 President: The President shall call and chair all meetings of the Sub-Group and of the Sub-Group Executive. In case of tie votes, the chair of the meeting shall cast the deciding vote; otherwise, the chair of the meeting does not vote. The President shall represent the Sub-Group in dealing with the Institute and the Group.
6.8.2 First Vice-President: The first Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of their duties and, in the absence of the President, perform the duties of that position.
6.8.2.1 Second Vice-President: The Second Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of their duties and, in the absence of the first Vice-President, perform the duties of that position.
6.8.3 Secretary: The Secretary shall be responsible for preparing notices of all meetings, keeping records of all meetings of the Executive and the Annual General Meeting of the Sub-Group, and distributing minutes as soon as possible to the persons concerned.
6.8.4 Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be responsible for the funds of the Sub-Group in accordance with the recommendations of the Sub-Group Executive and for maintaining financial records for as long as required by Institute policy.
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 body that establishes them. Copies of Committee reports shall be filed with the Sub-Group Secretary. Committees shall be dissolved by a majority vote of the body that established them.
BY-LAW 7 ELECTIONS
7.1 Elections Committee: The Sub-Group Executive shall appoint a member to act as Returning Officer to be responsible for the procedure for nominations and the conduct of the elections.
7.2 Procedure for Nominations
7.2.1 A call for nominations for election to the Sub-Group Executive shall be posted two (2) weeks in advance; this call may be issued by e-mail, but must still be posted. The Returning Officer shall satisfy himself that the candidates for election are eligible and willing to serve. (See 8.1.2)
7.2.2 Nominations may be submitted in writing or may be made from the floor of the Sub-Group AGM.
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 Elections shall be held during the Annual General Meeting and shall be determined by the votes of the members in attendance. A single nominee for a position shall be acclaimed.
7.3.2 The Returning Officer shall, in addition to directives from the Sub-Group Executive, if any, put in place procedures for the efficient conduct of the elections, the counting and tabulating of ballots and all matters directly related thereto.
7.3.3 Reserved
7.3.4 The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for a position shall be declared elected.
7.3.5 The results of the election shall be announced at the Sub-Group Annual General Meeting and subsequently distributed.
7.3.6 The newly elected Sub-Group Executive shall take office at the close of the Sub-Group Annual General Meeting.
BY-LAW ARTICLE8 GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE SUB-GROUP
8.1 Annual General Meetings
8.1.1 The Annual General Meeting of the Sub-Group is its governing body. All members are entitled to attend.
8.1.2 The Sub-Group Executive shall call an Annual General Meeting of the Sub-Group in November or December. The Secretary shall inform members by posting a notice of meeting with an agenda on various office bulletin boards and/or by an e-mail sent to all AFS Sub-Group members. The notice of meeting must be sent or posted at least three (3) weeks before the start of the Annual General 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 prepared by the Executive shall include the following items:
• Roll Call (members of the Sub-Group Executive)
• Reading of the Notice of Meeting and approval of Agenda
• Review and adoption of the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
• Business arising from the minutes of the previous AGM
• Report of the President
• Annual Financial Report
• Approval of Budget
• Report of the Nominating Committee
• New or Other Business
8.1.5 Voting on Motions: Voting shall be by a show of hands. Proxy votes shall not be permitted. Decisions shall be by a majority vote of the members present and eligible to vote. Voting may be by secret ballot at the request of the majority of voting members present.
8.1.6 Filing of Documents: Each year, following the Annual General Meeting, the Sub-Group 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 the end of the calendar year.
8.2 Special General Meeting
8.2.1 A Special General Meeting of the Sub-Group shall be called by the Sub-Group Executive at its own discretion or at the written request of at least fifteen (15) members of the voting Sub-Group members and shall be held within two (2) weeks of such decision or request.
8.2.2 Only the matter for which the Special General Meeting was called shall appear on the agenda.
8.2.3 Twenty percent (20%) of all members in good standing on the time of the Special General Meeting shall constitute a quorum. The notice of meeting shall be posted on the office bulletin boards and/or by an e-mail sent to all AFS Sub-Group members. Decisions shall be by a majority vote.
BY-LAW 9 RULES OF PROCEDURE
At any meeting of the Group or Group 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 any 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 Proposed amendments may be submitted by any member of the Sub-Group.
10.2 Motions must be submitted in writing and posted or sent to the members at least fourteen (14) days before the start of the meeting. Members shall vote on amendments at the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting. A motion to amend is carried by a majority vote of the members in attendance.
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 Group Executive for review.
10.4 These By-Laws and any amendments thereto take effect upon their approval by the Institute and their ratification by the Sub-Group members; these By-Laws and any amendments are subject to the approval of the Institute Board of Directors and the AFS Group Executive.
BY-LAW 11 REGULATIONS
11.1 The Sub-Group Executive may make such Regulations not inconsistent with these By-Laws, as it deems necessary for the operating of the Sub-Group. The Sub-Group Executive may amend or rescind such Regulations.
11.2 All proposed Regulations and amendments thereto shall be submitted to the Institute for approval. All additions, changes or deletions to the Regulations shall take effect on the date set by the Sub-Group Executive but not earlier than the date they were approved.
11.3 Each such Regulation shall be presented to the next General Meeting of the Group, and may be rescinded or amended by such meeting. These constitute changes to the Regulations and shall be subject to Article 11.2.
Approved by the Board of Directors
March 1st, 2019