AGM S&A Election Report for the 2019 Quebec Region

The election was held Thursday, February 28, 2019, in good standing, with 44 employees based in the Montreal office (6), the Office of Quebec (5), the office of Saint-Hyacinthe (13) and on the phone (20)

  • 7 members present in Montreal,
  • 13 members in Saint-Hyacinthe (teleconference),
  • 5 members in Quebec City (teleconference), and
  • 19 members on the phone (teleconference)

Elections in Montreal and isolated members (by phone) are under my supervision, those of Saint-Hyacinthe take place under the supervision of Hugo Fréchette and those of Quebec under the supervision of Anne Bureau. I check the quorum with Natasha Salehi, who takes the attendance of all the people on site and on line and in the other offices.

I explain the rules that will govern this election, and the terms for people on the phone. The president of the subgroup (Isabelle Woolgar) informs me that the elections must be held between 12 h 15 and 12 h 45. The subgroup By-laws state that the vote is secret. The votes of the isolated members, on the phone, as well as in Quebec will be sent by SMS and I indicate my phone number.

Early in the session, Clara Colin mentioned that she believes section 7.2.1 of the subgroup’s Bylaws was not respected because the call for an election was sent 2 weeks prior of the AGM, and that it should have been sent 3 weeks prior to the AGM. I reply that she is right, but as mentioned in section 7.2.2, nominations may be submitted in writing or at the AGM of the subgroup. It is a contradiction that I reported in previous elections, suggesting to review the Bylaws statutes for this concern, but that it does not have any impact or adverse consequences.

Vice-President (2-year term)

For the vice-presidency, occupied by Claude Desaulniers,

  • Claude Desaulniers proposes himself,
  • Sylvie D'Alcantara proposes Clara Colin, who accepts,
  • Landry Assamboa proposes Nathalie Langlois, who accepts,
  • Sylvie D'Alcantara proposes herself.

Results:

Claude Desaulniers is elected by a majority.

4 Members at large (2 years)

Normally, 3 members at large would be in election, but since Maryse Valiquette, elected in 2018, retired, she has been replaced in her position by Stéphanie Fréchette, leaving one position vacant to be filled in this election.

The positions are currently occupied by Natasha Salehi and Geneviève Gagnon. 2 positions are left vacant.

  • Stéphanie Fréchette proposes herself,
  • Natasha Salehi proposes herself,
  • Geneviève Gagnon proposes herself,
  • Sylvie D'Alcantara proposes Clara Colin, who accepts,
  • Nathalie Langlois proposes Landry Assamboa, who accepts,
  • Clara Colin proposes Nathalie Langlois, who accepts,
  • Julie Bisson proposes Judith Gagnon, who accepts,
  • Sylvie D'Alcantara proposes herself.

People can write on their vote ballots (or SMS) the name of zero, one, two, three or four people. No ballots were rejected, they all respected this. Each vote is counted and the 4 persons with the largest number of votes counted are elected.

Results:

Judith Gagnon, Stéphanie Fréchette, Geneviève Gagnon and Salehi elected by majority

I propose the destruction of the ballots (and SMS) immediately after the end of the meeting. Claude Desaulniers seconds. I offer any member the opportunity to ask questions or raise objections. No action requested by the assembly.

I thank the candidates for their participation. As we arrive at 1 pm, and we have exceeded 15 minutes, I finish forgetting to thank Anne Bureau and Hugo Fréchette for their great help. I send them an SMS right after the event.

I conclude this report by saying that I have acted with integrity, transparency, as well as by respecting the By-laws of the S & A Quebec Region Sub-Group (available at: https://www.pipsc.ca/groups/cfia-sa/subgroups/cfia-sa-quebec/bylaws ) as well as those of the Institute.

I remain available for any questions or comments. In solidarity,

Renaud Guiard

President, Chapter of Ville-Marie PIPSC

________________________________________________________________________________________

ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT - S & A Subgroup of Quebec

Current  executive  in  since  January  2018   Goals presented during the election as President:

To build bridges with PSAC and VMs for common issues

  • VM and S & A now meet together, which helps to support both groups in our common approaches that are often similar; several files were made in partnership with PSAC, including staffing files, national competitions (pools) and the working atmosphere at the Mtl office. The bridges are redone, and this gives a non-negligible and more consistent union strength to our position in our files with management, both local and national.

Bring harmony back into the EC

  • The mode of operation chosen is to work by consensus and not by the majority. In this way, the team is at the service of the best idea and we agree on who will be the best person to be in charge of the files. All decisions are made and endorsed by the entire team, including communications to members and management. Nice team, harmonious and effective where the forces of each of us are put to contribution without war of internal power. I salute their work and thank them greatly for their commitment and maturity.

The milestones of 2018

  • Visit and public announcement of the results of the investigation requested by G.É., VP Ops at the time, following the reception of numerous complaints from Quebec. This investigation concerned staffing processes and working atmosphere. Was presented by NBS, new VP Ops, January 23, 2018. A call without warning of the subject presented took place with the stewards and then with all employees of Qc, with AAD, DG of the COQ. The two Unions (Pispsc and PSAC) challenged the results and questioned the methodology. Following this call, the EC initiated a dialogue with NBS concerning the actions of the COQ management (attitude of management with the union, lack of transparency, staffing without process, toxic working atmosphere).
  • Set up reflection sessions to try to establish a productive dialogue between the Union and the employer. 2 meetings were held, led by SL, Conflict Resolution Advisor.
  • 1st Meeting - Dialogue on Trust and Clarity of Communications (April). Very little progress, the stewards expressed themselves but not the management. Ineffective dialogue and no solution proposed.
  • 2nd Meeting - Dialogue with management (May) - mention of our dissatisfaction in this dialogue which goes to nowhere. We want clear commitments. Following this meeting, we obtained 2 management commitments: that we receive and review the internal communications that are addressed to all employees (e.g. What's up Ops) and set up a consultation committee for staffing so that the Union be informed upstream of the processes put forward and how to do it for the selection of staff. Hope to bring more transparency and consistency in the staffing processes.
  • Cancellation of the requirement of the medical examinations for SR after the UMCC of April 6
  • Election of the representative of the Qc: Maryse Valiquette
  • Announcement of the abolition of Phoenix in March; a follow-up is done in permanent subject in the UMCC; this information is available via published reports on Sharepoint and publications on the website Pipsc.ca
  • Meeting with members:
    • Meeting with members at Qc office / info-lunch on June 7th (negotiations + general questions)
    • Two meetings with members at Mtl office / info-lunch on June 21 (negotiations + general questions) on June 22

June and July: leave of AAD; arrival of PT as the new DG of the COQ: cancellation of all scheduled UMCC meetings and adjournment of reflection sessions.

  • Meeting with the new DG alone with the stewards
  • UMCC restarted in September; regional meeting in October
  • National AGM of the Institute in early November; Re-election of Debi Daviau as President of the Institute and Yvon Brodeur as Director in Quebec
  • Cancellation of the staffing process for the new SR-2 and SR-3 pool following a request from the EC to National HR due to a procedural defect (public leak of responses).
  • UMCC in December; signature of By-Laws outstanding for almost a year.
  • Obtention of an agreement for the expired Collective Agreement (vote result over 96%); expected signature date around June
  • For UMCC reports; now available on Sharepoint, on the Unions page. Significant improvement of the signature and publication deadlines; less redacting from new management.
  • By-laws have been signed and are available on Sharepoint too

Arrivals and departure of Stewards:

  • New Delegate: Natacha Salehi
  • Retirement of Maryse Valiquette; replaced by Stéphanie Fréchette following a vote in the national group. So the Qc representative is now Stéphanie

In summary :

  • Functional and harmonious CE
  • Better dialogue with the arrival of the new Director
  • Consultation committee for long-term staffing to be set up
  • Changing attitudes towards teleworking and work-family balance
  • Hope to improve staffing processes and a better working atmosphere with the new Director

 

For the next year :

  • Revision of the By-laws of the subgroup. Those who have proposals to modify them, you can submit your proposals to the EC. An extraordinary meeting will be held for this vote, or it will be done at the next AGM.
  • We want the UMCC calendar to be published and made accessible to all members, so that it is easier to follow. There are normally 4 meetings per year for each region + 4 regional (COQ) To submit subjects, contact the stewards of your choice at any time. The topics are reviewed by the Committee before being brought to the meetings.
  • Rewriting role descriptors to follow what has been negotiated. The national committee is not yet official. There are 27 descriptors to be re-evaluated.

Do you have particular issues that affect the collective? Give us a sign.

Are you concerned about a personal topic and need support? Contact the steward of your choice.

The list of QC delegates for S & A at CFIA are:

Stéphanie Fréchette; Hugo Fréchette; Judith Gagnon; Sylvie d’Alcantara; Rachel Massé Isabelle Woolgar; Julie Bourque; Claude Desaulniers, Natacha Salehi.

I thank the members of the Qc on behalf of the EC for trusting us this year and a special thank you to all those who took the time to share their ideas and concerns. Recognition to those who have shown us their satisfaction and support.

Isabelle Woolgar

PIPSC Union Steward

President of the Se&A subgroup of Quebec [February 2019]

* Note: for confidentiality for the people concerned, the initials are used.