Minutes for Vancouver SP Sub Group AGM – November 15 2023

MINUTES of Annual General Meetings – Vancouver Sub-Group of SP Group, PIPSC

Held Virtual (Zoom)

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

SP Sub-Group Executive

Tanya Evans (Elected Jan 2022) – President

Denis Semail (Elected Sept 2021) – Vice President

Timothy Powers (Elected Jan 2022) – Treasurer

Robert MacDonald (Appointment May 2022) – Member at large

Sammy Li (Elected Sept 2021) – Member at large (regrets)

Eric Crawford (Elected Jan 2022) – Member at large (regrets)

Judy Hartman (Elected Sept 2021) – Member at large

Lindsay Howes (Elected Sept 2022) – Member at large (regrets)

1. Confirmed quorum present and Call to Order @ 5:33 PM.

Tanya confirmed that this meeting is for members of the Vancouver Sub-Group, while the invitation went to all of BC/Yukon. That said, tonight is a great engagement opportunity and the promotional movie tickets will be provided to everyone in attendance, and everyone is welcome to participate. Only Vancouver Sub-Group members can vote on the various motions.

2. Approval of Agenda: M/S/Carried.

3. Approval of Draft Minutes: SP Sub-Group AGM of October 13, 2022, AGM (accepted without revisions): M/S/Carried.

4. Business Arising from the 2022 AGM Minutes: None

At this time, the Chair made the first call for nominations for the Sub Group Executive Elections. The following individuals were nominated and accepted the nomination:

• Denis Semail

5. Report of the President

Tanya reviewed her written Report of the President which is attached to these minutes.

The Executive welcomes feedback on how the AGM has been held. Please let Tanya or any of the Executive know if this year’s format is preferred or would members rather meet in-person.

Motion to accept the Report of the President: M/S/Carried.

6. Annual Financial Report

Prior to the meeting, AGM participants were provided copies of the following financial documents prepared by Vancouver SP Sub-Group Treasurer Tim Powers

• “Vancouver SP Sub-Group, Financial Statement –2022”
• “Vancouver SP Sub-Group, 2024 Budget”

Tim Powers reviewed the financial documents and answered any questions.

Motion to accept the Financial Statement – October 31, 2023: M/S/Carried.

Motion to accept the 2024 Budget: M/S/Carried.

At this time, the Chair made the second call for nominations for the Sub Group Executive Elections. The following individuals were nominated and accepted the nomination:

• Judy Hartman
• Kate Shapiro

A final and third call for nominations for the Sub Group Executive Elections was subsequently made. The following individuals were nominated and accepted the nomination:

• Philip Bartha

7. Report of the Elections Committee

Robert MacDonald provided the report of the Elections Committee.

1. A total of four positions are open for election currently. No nominations were received in advance of tonight’s AGM. The following members were nominated from the floor of the AGM (November 2023). All four candidates accepted the nomination and are in good standing. A total of three calls for nominations were held during the AGM.
   • Denis Semail
   • Judy Hartman
   • Kate Shaprio
   • Philip Bartha
2. As only four nominations have been received for the four positions, the above four candidates were deemed acclaimed at this time.
3. The new Vancouver SP Sub-Group Executive (as of tonight’s AGM) is as follows:

• Tanya Evans (Elected October 2022)
• Denis Semail (Elected November 2023)
• Timothy Powers (Elected October 2022)
• Kate Shaprio (Elected November 2022)
• Eric Crawford (Elected October 2022)
• Judy Hartman (Elected November 2023)
• Lindsay Howes (Elected October 2022)
• Philip Bartha (Elected November 2023)

 

Tanya Evans will contact the new Executive for a date and location of the first meeting of the Sub-Group Executive.

8. Adjournment:

Their being no further business the Chair entertained a motion to adjourn. Tanya thanked all the members for taking time to attend this evening’s AGM. She again expressed her appreciation for all the efforts of Sub-Group Executive, our dedicated and hard-working stewards, and the incredible support from our wonderful PIPSC Staff. She encouraged everyone to stay on-line for our special Guest Speaker and an opportunity to ask questions.

M / Carried. Meeting was adjourned at 6:05 PM

9. Guest Speaker – Marcel Beaudoin

Marcel Beaudoin is President - SP 50 Victoria Subgroup; Vice President - SP Group Executive Committee; and Bargaining Team - SP Group member.

Marcel presented a high-level overview of the collective agreement that was ratified by the SP Group members. He went into detail on the economic increases, improvements in the collective agreement bargaining at the SP Group Table (such as bereavement leave, reimbursement of membership fees for professional organization) as well the improvements that were obtained at the central table. In addition, he explained the approximate timeline for the implementation of the collective agreement, including retroactive pay, the signing bonus and new pay scales.

Marcel also challenged all members to take time to review their Collective Agreement when they have specific questions. If members still have questions, please contact a steward; himself; or anyone on the Sub-Group or National SP Group Executive (contact information on the website).

Marcel thanked the Branch Executive for the opportunity to attend and all their efforts. In addition, he noted all the outstanding time and effort undertaken by Tanya, not only as Sub-Group President, but at the BC/Yukon SP Representative on the SP Group Executive. Finally, he encourages everyone in attendance to become more involved in their Union.

10. SP Vancouver Sub Group President’s Annual Report to the AGM

We hope that the members of our Sub Group have had a good year and enjoyed engaging in local events and activities. These are a few of the events that we hosted or collaborated on this year:

• Lunch and Learn with Marcel Beaudoin Oct 25, 2023 – Update on the SP Group Tentative Collective Agreement
• Worked with the Vancouver IT Sub Group to co sponsor a movie morning with screening of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Nov 12, 2022
• Labour Day at Edmonds Park – September 4, 2023
• Attended and supported the PSAC strike in April and May, 2023 to show solidarity, supported members with delivery of warm drinks / food.
• Provided members with visibility items for Pride Week

We have also had 4 meetings of the executive since the last AGM.

Please let us know what you liked, and what you would like to see in the future. Please keep in touch with us at spvansubgroup@gmail.com

Our last AGM was October 13, 2022 and since then we have been working together to find ways to connect with members of the SP Vancouver Sub Group.

Sub Group Overview

Some of the Departments which are represented within our Sub Group are Health, Environment and Climate Change, Fisheries and Oceans, Natural Resources, Transport, CBSA, Public Health Agency, RCMP, Indigenous Services, and Public Services and Procurement Canada

These are a few of the dedicated stewards in our Sub Group:

• Health Canada:  Denis Semail, Tanya Evans
• Transport Canada: Karen Hall
• Fisheries and Oceans: Don MacKinlay
• Environment and Climate Change Canada: Joy Bruno, Lindsay Howes

 

I would like to thank all of the members of our executive who have worked very hard to organize events and reach out to our members. Please know there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to plan events, find the funds, coordinate with other groups and get the message out to you! My gratitude and pleasure to work with Rob MacDonald, Tim Powers, Denis Semail, Eric Crawford, Judy Hartman, Lindsay Howes and Sammy Li! Let’s please acknowledge all of them now!

Bargaining for a New Collective Agreement

Our collective agreement expired on September 30, 2022, and your SP Bargaining Team has been busy negotiating with Treasury Board. The new agreement is proposed to cover a 4-year period October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2026.

Voting on ratification of the proposed agreement is closing today, November 14^th, 2022.  Please refer to the SP Bargaining update for more details:  https://pipsc.ca/groups/sp/sp-bargaining-update-11-signed-tentative-agreement-finish-line-is-in-sight

What to expect next? Treasury Board will then ratify the deal, the Collective Agreement will be signed and then we start the countdown from 180 days until which members will receive retroactive and lump sum payments.

Some upcoming dates to be aware of:

PIPSC National AGM: November 26-29, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec

SP Group AGM: April 6, 2024

Where can you find the SP Group on social media?

SP Group Web Page: https://pipsc.ca/groups/sp 

Facebook:   (20+) PIPSC SP Group / Groupe SP de l'IPFPC | Facebook

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PIPSC_science?t=Qhk4WL4OCr5dwj1WYFNpmw&s=09 

These are some interesting unofficial groups where information is being shared by Government of Canada workers about Phoenix, Canada Life, telework, retirement planning and so many other topics, which might be of interest to you!

GOC Parents:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/gocparents/

Telework GOC : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1606777942921223/

GOC Retired and Close to Retirement: https://www.facebook.com/groups/783608646316532/?ref=share
Canada Life: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1269969107038009/?ref=share
Federal Public Servants – Phoenix Pay System:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhoenixPaySystemDebacle/
Public Servants on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadaPublicServants/s/LQeImrudPk

We would like to engage more with you over the upcoming year, and encourage you to get involved with your Sub Group! We always welcome new members to the Executive, and fresh ideas!

In Solidarity, Tanya Evans