Executive Meeting - August 17, 2021 (6th of the year)
Videoconference meeting via Zoom
Start of the meeting: 1 p.m.
In attendance: Yvon Brodeur, Denis Caissy, Jean Couillard, Stéphanie Fréchette, Hugo Landry, Nancy Lavoie, Steve Malenfant, Réjean Michaud, Karine Régimbald and Gerlando Renna.
Absent: Lisanne Racine.
- Opening Remarks:
Yvon welcomed everyone and will chair the meeting. He pointed out that Lisanne will be away for an extended period of time. Hugo was tasked with finding a young person who would take over the duties on an interim basis.
(Action: Hugo)
- Approval of the Agenda:
Two items were added to Other Business.
Denis moved to approve, and Jean seconded.
The agenda was approved unanimously; Other Business items can still be added.
- Approval of the Minutes of June 28, 2021:
Hugo moved and Nancy seconded that the minutes of June 28, 2021, be approved. Carried unanimously.
- Business Arising from the Minutes of June 28, 2021:
a) Service Plus: At the last QRC, a member asked Yvon if Service Plus could offer tickets to the Canadiens to its members. Yvon has asked Andrew Gize about this. He will also check with our union partners to see if they have any agreements. (Action: Yvon)
N.B. According to Gerlando, who knows an employee at the Bell Centre, there is very little chance that we will be able to obtain tickets through the program.
b) Promotional Material: Hugo had received requests from three branches to send them ceramic mugs and metal bottles. These were sent to the Abitibi (Richard East) and Quebec City (Denis Caissy) branches. He will make the remaining delivery to Eric Massey in the next few weeks.
- 2021 Steward Council (SC):
Before addressing this item, we decided to discuss the document submitted by Gerlando which is under item 7a) of the agenda.
In the document prepared by Gerlando, he wondered if we should continue to prepare for the SC 2021 held in-person or if it would be better to postpone the event until next year, given the rapid evolution of COVID-19-related variants.
A debate started and everyone expressed their opinion on the subject.
Among the “pros” of holding the SC 2021 are the need for members to get together physically, slowing down the disengagement of our Stewards, and the possible support of the Manoir des Sables staff to comply with health regulations.
Some of the “cons” of holding the SC 2021 include the challenges we will have with our members in enforcing health regulations, the image of the Institute that could be compromised if a case of COVID were to occur, and the potential rejection of members who are not adequately vaccinated.
After a long discussion on the subject, Gerlando officially moved to postpone the holding of an in-person SC for 2021, seconded by Hugo. The vote was taken and the result was as follows: 4 for, 4 against and 2 abstentions. As it did not receive a majority of votes, the motion was not carried.
As a result of this vote, we would like to point out that a person will have to be designated to ensure that the health regulations are well enforced with the help of the Manoir des Sables staff, who will have received the requirements from Public Health to hold events of this kind. It will also be necessary to offer our delegates the possibility of attending virtually and to make this clear in the invitation to our members.
- Agenda:
Yvon reviewed the agenda that he submitted to us prior to the meeting.
Each item was reviewed, and a designated person was assigned to handle it.
A reminder about health measures was added to the agenda.
Hugo, with the help of Anne, will call for nominations for the Jacques Caron Award (Steward of the Year).
Given the lack of activity in the past year, it was suggested that when presenting committee reports, people should talk mainly about the objectives of the committees.
Steve will contact three suggested speakers to see their availability, synopses and the cost to our RC.
We also reviewed the timeline prepared by Anne, and Stéphanie informed us that Anne will contact her if any problems arise during the timeline.
The preferred dates for holding the RC-2021 remain October 29 and 30.
Stéphanie reminded the committee leaders present to inform her whether or not their committee will be meeting on Friday morning and which members will be attending.
Finally, it was suggested to organize a collection of non-perishable food items and ask the people present to donate their personal hygiene products from their hotel room.
(Action: Committee members)
- Other Business:
a) Gerlando’s document: covered in point 5).
b) Email from Jean: He informed us that the National AGM of the AFS group will be held at the end of October, like our SC. If held at the same time, he and other AFS delegates will not be able to attend both events.
8) Roundtable:
a) Réjean informed us that he will attend a meeting of the FTQ Pension and Insurance Committee at the end of September. He does not yet know if this meeting will be in-person or virtual.
b) Hugo informed us that he is concerned about the future of the Youth Committee, as all the terms of the outgoing members have ended and there are very few others to take over.
c) Steve wanted to organize a meeting of Branch Presidents on the Friday morning of the SC, but was not sure how to proceed. He was referred to the documents on the Region’s “drive” regarding this topic.
d) Stéphanie informed us that Branches are not officially required to hold an AGM for this year (unlike Regions and Groups). Holding a Branch AGM is recommended, but not mandatory.
e) Karine asked for clarification on the permitted and prohibited actions for candidates running in the PIPSC National Elections this November.
f) Yvon informed Steve that there is training available at the FTQ on the following topic: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
9) Date of Next meeting:
The next Executive meeting will be held on Thursday, October 28, prior to the SC at Manoir des Sables.
10) Adjournment:
Yvon thanked everyone for their participation and the meeting was adjourned.