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 and the British Columbia-Yukon Region, and are made pursuant to those By-Laws and Regulations.

Definitions

"Institute" means The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.

"Members" means those Regular and Retired members covered by the geographic area of the Branch, as described by the Institute.

By-Law 1  Name

The name of the Branch shall be the Vancouver-CRA Branch of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, hereinafter referred to as the "Branch".

By-Law 2  Aim

The aim of the Branch shall be to represent Branch interests within the geographic area of the Branch; 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

All members located within the geographic area of the Branch shall be members of the Branch.

By-Law 4  Rights of Members

Members shall be eligible to nominate members for positions on the Branch Executive, hold positions on the Branch Executive, propose amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Branch, vote in Branch affairs, and 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:  Adoption of the budget by the Branch membership shall not preclude the right of the Branch Executive to expend additional funds should the need arise.  Such additional expenditures shall be reported to the Branch membership at the next Branch meeting.

5.3  Bank Account:  The Branch Executive shall maintain an account in the name of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), Vancouver-CRA Branch at the financial institution of its choice for the deposit of the funds of the Branch.

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 Branch who are not responsible for the administration of funds of the Branch.

By-Law 6  Branch Executive Members

6.1  Composition:  The Branch Executive shall be limited to one (1) Executive member per ten (10) members of the Branch rounded to the nearest ten (10), with a minimum of four (4) and a maximum of eleven (11).  The Branch Executive shall be composed of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer and members-at-large, if any, elected by and from the Branch members.  Additional members-at-large to the maximum permitted on the Executive may be appointed by the Executive.

6.2 Term of Office

6.2.1     Commencing with the 2013 year, the term of office shall be three (3) years.  All positions that had a term of office of two (2) years and where those terms did not end in 2013, these terms will end in 2014.

6.2.2     In calendar years that are evenly divisible by three (3), the positions of President, Treasurer, and two (2) Member-at-Large shall be elected.

6.2.3 In years immediately after a year that is divisible by three (3), the positions of Vice-President, Secretary, and any remaining Members-at-Large shall we elected.

6.2.4     In years before a year evenly divisible by three (3), there will be no elections.

6.3  Meetings:  The Branch Executive shall meet at least twice a year.

6.4  Quorum:  A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Branch Executive.

6.5  Voting:  Decisions shall be by majority vote.

6.6  Vacancies

6.6.1  If the position of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume the position of the President until the end of the original term of office.  The position of Vice-President shall then be filled in accordance with these By-Laws.

6.6.2  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.

6.6.3  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.

By-Law 7  Duties of the Branch Executive

7.1  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.

7.2  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.

7.3 Secretary:  The Secretary shall be responsible for sending notices of and keeping records of all meetings of the Branch and of the Branch Executive for the period required by Institute policy, and shall ensure that a copy of minutes is 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.

7.4 Treasurer:  The Treasurer shall administer and report on Branch finances, present a budget to Branch members at the first Branch meeting of the calendar year, present a financial statement to the Annual General Meeting and submit a copy to the Regional and National Offices each year, and maintain the financial records of the Branch as required by Institute policy.  Copies of the financial report shall be available to all Branch members.

7.5  Members-at-Large:  Members-at-Large shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Executive.

7.6  Committees:  The Branch or Branch 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 Branch Secretary.  Committees shall be dissolved by majority vote of the body that established them.

By-Law 8  Branch Meetings

8.1  The Branch shall convene an Annual General Meeting at least every calendar year, an any event, not more than 15 months from the preceding AGM.  Members shall be notified at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the meeting.

8.2  Quorum  The quorum for Branch meetings shall be 10% of the members of the Branch eligible to vote.

8.3  If the quorum is not obtained, the meeting shall be rescheduled by the Executive.  Notice of the rescheduled meeting shall be sent within two (2) weeks of the original meeting date.  Fifty percent (50%) of the members present when the meeting is called to order shall constitute the quorum.

8.4  Voting  With the exception of the election of the Branch Executive, voting shall be by a show of hands and each member shall have one (1) vote.  Proxy voting shall not be permitted.  Decisions shall be by majority vote.  Voting shall be by secret ballot upon request of the majority of eligible voting members present.

By-Law 9  Elections

9.1  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.

9.2  The Elections Committee shall ensure the distribution of a request for nominations to all members of the Branch at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of election.  Nominations may be made from the floor of the Branch AGM meeting providing those nominated agree to stand.  In cases where more than one (1) candidate is running for the same position, an election by ballot shall be carried out.  The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for a position shall be declared elected.

9.3  The newly elected Executive shall take office immediately following the AGM at which the election is held.

9.4  The Elections Committee shall ensure the membership is informed of the results of the election as soon as possible.

By-Law 10  Parliamentary Authority

At any meetings of the Branch, matters of procedure shall be governed by a majority vote of the members present and voting upon the matters 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 Sturgis' Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure available at the meeting.

By-Law 11  Constitution and By-Laws

11.1  Amendment:  The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended at any meeting of the Branch.  Amendments may be proposed by any two (2) members of the Branch.

11.2  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.

11.3  Approval of proposed amendments shall require a simple majority of Branch members voting.

11.4  This Constitution and By-Laws and any amendments thereto shall take effect upon the passing of a resolution to that effect by the Branch membership and approval by the Institute’s Board of Directors.

By-Law 12  Regulations

12.1  The Branch Executive may make such Regulations, and amendments thereto, not inconsistent with this Constitution and By-Laws, as it deems appropriate for the operating of the Branch.

12.2 All proposed Regulations and amendments thereto shall be submitted to the Institute for review.

12.3  All additions, changes or deletions to the Regulations shall take effect on a date to be determined by the Branch Executive and shall be reported to the next Annual General Meeting of the Branch which may repeal or suspend any Regulation.

By-Law 13  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

Regulation R6  Branch Executive Members

R6.1 One of the Branch Executive member-at-large positions will be occupied by a member classified as CS, to be preferably elected at the AGM or, if there are no CS candidates at the AGM, to alternatively be appointed by the Branch Executive.

Approved by the Board of Directors
April 19, 2005

Approved by the Board of Directors
October 4, 2014