The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada

Hybrid Meeting Held 18:02 to 19:37 ET on 2022 November 9

at the Chalk River Lions Hall and Online

 

Introduction

Jonathan Fitzpatrick, the CRPEG president, welcomed everyone. Jonathan provided a brief overview of
the past year, noting:
● The latest collective agreement is now posted.
● There are ongoing remote work issues; implementation has been more complicated than
initially thought.
● Wade Mayo, a long-standing steward, has now retired; we wish him well.

Approval of Agenda

Mike Rowlands moved to approve the agenda (the headings of these minutes), and the motion was
seconded. There was no discussion that followed, so we moved directly to voting. The majority voting
were in favour, and the motion carried.

Approval of Previous Minutes

Rob DeAbreau moved to approve the previous minutes, and the motion was seconded. Again, there
was no discussion that followed, so voting was then held. The majority voting were in favour, and the
motion carried.

President’s Message

Jonathan Fitzpatrick provided the president’s message.
Things have been working well this past year. We appreciate feedback from members. We’re here to
help members.
The PIPSC AGM is next weekend. There are options for members to view it, if you are so interested.

Pension Transition Update

Colby Briggs, joining us virtually, provided a brief pension transition update.
Info sessions are to be held November 29 and 30. We’re getting close to voting on joining CAAT. There
were more legal curveballs than expected. For more information ahead of the info sessions, please
review the distributed pension FAQ, which I’ll be adding to with more transition information. Also
review the CAAT website. Email pensionsbenefits@pipsc.ca with any questions to have addressed at
the info sessions.

Treasurer’s Report

Bob Radenovic, CRPEG’s treasurer, delivered the treasurer’s report. For his report, he presented the
financial files that were emailed to members prior to the meeting.
Bob started by presenting the scholarship statement. 
Bob then presented the current and estimated year-end income statements, followed by the current
and estimated year-end cash flow statements. We estimate to be below 50% of the yearly allotment at
the year’s end, so we should receive our full allotment next year.
Kapil Vaidya moved to accept the 2022 financial statements, and the motion was seconded.
Discussion then ensued.

The membership then voted on accepting the 2022 financial statements; the majority voting were in
favour, and the motion carried.

Bob then presented the budget for 2023. Bob noted that AGM expenses are refunded by PIPSC, so it is
revenue-neutral.

John Dranga moved to approve the 2023 budget, and the motion was seconded. The majority voting
were in favour, and the motion carried.

Old Business

Jonathan Fitzpatrick brought up the CRPEG constitution changes that were approved at our 2019 AGM
and were sent to the PIPSC By-Law and Policy Committee. The committee had some comments that
the executive proposed resolutions to. Jonathan then presented the non-editorial proposed changes.
The change to Chief Steward duties was presented.
Q: The Chief Steward language sounds like it reduces the scope.
A: The previous description did not reflect actual practice; any steward can take on a grievance.
The changes to the collective bargaining process were then provided.
Jonathan noted that the changed constitution will come into effect immediately after this AGM.
Jonathan Fitzpatrick moved to ratify the constitution, and the motion was seconded. The majority
voting were in favour, and the motion carried.

Election of CRPEG Officers

Rob DeAbreau of the election committee ran the election. Rob introduced the other two members of
the committee: Youssef Ismail and Aleck Charkavi.
Rob noted that all terms are currently one year in length and are thus up for election at this AGM. With
the newly adopted constitution, terms are becoming two years long, with staggered election years. We
are therefore electing a mix of one- and two-year terms as dictated by the updated constitution.
Rob proceeded to go through the list of positions, declaring that exactly one nomination form was
received for each position. For each position, he also asked the floor for any additional nominations,
and each time no new nominations were put forward. All of the positions were therefore acclaimed,
without the need for voting, leaving no positions vacant.

The resulting incoming CRPEG executive is:
Position Name Remainder of Term [years]

President Jonathan Fitzpatrick 2
Vice-President Kamil Malek 1
Secretary Cliff Dugal 1
Treasurer Bob Radenovic 2
Chief Steward Dave Pilgrim 1
Negotiations Noel Harrison 1
Communications Kourosh Khosravi 2
Employer Relations Navdeep Dadhiala 2
Special Assignments Curtis Russell 1
Jonathan Fitzpatrick took the opportunity to encourage members to volunteer for other committees.

New Business

Jonathan Fitzpatrick opened the floor to new business.
Q: What is the experience with hybrid employees?
A: Managers are all handling it differently. It should be based on operational requirements. Some
managers are asking for at least one day a week on site. The union is trying to work through group and
individual issues. Operational requirements have not been provided by management, and the remote
work committee has not been set up yet, so it’s mostly at the whim of the manager right now.
Q: The company is advertising the ombuds and a designated recipient. Should members prefer that to
stewards?
A: If you want to have a chat, those are good contacts. If you want to get something fixed, involve a
steward. Bullying / harassment needs to go to the designated recipient. It is a good idea to bring a
steward along to help you out and guide you through the process. Harassment / bullying are grievable
too. The grievance process is needed for resolution.

Jonathan noted that C&PD is undergoing big changes. C&PD proposals will start to be accepted
January 1st. Info sessions will be in the December timeframe. This should really help for transparency.
A committee approves all expenditures. This should greatly increase opportunities for members. This
will be a big job to implement, and there will be growing pains. There is also $1000 for
manager-approved small spending. The process works well at Whiteshell.

Conclusion

Jonathan Fitzpatrick thanked all for their attendance. Reaching the end of the agenda, the meeting
was adjourned.