Atlantic Regional Executive Meeting Minutes September 11, 2021

Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax NS – September 11, 2021

CHAIRPERSON: Kim Skanes

EXECUTIVE:  Jennifer Cantwell (absent)

Cathy Hebert

Gerald Hill

Carolyn Hynes

Marcel Journeay

Christine LeDrew (on Zoom)

Kelly MacKinnon (Recording Secretary for this meeting)

Scott McConaghy

Yvonne O’Keefe

Mike Pauley

STAFF: Donna Davis, Recording Secretary (absent)

1. Welcome and Directors’ Opening Remarks

Kim called the meeting to order at 9:05AM. She read the Land Acknowledgement and welcomed everyone to the Atlantic Regional Executive meeting.  She reminded everyone that this was the first in-person event for the group since February 6, 2020, the PIPSC 100^th birthday celebration in Halifax, NS.

2. Agenda

Add – AGM delegates and Resolution (Part time VP pay.) To be addressed under Regional Director’s Report.

Motion #1 – Cathy moved, Carolyn seconded that the agenda be approved.  CARRIED.

Scott noted that an email was received from Nancy McCune, Chair of the By-laws and Policies Committee. The resolution regarding part-time Vice Presidents’ pay, approved at the Atlantic Regional Council in May, 2021 was out of order.  They have requested that it be reworded.  To be discussed during Kim’s report to the Executive.

3. Approval of Regional Executive Minutes

The minutes of June 25, 2021 were approved as presented. 

Motion #2 – Marcel moved, Yvonne seconded that the minutes be approved as presented.  CARRIED.

4. Action Items Review

Kim reviewed the Action Items.

Action Items

Atlantic Regional Executive

June 25, 2021 - Zoom Conference

#	Action	Item/Completion Deadline	Completed/Progress	BF
1	Christine, Carolyn and Jen	Finalize the deck and speaking notes on Health and Wellness and forward them to Catherine.	ONGOING
2	Mike, Scott and Phil	Complete the NB portion of the deck and speaking notes on OSH Basics and forward them to Catherine.	ONGOING
3	Kim	Prepare deck and speaking notes on the  topic of your choice and forward them to Catherine.	ONGOING
4	Donna	Post the completed Lunch and Learn decks to Google Drive for the Executive’s review.	ONGOING
5	Kim	Arrange for the Executive to review the Lunch and Learn decks on a future video conference.	ONGOING
6	Kim	Convert the Consent Culture presentation into a Lunch and Learn deck.	ONGOING
7	Donna	Send Christine Feedback Draw Winners.	ONGOING
8	Executive	Send your suggestions of Stewards for the Steward panel to each other by Wednesday, May 5, 2021.	COMPLETED
9	Christine	Post the Feedback Draw winners to Facebook.	ONGOING
10	Donna	Add the Feedback Draw winner of the previous event to the facilitator’s speaking notes.	ONGOING
11	Jennifer	Contact SOS to receive donation from the 77th ARC fundraiser.  Get photo if open.	COMPLETED
12	Donna	Add Elections Sub-Committee Mandate review to the January 2022 Executive Meeting Agenda.		BF
13	Donna	Circulate the Principles of Conduct at the next in-person Meeting.	COMPLETED
14	Donna	Send the Executive the prices for two outside speakers she has contacted.	COMPLETED
15	Gerald	To reimburse Carolyn for Postage.	COMPLETED
16	Donna	Send out AGM Call for Delegates by end of the following week, namely July 2, 2021.	COMPLETED
17	Kim	Look into whether expenses would be covered if a member were to get sick at our meeting.	COMPLETED
18	Kim	Check with the Legal department on the implications of a disclaimer for attending stewards.	COMPLETED
19	Kim	To prepare an expression of interest email to stewards regarding attending an in-person Steward Council.	COMPLETED
20	Donna	To book Steward Council at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax.	ONGOING
21	Donna	Send Executive a previous Steward Council Agenda.	COMPLETED
22	Donna	Remove names and emails from feedback results reported to the Executive moving forward.	ONGOING
23	Scott & Resolution Sub-Committee	Work on the VP Pay resolution and bring it back to the Executive.	COMPLETED
24	Executive	Come up with items for VP Duties for resolution.	COMPLETED
25	Donna	Update Calendar of Events for 2022 to add the Executive Meetings.	COMPLETED

 

5. Calendar of Events

Kim reviewed the Calendar of Events for 2021. 

The feedback from Stewards for the check-ins was positive, and Kim would like to continue them.  She will discuss staff involvement with Paul.

2021 Calendar updates: 

• September 22, 2021 Case Law and Trends webinar to be delivered by May Way has been cancelled – it will now be held at the Steward Council;
• Performance Management sessions to be held October 5 & 6, 2021 have been cancelled; a session will be held during Steward Council.
• The Atlantic Regional Executive meeting will be held October 21, 2021 at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax, NS;
• The Atlantic Steward Council will go ahead on October 22-23, 2021 at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax, NS;
• Kim will host a virtual AGM delegates meeting for November 1, 2021 at 7:00PM Atlantic time.
• Steward Training originally scheduled for Nov 12-13, 2021 is proposed to be Executive Training, to be held at the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax, NS.  An email will be sent to Presidents and VPs requesting names of new executive members who have not had training.  There is an action item in the Training Committee meeting minutes requesting Donna explore a possible date change to Nov 19-20, 2021 (with Nov 18 prep date) with the hotel.
• The Seasonal Social will go ahead on Thursday, December 2, 2021 at the PIPSC Atlantic office.
• The December Atlantic Regional Executive meeting will change to Thursday, December 2, 2021 from 12:00PM to 4:00PM and Friday, December 3 from 9:00AM to 6:00PM. 

Action:  Donna to send invitation to PIPSC AGM Atlantic Region delegates for a virtual meeting November 1, 2021 at 7:00PM. 

Action:  Kim & Carolyn to work with Donna to develop list of invitees for Executive Training November 12-13, 2021.

Action:  Kim to discuss Seasonal Social and December Atlantic Regional Executive meeting with Donna.

6. Financial Report

Gerald reported that he is still having difficulty accessing the bank.  He received a new bank card, which has Phil’s name on it.  He has been in touch with PIPSC National Office staff, but they only go into the office once a month, so he does not know if there is a new card waiting at the office.  The old password does not work for online banking, so he has been unable to obtain the most current activity.  Gerald has been in touch with PISPC staff to get a new password.  He does have the bank statements up to August.  Based on the records he has received from Phil, we currently have about $X in the bank. 

7. Regional Director’s Report

Kim reported that the Board has not met since her last update to the Regional Executive.  They are scheduled to meet next week, so she will send out an update after the meeting.

AGM Motion for Part-time Vice President – Kim updated the group on emails and discussions she has had on this motion.  Several constituent bodies have submitted similar motions.  Kim did receive an email from Nancy McCune regarding our resolution being out of order.  Nancy asked if we wanted to co-sponsor a resolution from the Ontario Region, but their resolution does not have an effective or start date, and we would expect it to being on January 1, 2022, when the new term begins for the new Board.  Legal advisors have said that since a start date was not included when the call for elections went out, any change would not take place until the next election. 

Action:  Resolution Sub Committee to review wording of resolution.

Delegates to the AGM – There are 24 Atlantic delegate seats available for the AGM.  Kim has approved 21.  Three branches have not submitted names:  Saint John, NB, Saint Andrews, Lake Millville.

Action:  Mike will contact the branches, on behalf of the Branch Liaison Committee.

Kim also reported that only two of the six NB Groups have submitted delegate names.  As a member of the NB Groups, Mike will contact them as well to urge them to send in names.  (Not an Action item, as NB Groups is not under the umbrella of the Atlantic Region.)

Kim reported that Staff Protocol Guidelines for In-person meetings is on the Agenda for the Board meeting next week.

Motion #3 – Kim moved, Scott seconded that the Regional Director’s report approved as presented.  CARRIED.

8. Training Committee Chairperson’s Report

Carolyn Hynes, Chair of the Training Committee, submitted a report to the Executive.  There has not been a TEAM meeting since the last Regional Executive meeting. 

Kim and Carolyn met to develop a plan for the Steward Council.  The plan to date includes:

• Maximum of 75 participants selected on first come first serve basis;
• Disclaimer on invite re: Council restrictions to be adhered to throughout the council – Stewards must accept to attend;

• Participants agree to adhere to Provincial, Public Health, and hotel guidelines for COVID;
• Assigned seating for entirety of the council;
• Virtual presentations by staff;
• No group breakouts given restrictions - extra slot to be filled (Debi or Paul)
• Steward Panel memberships will be assigned a table for entirety of the council;
• Meals/breaks will follow hotel guidelines – meals to be served at table;
• Scholarship presentations – none in person due to COVID restrictions;
• Guest speaker – Mark Black;
• Fundraiser – to be conducted the same way as at ARC (through etransfer).

The training committee met the day before the Executive meeting to develop the schedule for the Steward Council, using the template from a previous council as provided by Donna.  The schedule was reviewed by the Executive.  Cathy Hebert took minutes at the Training Committee meeting, and updated the schedule during the Executive meeting. 

Action:  Minutes of the Training Committee will be provided to Donna for posting.

Action:  Donna to send an email to Stewards-in-Waiting whose applications have expired, inviting them to re-apply. 

Carolyn reported that she was not contacted about the National Basic Steward Training.  She is unaware who is going.  The session is scheduled to begin September 27, 2021 (E) and September 28, 2021 (F).  Kim will inquire about attendees.

Action:  Kim to obtain an update on Atlantic members attending National Basic Steward Training.

The Harassment course has been updated - it is online only.  Paul Hartigan has told Carolyn that the EROs do not have time to deliver the course right now.  As well, there is no availability to deliver the in-person Steward Training originally scheduled for November 12-13, 2021, so the decision was made to make this Executive Training, for Branch and Sub-Group executive members. 

With regard to who will deliver the training, Kim stated that it is her understanding that EROs do not like to deliver this type of training.  There is training material available, with the option to include Treasurer training as well.

Attendees must be on an executive.  Presidents and Vice Presidents will be invited.  There will be a maximum of 20 people (with a possibility to increase to 25, depending on interest.)  As Branches are accountable to the Atlantic Regional Executive, while Subgroups are accountable to PIPSC, offers will only be made to Branches. 

Motion 4 – Kim moved, Carolyn seconded that the Atlantic Regional Executive will deliver Executive Training in November, 2021.  CARRIED.

9. Committee of the Board Reports

No Reports submitted.

10.  New Business
11. Hybrid Component for In-person Meetings

Donna informed Kim that we are unable to rent AV equipment from the hotel.  We have a contract with LMB; we have to rent from them.  In order for virtual attendees to follow the meeting, everyone needs a microphone.  Kim asked Christine, who was attending the meeting virtually, how her experience was.  For the Training Committee meeting, she was able to hear everyone, because there were only five people around the table and they were sitting closer together.  For the full Executive meeting, members were more spread out and she found it difficult to hear everyone.  As well, it was stated that everyone around the table should be seen – we need a good camera, so non-attendees can see everyone. 

Questions:  can we purchase a wireless hub?  Do we need to offer hybrid to executive members for our meetings?

Comments:  PIPSC IT are setting up to do larger meetings in a hybrid environment, so it can be done.  Problem – we will not necessarily know what AV equipment is in the room until we rent it. 

During the discussion, Gerald was looking at the AV equipment in the Britannia Room, where our meeting was held.  There is a camera, and there are wifi hubs on the table.  Gerald asked a staff member for a manual for the equipment.  To be continued…

2. 2022 Meeting Schedule

The Executive updated the 2022 Calendar.

• The Atlantic Regional Training Committee will meet on January 28, 2022 at the Lord Nelson Hotel;
• The Atlantic Regional Executive will meet on January 29, 2022 at the Lord Nelson Hotel;
• Basic Steward Training will be held in Halifax February 18-19, 2022 at the Lord Nelson Hotel.
• April 8, 2022 (Training Committee) and April 9, 2022 (Atlantic Regional Executive) meetings will be held on the road.  To give Donna options, the Executive selected (1) Moncton and (2) Charlottetown as locations.
• September 9, 2022 (Training Committee) and September 10, 2022 (Atlantic Regional Executive) meetings will be held on the road.  To give Donna options, the Executive selected (1) Moncton and (2) Charlottetown as locations.
• September 23-24, 2022 – Basic Steward Training.  Preference is (1) St. John’s, NL and (2) Fredericton, NB.
• November 18-19, 2022 – Extra Steward Training #3.  Preference is (1) PEI, (2) Moncton.
• The 2022 Seasonal Social will be held December 1, 2022 in Halifax, NS at the PIPSC Atlantic office.
• Atlantic Regional Executive meeting to be held on December 2, 2022, also in Halifax, at the Lord Nelson.

3. Mandatory Vaccines

Kim did not have much information on this initiative.  A question was asked about a requirement for PIPSC staff, but there is no answer.  Vaccines are not on the agenda for the Board meeting next week.

4. Principles of Conduct

Kim circulated the Principles of Conduct signature sheet.  All members present signed.  Jennifer and Christine still need to sign.

Action:  Kim to get signatures from Jennifer and Christine for the Principles of Conduct.

11. Steward Council

Kim showed the group kit bags and blankets with the 100^th Anniversary logo on them.  She thinks we may have enough for the Steward Council.  Kim also mentioned that she would like to get orange shirts with the Every Child Matters slogan on them, and a small PIPSC Atlantic logo on the sleeve.  Kelly asked who we would normally source as a supplier and if we were required to use them.  Instead, Kelly suggested that we source an Indigenous group to provide them.

Action:  Kelly to source an Indigenous supplier for ECM t-shirts.

Steward Council particulars were reviewed with the group again (see Training Committee report above.)

Discussions have already occurred with the hotel about COVID protocols during meal times.  With current restrictions in place in Nova Scotia about attendance at indoor events, and with changes possibly taking place before the Steward Council, we need to confirm with the hotel whether stewards who have not received their full vaccination will be allowed to attend and if there will be a requirement of all Stewards to show proof of vaccination to attend the council both at the border/airport and hotel.

Action: Donna to confirm proof of vaccination will be required to attend any event at the Lord Nelson. And if no, will the restaurant at the hotel require a vaccine passport for entry.

Kim also spoke to the PIPSC office about getting anniversary pins for Stewards (5, 10, 15 years, etc.) She was told that they can’t get into the office to see if they have any.

The nomination for Steward of the Year is currently in translation.

The extra time slot on Saturday of the Council from 2:00PM - 3:15PM – Kim to ask Debi to address the Stewards virtually.  If she is unavailable, Kim will ask Paul to provide his vaccination presentation.

Action:  Kim to check with Debi and Paul on availability.

After the break (3:15PM – 3:45PM) Greg Scriver has offered to provide a presentation on Indigenous issues.  Most likely virtual.

Carolyn asked the group for suggestions for Stewards to sit on the Steward Panel.  The intention is to provide one Steward from each Atlantic Province, as well as Christine LeDrew, AYPN Chair.  Carolyn would like to have a good representation of Stewards from various departments/agencies.  It was suggested that she check with the EROs, as they would have a good idea as to who has had recent experience in a range of issues.

Action:  Carolyn and Kim to obtain feedback from EROs about Stewards for the Steward Panel.

The Scholarship presentation will be virtual, to comply with COVID protocols.  Kim noted that a $5,000 scholarship was awarded to an Atlantic student this year. 

The Case Law & Trends presentation originally scheduled for September 22, 2021 will not be offered by Max Way at the Council.  The motivational speaker will be Mark Black, from Moncton, NB.

There will be a social event for Stewards.  Due to restrictions, it will be held off-site, and will only be for Stewards.  Guests will not be invited unless restrictions are eased.  Two suggestions were Axe Throwing and a Pool Tournament. 

Action:  Gerald will contact the Axe Throwing provider(s) to obtain information.  One provider can accommodate up to 40 people.

Action:  Cathy to contact Locust Pool Hall to obtain information.

Kim spoke about the Directors’ Dinner, to be held the evening before the Steward Council.    Invitations will be sent to Cathy (Pinks), Phil and Matt (if he attends Steward Council.) 

Action:  Kim to source a site for the Director’s Dinner and invite retirees.

Gerald reported that he had purchased a Smart Watch (Garmin) for the fundraiser.  A Halifax-based Indigenous charity has been chosen – The Friendship Centre.  They are a registered charity, and distribute funds to other charities in the area.  We will wait until the date gets closer to determine if we will invite them to the Council to receive the cheque in person.  Carolyn will conduct the ticket sale virtually, as she did at the Atlantic Regional Council.  Kim has agreed to accept the funds and arrange for them to be deposited and the cheque to be issued to the charity.

12. Round Table

Everyone stated that it felt great to be back to in-person meetings. 

It is important the membership know what the Board is doing.  Likewise, the Board should be aware of the wishes of the membership.  The PIPSC Board election will be an interesting one.

Discussion was held about Regional membership.  With members working remotely now, the possibility exists that some members may wish to be involved in another region.  Kim read Byway 4.5: Regional Affiliation of Members – “A Member may be allowed to choose to be active in the region in which they reside or in the region in which they work or last worked, if retired. Any additional costs for a Member choosing to be active in a region where they do not reside will be borne by the Member.”  There was some discussion around the table about what that means.  It was suggested that the Atlantic Region propose a resolution to strengthen the definition.  Should it be based on where you physically sit to work, or where you report?  It was noted that there would be different perspectives from Groups and Branches.  Define where your “workplace” is.  It was noted that this could impact many in the SH group, as they travel around t various reserves, for example, for their work. 

Action:  That the Resolution Subcommittee develop a resolution to be proposed to the 2022 PIPSC AGM to define Regional Membership.  To be ready for the ARC in 2022.

Kim noted that there had been plans to plant trees for the 100^th anniversary in the city where there are Regional offices of PIPSC.  This was not done.  There is quite a bit of work required. 

We usually offer a soup & sandwich lunch for Stewards when they arrive on Day 1 of the Council.  This will not take place this year.  They will be on their own for lunch Day 1.  Registration takes place from 11:30AM to 1:00PM.  They can register and go for lunch. 

Kim thanked everyone for coming.

Motion #5 – Kelly moved and Mike seconded that the meeting is adjourned at 4:00PM Atlantic time.