Ville de Québec NR Sub-Group

Report on the 1st Executive Committee meeting in 2017

Held on: July 31, 2017

At the Houston Avenue Bar & Grill in Québec.

Date : Tuesday, July 11, 2017 

Place: Houston Avenue Bar & Grill, Des Galeries Boulevard, Québec

Purpose:  First meeting of the NR Ville de Québec sub-group executive committee in 2017

Executives attending:

Janot Alain
Jean-Luc Bédard
Jean-Sébastien Binette
Omar Kali

AGENDA
 
1. Call to order
2. Opening remarks from President
3. Review and Approval of Agenda
4. Approval of the November 29, 2017 minutes
5. Business from the November 29, 2017 minutes
6. Report on the sub-group presidents’ meeting in St. John’s on June 8, 2017
7. Summary of the meeting with the Executive Committee of the Québec Branch on June 14, 2017
8. NR Group proposed tentative agreement
9. Upcoming events
10. Financial report as at December 31, 2016
11. Questions regarding the employee access control system data for PIMS in project management
12. New business
13. Date of the Next EC Meeting
14. Adjournment

Agenda Item / Person in Charge / Discussion / Action by

1. Call to order./ Jean-Luc/ At 18:15, after the quorum call, the President called the meeting to order.

2. Opening remarks from the President. /Jean-Luc /The President welcomed everyone.

3. Review and approval of the agenda. /Jean-Luc /On a motion by Janot, seconded by Omar, the agenda was approved as presented.

4. Approval of the November 29, 2017 minutes./ Jean-Sébastien /On a motion by Janot, seconded by Omar, the minutes were unanimously approved.

5. Business from the November 29, 2017 minutes./ Jean-Luc/

 a) The by-laws and regulations were sent to Natalie Bélanger of the PIPSC by Jean-Sébastien;
 
b) The minutes of the 2016 AGM were not sent to the PIPSC because they have not yet been approved.  They will be sent in due course.  The 2016 minutes and the election report were sent by Jean-Sébastien to Natalie Bélanger;

c) During the Presidents’ meeting in St. John’s, Jean-Luc met John Eng who had jackets made.  Janot will send Mr. Eng’s contact information to Jean-Sébastien, who will contact Mr. Eng to order 4 medium-sized jackets for the executive committee.  We will have “Sous-Groupe NR Ville de Québec” written on the jackets.

d) Jean-Luc conducted a survey of the Ville de Québec  NR SG members in February 2017, and 36 members participated, which is 39% of the members.  Jean-Luc presented the results during the sub-group president’s meeting in St. John’s.  / Janot

e) Jean-Sébastien contacted the Institute to obtain a membership count of level 3, 4, 5 and 6 engineers, architects and surveyors in the city of Québec.  Linda Martel from the Institute sent him the information by department and level.  Jean-Sébastien will check to see if we can get the data by province, region (National Capital, British Columbia/Yukon, Ontario, Prairies/Northwest Territories, Quebec, Atlantic) and according to the distribution of levels by department across Canada. / Jean-Sébasiten

f) The conference in collaboration with the Québec Branch on mental health was held on January 30, 2017 at the Officers’ Mess at CFB Valcartier.  Jean-Sébastien and Jean-Luc were involved and the activity was a success. / Jean-Sébastien

g) Jean-Luc created our sub-group’s Facebook page in 2016.  Omar will be responsible for adding the highlights following the creation of the sub-group and sending invitations to all the members via e-mail to sign up as a guest;
h) A “ServicePlus” link will be added to the Facebook page. / Omar

i) There will be no activities to mark the 150th anniversary of the confederation.  The Institute did not call on us to get involved. / Omar

j) Find out the date and location of the next union steward training session.  Based on availability and the workload, one or more members might participate in it.

k) Janot has received confirmation that he cannot be replaced as VQ NR SG representative on the NR National Council; / Jean-Luc

l) No action has been taken to obtain the members’ personal e-mail addresses.  Janot will contact the Institute for that information. / Janot

m) Janot will ask the Rand members to join the Institute. / Janot

6. Report on the sub-group presidents’ meeting held in St. John’s on June 8, 2017./ Jean-Luc/ The President presented the Ville de Québec NR SG and presented the results of the survey on our members’ issues.  The inequity in the classification of ENG posts is a concern for most of the sub-groups outside the National Capital.  Apparently, a career progression program (ENG-02 to 04) is being implemented in Shirley’s Bay, an Ottawa suburb.

There has been a career progression program for ENG 02 to 04 positions in the DND, Assistant Deputy Minister - Materiel, for many years.  Jean-Luc and Janot proposed using this program for the NR group.  Yves Cousineau offered to help us set up a cross-Canada program. /  Jean-Luc/Janot

7. Summary of the meeting with the Executive Committee of the Ville de Québec Branch on June 14, 2017./ Jean-Luc/ Jean-Luc attended the meeting.  The highlights are as follows:

a) Feedback from the Branch’s last activity, “Vivre ensemble autour de valeurs communes” [Living together with a set of common values] held on June 5, 2017.  The level of participation was disappointing (there were twenty some participants, including the organizers).  Possible causes: there was no meal at the event, the time was not optimal (17:00 to 19:00), the meeting was not held in a central location in Québec (Baie de Beauport);

b) It was observed that the participation level of women in the Institute in Québec and the Atlantic region is very low;

c) It was suggested that one big activity be held instead of several small ones. The main reasons are a lower cost in terms of time and logistics, since the people only have to travel once for a big activity.

8. NR Group proposed tentative agreement./ Jean-Luc/ The result of the vote was in favour of the agreement.

9. Upcoming events/ Jean-Luc/ It was agreed that we would get involved in organizing a large activity in collaboration with the Ville de Québec Branch.  We will contact the Branch in September to propose an activity in January or February 2018 and offer our help.  It was agreed that the activity will be held at a central location in Québec, rather than at the Officers’ Mess at CFB Valcartier.  In the meantime, we will have to find a subject/speaker.  Jean-Sébastien will send a reminder via e-mail.   / Jean-Sébastien

For our next AGM, we must find a speaker.  One suggestion was to invite a specialist on the new “e-staffing” system.  Another suggestion was to invite back Nadia El-Mabrouk and Michèle Sirois, who presented “Vivre ensemble autour de valeurs communes” on June 5, 2017 for the Ville de Québec Branch.  
Another suggestion is to contact a professor at Université Laval who specializes in an exciting subject or someone from the business world in Quebec, such as Louis Garneau.

The date of the next AGM was set for the end of October 2017. /  Jean-Luc, Omar, Janot and Jean-Sébastien

10. Financial report as at December 31, 2016./ Jean-Sébastien/ Jean-Sébastien presented the financial report as at December 31, 2016.

11. Questions regarding the DRDC - Valcartier Research Centre employee access control system data for PIMS in project management/ Jean-Luc/ A concern was raised regarding the use of the PIMS software by DRDC to enter the hours worked by employees.  Can they or the section heads access the employee entry and exit times using the employee access control system data?  Janot asked the DRDC Director who confirmed that no one is allowed to ask that information.  Commissionaires who have access to this data cannot disclose this information.

12. New business/ / Obtain the “Guide protocolaire des rencontres” [meeting protocol guide] /  Janot

13. Date of the Next Executive Committee Meeting/ Jean-Sébastien/ It was agreed that the next Executive Committee meeting will be held on September 4, 2017.

14. Adjournment/ Jean-Luc/ On a motion by Jean-Luc Bédard, seconded by Jean-Sébastien Binette, the meeting was adjourned at 20:10.