Minutes of the October 27, 2016 Annual General Meeting
The first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ville de Québec Sub-Group NR (SG-NR-VQ) was held at the Espace Artevino restaurant, located at 797 Lebourgneuf Blvd., Québec.
1. Call to order, greetings and quorum
At 17:39, after the quorum call, the Acting President Jean-Luc Bédard called the meeting to order. He welcomed the thirteen members and two guests, Yves R. Cousineau and Glen Schjerning.
Since this was the first AGM of the VQ-NR-SG, the interim executive committee members introduced themselves. They are Jean-Luc Bédard (Acting President), Janot Alain (Acting Vice-President) and Jean-Sébastien Binette (Acting Secretary/Treasurer).
The two guest speakers then introduced themselves.
2. Review of the Notice of Meeting
Since the notice of meeting was sent to all members by e-mail, the Acting President asked that it not be reviewed and none of the members opposed him.
3. Review and Approval of Agenda
Once again, since the agenda was sent to all members by e-mail, the Acting President asked that it not be reviewed. On a motion by Janot Alain, seconded by Yves Payette, the agenda as presented was unanimously approved.
4. Report from interim president
Jean-Luc Bédard presented the reasons for creating the sub-group, presented an overview of the member representation in Ville de Québec departments, as well as the activities that have taken place since 2015. The following is a summary of the points presented:
- Reasons for creating the VQ-NR-SG:
- Identification of a lack of NRs in Québec;
- Different issues related to Quebec’s national capital region.
- Classification issues;
- Creation of a communication channel between PIPSC and local members;
- Creation of a stronger network between the Québec NR members, the Québec Branch, the Quebec Region and the NR national group.
- Member representation:
- 3 members from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada;
- 2 members from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
- 17 members from Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
- 35 members from National Defence;
- 10 members from Environment & Natural Resources Canada;
- 31 members from Public Works Government Services Canada;
- 1 member from Shared Services Canada;
- 3 members from Transport Canada.
- Past activities:
- Initial contact with Glen Schjerning, DND (May 2015);
- Initial contact with David A. Young, NRCan (August 2015);
- Meeting with Philippe Ouimet, CSA, and Pierre Richard, NR Group Treasurer (October 2015);
- Member survey to create the sub-group (November 2015);
- Approval of the creation of the sub-group by PIPSC (December 17, 2015);
- Opening of the BMO bank account (February 5, 2016);
- Participation in the sub-group presidents’ meeting in Regina (July 8-9, 2016);
- First meeting of the acting executive (July 20, 2016);
- Acting executive learning event with Réjean Tellier, President of the Ville de Québec Branch, and Denis Caisy, member of the CS group at CFB Valcartier (September 12, 2016);
- Acting executive meeting with Yvon Brodeur, director of the Québec Region (September 13, 2016);
- Acting President’s participation in the Ville de Québec Branch’s AGM (September 19, 2016).
5. Presentation of the VQ-NR-SG By-Laws and Regulations
Since the sub-group’s By-Laws and Regulations were sent to all members by e-mail, the Acting President asked that they not be read and none of the members opposed him. On a motion by Bernard Michaud, seconded by François Simard, the By-Laws and Regulations were unanimously approved.
6. Tabling of the 2016 Budget
The Acting Secretary/Treasurer presented the budget for 2016. Our sub-group benefits from an annual allowance of $1,730 from PIPSC. A surplus of about $500 has been estimated thus far. Since the fiscal year does not end until December 31, 2016, the financial statements will not be accepted until the next AGM in 2017.
7. Activity planning and budget for 2017
The Acting President presented the activities planned for 2017, which include:
- Marking the 150th anniversary of Confederation locally;
- Developing communication tools (Facebook);
- Sharing ServicePlus benefits with members;
- Lunch & learn supported/subsidized by the PIPSC;
- Organizing a local charity event;
- Meeting with the local MP.
The Acting Secretary/Treasurer presented the budget planning for 2017, and no surplus is projected.
8. Election of the Executive Committee
Yves R. Cousineau asked Jean-Luc Bédard, Janot Alain and Jean-Sébastien if they wanted to be members of the executive committee and they accepted. Jean-Luc Bédard asked those present if there were other members interested in sitting on the executive committee. Omar Kali expressed an interest and agreed to sit on the committee.
It was agreed that the officers (president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary) will be appointed at the next executive committee meeting.
On a motion by Stéphane Dumont, seconded by Pierre Nadeau and unanimously resolved, the four members were elected to the executive committee.
9. Appointment of a Financial Auditor and Alternate
Yves R. Cousineau informed us that the PIPSC has an inspecting auditor who will check our books. Therefore, it is unnecessary to appoint one from our members.
10. “PIPSC 101” presentation by Yves R. Cousineau and Glen Schjerning
Yves R. Cousineau presented the PIPSC, including the number of members (55,000) and the number of professional groups (46), its structure and the five main services offered:
- Negotiation of salaries and benefits;
- Workplace representation;
- Legal Defence;
- Economic Research;
- Non-partisan advocacy.
We learned that there are 2,899 in the NR group, with 22 sub-groups that have 2,435 members and 464 members that are not in sub-groups. Mr. Cousineau also presented the reasons for and importance of becoming a union steward, as well as the roles.
Glen Schjerning presented the distribution of NR members in the various departments. In order of importance, 30% of members are from National Defence, followed by 15% from Public Works, 11% from Natural Resources Canada, 10% from Environment Canada, 7% from Transport Canada and the Canada Space Agency respectively, 6% from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Infrastructure Canada, respectively, and 9% for the other departments. The largest NR sub-group is in the Louis-Saint-Laurent complex in Ottawa under National Defence, with 416 members. Our Ville de Québec NR sub-group has 98 members and we are ninth in terms of member numbers out of the 22 existing sub-groups.
11. Toast in honour of the VQ-NR-SG
A toast was made in honour of the creating of our sub-group.
12. Liaison with the NR Group and collective bargaining status by Yves R. Cousineau
Mr. Cousineau provided the background and reported on the collective agreement negotiations. The first meeting with the new Trudeau government was held in February 2016, followed by three other meetings in March, June and September. The results have been disappointing to date and everything seems to suggest we’re headed for arbitration. Mr. Cousineau stressed that it will be important for members to take action on November 15 by wearing the “READY” button to show our support.
13. New Business
Several of the members present mentioned that reimbursement of Ordre des Ingénieur membership fees is partial. Mr. Cousineau stressed that the fees must be fully reimbursed by the employer and must not be considered a taxable benefit, like the purchase of safety work boots, for example. He will provide Mr. Bédard with the regulation documentation that the members can give their supervisors, so that they are fully reimbursed.
14. Door Prizes
Several promotional items purchased from PIPSC were offered to members at the end of the evening.
15. Adjournment
On a motion by Jean-Sébastien Binette, seconded by Janot Alain, the Meeting was adjourned at 22:03.