Minutes of the Informal Meeting Between Réjean Michaud and Denis Caissy

The Interim Executive Committee met on September 12, 2016 at the Cosmos restaurant in Lebourgneuf for an informal meeting with Réjean Michaud and Denis Caissy.

1.    Call to Order

The informal meeting began around 5:30 p.m. Members in attendance were Acting President Jean-Luc Bédard, Acting Vice-President Alain Janot and Acting Secretary-Treasurer Jean-Sébastien Binette.

2.    Purpose of the Informal Meeting

The purpose of the informal meeting was to obtain help from Réjean and Denis, two members with many years of union experience, to prepare our Sub-Group’s first Annual General Meeting for this fall, and to get answers to various questions on how PIPSC operates. Réjean is President of the Québec City Branch, whereas Denis is involved in the Québec City CS Sub-Group, the Québec City Branch, the Young Professionals Committee, and the CS Group at the national level.

3.    Highlights

Highlights of the discussion were as follows:

  • We discussed the unfair classification of ENGs in Québec compared to those in Ottawa (regional disparity).
  • Preparations for our first AGM: Generally speaking, we expect that 10% to 15% of our members will attend. Denis suggested using software such as SurveyMonkey or Doodle to get the attendees’ choice of meals (always include two choices, including a vegetarian dish). The Notice of Meeting must include the date, location, agenda and speaker/activities. Examples of notices of meeting are available on the PIPSC website.
  • A date must be chosen for closing the financial books. Since this is our first year, we have some flexibility. No date was picked, but it will be done at the next Executive Committee meeting.
  • Items to include on the AGM agenda. Réjean said that we should appoint an auditor at the AGM to audit the financial statements.
  • The list of promotional items to be given out at the AGM was validated.
  • Our Sub-Group’s minutes must be posted on the PIPSC website and distributed to our members.
  • Six Executive meetings are held each year and we have an allowance for them.
  • A number of guides prepared by PIPSC are available on the website.
  • We learned that there are 18 unions at the federal level, and that PIPSC is the third largest, with 57,000 members. The largest is PSAC.
  • A Presidents’ kit is available and can be obtained by contacting Linda Martel (lmartel@pipsc.ca). She can also be contacted for the Manual for Elected Officials.
  • The AGM minutes, financial statements and the election report must be sent to Julie Gagnon (jgagnon@pipsc.ca).

4.    Action Items

Here is a list of actions to be taken:

1) Jean-Sébastien will purchase the promotional items at a cost of approximately $250. Depending on the number of people attending the AGM, some or all of the items will be given out.
2) Jean-Sébastien will book the room and the restaurant for the AGM.
3) Jean-Luc will prepare the AGM agenda.
4) Jean-Luc will prepare the Notice of Meeting.
5) Jean-Luc will draw up the list of members and send out the Notice of Meeting.
6) Jean-Sébastien will record the attendees’ choice of meal based on the email responses. We can assess whether SurveyMonkey or Doodle would be useful in the future.

5.    Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned around 8:30 p.m.