Report on my participation at the 2019 AMAPCEO ADC
Every year, the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO) holds its Annual Delegates’ Conference (ADC). This labour organization represents 14,000 public service professionals in the province of Ontario. This year, their conference was held from December 3 to 5, 2019, in Toronto.
As a partner, the Institute was invited and I attended the first two days on behalf of our President. This is my report on how this organization fulfills its legal and policy obligations at its annual conference.
Schedule—Two and a half days
Similar to our AGMs, the AMAPCEO Conference includes key meeting items: agenda, minutes, financial statements, budget and elections.
The schedule purposely does not include health breaks but the various items on the agenda include changeover time. For example, announcements and videos are presented while the podium is being prepared to give the next guest speakers the time to arrive.
The agenda featured several training workshops with various options, including Finance 101, Health and Safety, Mental Health, Code of Procedures and Equity. The workshops all started 10 minutes later than schedule to give delegates time to get there.
Two very interesting presentations were delivered by guest speakers:
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Senator Tony Dean, OOnt, on the role of the public service, the importance of our work and expertise, but also the impact on a government’s political livelihood if we are ignored.
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A plenary under the theme “For the People,” involving a Globe and Mail journalist and guests speakers with both liberal and conservative outlooks.
Conference delegates
Over 223 delegates were selected to attend the conference. The composition consisted of a 1 to 50 ratio for each of their districts, plus the members of the Board of Directors and one member for each of the six agencies they represent.
A new initiative this year saw selected members having to complete a mandatory online training course (1 hr 15 min) to be recognized as a delegate. The training involves two segments: AMAPCEO my union, and Introduction to Equity.
Documentation
Most of the documentation seems to be available online. Their financial statements are on a restricted website. They don’t have a mobile app as yet.
All documentation provided to delegates came in the form of printed notebooks, identifiable by colour and lettering (A, B, C, D, etc.), and 100% recyclable, which made them easy to handle. I found the format easier to use than our binders.
Conference organization
The conference is run in a similar fashion to ours.
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Registration booth, ID management
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Large main room, small rooms for workshops
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Large screens, audiovisual equipment
Two things stand out regarding the meeting procedures:
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Several members of the Board of Directors take turns to chair the meeting. This keeps members fresh and helps to develop their experience. A parliamentarian was available at all times.
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The members of the Board of Directors present the reports of the committees for which they are responsible. The recommendations are subsequently tabled as resolutions, debated and then voted on (reform of the training program, reform of the motion process, budget, etc.). This provides a visibility on the work they do and makes them accountable for their deliverables.
Since they only represent Ontario members, their entire conference was held in English. No provisions were made for their French-speaking members; no paper documents, no interpretation services. The Board of Directors is starting to realize the discomfort this creates, and has created a “Francophone Caucus” under the Standing Committee on Equity.
The resolutions
Resolutions tabled by members are reviewed and accompanied by recommendations from the Resolutions Committee and the Board of Directors. This allows the organization to be proactive on some of the concepts presented or to raise significant issues if such a change was implemented. I see added value in involving the Board of Directors and providing feedback regarding the alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives.
I counted only nine resolutions from members but more than a dozen from reports from various committees, including the Finance Committee, Training Committee and Resolution Committee.
An interesting change introduced by delegates this year involved giving the Resolutions Committee the authority to combine, amend and reject certain resolutions before they are tabled at the meeting.
The ServicePlus booths
Like us, AMAPCEO is a member of the ServicePlus program. The partners ran booths in the corridor on the second day and finished with a prize draw.
For your consideration.
Stéphane Aubry