Annual General Meeting October 17, 2024, 12:00
The Mill / 555 Wellington Street
36 ITOMSG members were present, including both guest speakers. In addition, Daniel Shen attended to oversee the election, and Pierre Touchette dropped by to distribute IT Group promotional items.
The Acting President of the IT Ottawa Metro Subgroup (ITOMSG), Randy Oomen, welcomed all delegates and called the meeting to order at 12:15 PM.
AGENDA A draft agenda was presented.
MOTION To adopt the agenda as presented. M/S Randy Oomen, Cheryl Jennings. CARRIED.
PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES
MOTION To adopt the minutes of the December 5, 2023 AGM as presented. M/S Cheryl Jennings, Steve Anderson. CARRIED.
ELECTIONS
The positions up for election were:
President (2-year term)
Vice- President (1-year term)
Treasurer (2- year term)
Secretary (1-year term)
Four Members-at-Large (2-year term)
Three Members-at-Large (1 -year term)
Election of the ITOMSG President
O’Neal Brooke stated that he wanted to watch the counting of the ballots, and when he was told no, that he wanted his request to be included in the minutes of the meeting.
Since there were two candidates for President of the ITOMSG (Randy Oomen and O’Neil Brooke), each was given two minutes to talk to the members as to why they should elect them. Ballots were then distributed, and the members voted. The ballots were collected by Daniel Shen, who came from the IT Ottawa West Subgroup (ITOWSG) to make sure that the election was run fairly and according to the bylaws. Daniel was assisted by Martin Lefebvre and Jeff Black, who tallied the votes. Randy Oomen won the vote and was elected ITOMSG President for the next two years. 35 Ballots were cast.
Election of the ITOMSG Vice-President
Cheryl Jennings was acclaimed and will serve as ITOMSG Vice-President for one year.
Election of the ITOMSG Treasurer
Brian Murray was acclaimed and will serve as ITOMSG Treasurer for two years.
Election of the ITOMSG Secretary
Steve Anderson was acclaimed and will serve as ITOMSG Secretary for one year.
Election of the Members-at-Large
All those interested in volunteering, were given two minutes to say why the delegates should vote for them. Fresh ballots were distributed and tallied (as they were with the election of the President).
The following delegates were elected to two-year terms:
Fred Curson, Antwan Hakko, Hannah Rodrigues, Amar Auluck
The following delegates were elected to one-year terms:
Zahou Zhang, Jun Shi, O’Neil Brooke
Eric-Pascal Bourre and Stephane Aubry were thanked for also putting their names forward.
MOTION to accept the election results. M/S Cheryl Jennings, Frank Tennian. CARRIED.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Randy Oomen gave a brief description of the relatively small level of activities of the ITOMSG since the last AGM. Randy stated that there will likely be greater activity in the coming year. He reminded all present that there is a national election on at PIPSC and that everyone should vote. Fred Curson reminded everyone that if they have not received a ballot, to check what contact information PIPSC has for you. Check online first, but if you can’t find the link, then contact the PIPSC office and ask to update your information.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Please see attached documents.
Brian Murray tabled the Financial Statements for the current year. He explained that no allocation was received from PIPSC for 2023, because so little money was spent by the ITOMSG. Over the past year the ITOMSG membership has increased, so more allocation money is expected. The current bank balance will drop approximately $4000 when the cost of the AGM now underway is factored in.
MOTION to accept the Financial Statements as presented. M/S Brian Murray, Steve Anderson. CARRIED.
MOTION to accept the Budget as presented. M/S Brian Murray, Cheryl Jennings. CARRIED.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Sean O’Reilly (PIPSC VP), spoke first about Canada Life. He reminded the members present that everyone needs to walk through the positive enrollment steps for the new dental plan. You should inform your dentist of your new plan number. He also spoke about Phoenix and how PIPSC is pursuing a further damages agreement, “Dayforce” which is a new pay system coming to SSC first. Also that Treasury Board is trying to simplify collective agreements prior to moving to that new system. PIPSC wants any simplifications to be for the benefit of our members. Sean also spoke about RTO (Return To Office). He reminded all, that anyone can ask for an exemption. If you are going to ask for a duty to accommodate for a medical reason, speak with your family doctor, and be prepared to answer lots of questions when you submit your request to the employer. Lots of grievances are being filed by members over RTO. The employer is required to find you a desk, and if you are told to move to another location on short notice then the employer must compensate you for any transportation costs to the alternative site. He urged the members present to lobby their local elected officials and to explain to any members of the public they encounter that the RTO mandate often does not make sense.
Stephane Aubry spoke about the incoming Navigar system, and that 20,000 IT Group members can be trained through it.
WRAP UP
President Randy Oomen thanked the guest speakers, those who stepped forward to volunteer with the ITOMSG, and the members in attendance. He indicated that Ottawa Metro is off to a good start for the coming year with a new Executive elected, and a renewed interest in having member gatherings and IT Group engagement.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION to adjourn (13:30). M/S Randy Oomen, Frank Tennian. Carried.