Montréal-Ouest Branch
MINUTES of the Fifth Annual General Meeting of the Montréal-Ouest Branch of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, held Thursday, May 31, 2018, at the Canadian Meteorological Centre in Dorval
1. Call to Order
Members in attendance:
Stavros Antonopoulos, Agnisezka (Agnès) Barszcz, Joël Bédard, Michel Béland, Najat Benbouta, Yves Chartier, Gérard Croteau, Jean-François Deschênes, Milena Dimitrijevic, Minh Dinh, Annie Duhamel, Frédéric Dupont, Normand Gagnon, Samuel Gilbert, Hugo Landry, Éric Legault-Ouellet, Hélène Lebœuf, François Lemay, Alexandre Leroux, Guillaume Marcotte, Robert Ménard, Jacques Montpetit, Kristjan Onu, Pierre G. Richard, Alain Robichaud, Tom Robinson, Louis-Philippe Rousseau-Lambert, Fabien Tivolle, Serge Trudel, Huiming Zheng
Guests:
Stéphane Aubry, Miguel Daraîche-Leblanc
Tom Robinson called the Montréal-Ouest AGM to order at 6:17 p.m.
Tom Robinson nominated Guillaume Marcotte as the minute-taker.
Seconded by: Samuel Gilbert
Guillaume Marcotte accepted.
2. Approval of Agenda
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of 2017 AGM Minutes and Action Items
4. Introduction of Executive and Guests
5. President’s Report
6. Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws
7. Finances
7.1. 2017 Financial Report
7.2. 2018 Budget Proposal
8. Election
9. Other Business
10. Adjournment
Moved by: Tom Robinson
Seconded by: Jacques Montpetit
Adopted unanimously as presented.
3. Approval of 2017 AGM Minutes and Action Items
Tom Robinson asked the assembly if there were any amendments to be made to the 2017 minutes. Hugo Landry suggested reading the minutes aloud since they had not been posted on the Branch site. The meeting participants agreed, and a vote was not requested. Hugo Landry read the 2017 minutes. The date of the 2017 AGM was corrected. Some last names were missing and they will be added to the final version.
Moved by: Hugo Landry with amendments
Seconded by: Serge Trudel
Hugo Landry spoke of the business arising from the last AGM. A resolution on Phoenix was passed in 2017. Hugo Landry explained that the orange fact cards did not cost the Branch anything because PIPSC approved the idea and covered the cost of producing them. Hugo Landry mentioned that the Phoenix T-shirt project is not complete due to a lack of time. Lastly, the retirement planning course was discussed at the union-management consultation table and the course was given. All those who attended gave it a thumbs up.
4. Introduction of Executive and Guests
Tom Robinson introduced the guests: Stéphane Aubry, PIPSC Vice-President, and Miguel Daraîche-Leblanc, President, Montréal Centre CS Sub-Group. Pierre Touchette, CS Group Vice-President, was absent.
Tom Robinson introduced the Branch Executive:
President: Hugo Landry
Vice-President: Hélène Lebœuf
Secretary: Guillaume Marcotte
Treasurer: Jean-Francois Deschênes
Members-at-Large:
- Tom Robinson
- Alexandre Leroux
- Robert Ménard
- Samuel Gilbert
- Jacques Montpetit
- Agnieszka Barszcz
5. President’s Report
Tom Robinson handed the floor to Branch President Hugo Landry. Five regular Branch Executive meetings were held this year. Hugo Landry briefly reviewed PIPSC’s organizational structure by way of introducing his report. He went on to talk about IT Services’ transition to Google Suite and described the composition of the Branch using graphs and maps. He again mentioned the Branch activities, namely the Phoenix cards, the T-shirts and the retirement planning course. More than 1,000 cards have been distributed within the Branch and around 1,000 others have gone out to other PIPSC locations.
Alexandre Leroux asked if there was a plan for reaching out to Branch members at the National Film Board (NFB). Hugo Landry replied that the Branch is already doing what is needed to keep them abreast of the activities planned with them. Alexandre Leroux asked how many Stewards are at the NFB. Hugo Landry answered four or five.
Robert Ménard asked what was done to announce the retirement planning course. Since the Union-Management Consultation Committee became involved with the course, it was announced internally at the Canadian Meteorological Centre by the management side. All members working in the building, including PSAC members, got the announcement.
Samuel Gilbert added that the photos taken during the mobilization activities have been posted and are also being shared on social networks. A discussion ensued regarding the participation rate. Hugo Landry reminded everyone that it is important to get involved in these activities.
Joël Bédard asked why he did not get the emails about the mobilization activities. Hugo Landry responded that, since his status recently changed and he is now working in a unionized position, he has just been added to the union distribution list. Joël Bédard said he thought the mobilization activities provided more visibility than the cards.
Annie Duhamel said that her favourite form of participation was wearing the Phoenix button, which provides great exposure even outside the workplace.
Tom Robinson spoke about the last SP Group meeting, where rumours abounded about Treasury Board’s inflexibility after feeling shortchanged by the scientific integrity clause. According to Treasury Board, this issue has changed the discourse and the bargaining priorities. The SP Group is expecting negotiations to be tough.
6. Changes to the Constitution and By-Laws
The text of the adopted resolutions is attached.
Resolution S1 – Election Procedures – Nominations
Moved by: Hugo Landry
Seconded by: Samuel Gilbert
Hugo Landry presented the resolution. Its purpose is to take out any references to the Elections Committee’s options for the voting method because there will be no opportunity to choose one. No questions from the floor. The motion was approved unanimously
Resolution S2 – Election Procedure – Workplaces
Moved by: Hugo Landry
Seconded by: Samuel Gilbert
Hugo Landry presented a bit of background on the resolution. He explained that, historically, positions were reserved on the Branch Executive for representatives from each workplace. There are 16 workplaces and 11 available positions. The purpose of the resolution is to disallow workplaces with only one member from using this provision in the Constitution. Hélène Lebœuf asked for clarification on which positions on the Branch Executive were reserved. Hugo Landry replied that any position could be considered reserved.
Robert Ménard explained that he was uncomfortable with the number of members stated in the resolution.
Hélène Lebœuf opposed the resolution. As she understood it, she would have virtually no chance of getting elected if she were the only member from her workplace. So far, no one has taken advantage of the provision, but that does not justify the exclusion of those who are the only member in their workplace.
Hugo Landry answered that the current By-Laws would likely not be moved by the By-Laws Committee.
The Assembly proceeded to vote on the matter.
The resolution was carried by a majority.
7. Finances
Tom Robinson invited Jean-François Deschênes to present his financial report.
- 7.1. 2017 Financial Report
Jean-François Deschênes presented his report starting with the revenues, followed by the expenditures. The Branch’s main expenditures were the AGM and a few one-time expenses for mobilization activities.
Moved by: Jean-François Deschênes
Seconded by: Hugo Landry
- 7.2. 2018 Budget Proposal
Jean-François Deschênes presented the budget. Agnieszka Barszcz asked if any of the other constituent bodies were doing other Phoenix-related mobilization activities. Hugo Landry said no but, as member of the Quebec Regional Executive, he would be in contact with the Branches. Miguel Daraîche-Leblanc talked about a Scotch-tasting event held by the Ville-Marie Branch. Stéphane Aubry explained that the Branch activities are typically separate from PIPSC initiatives. He presented some ideas of social outings that are happening in other union groups. Miguel Daraîche-Leblanc added that social activities are more appropriate for getting members together for some fun and for promoting PIPSC’s values. Hugo Landry explained that one of the problems faced by the Montréal-Ouest Branch is that few members live in the area, which makes it hard to organize social outings.
Moved by: Jean-François Deschênes
Seconded by: Samuel Gilbert
Carried unanimously.
8. Election
Tom Robinson introduced this year’s Election Chair, Hélène Lebœuf.
See the attached election report.
9. Other Business
Pierre Richard asked for an update on the Phoenix battle and wondered if any progress had been made. Hugo Landry answered in the affirmative. He said Stéphane Aubry would expand on it later during his presentation.
Samuel Gilbert asked if any advances had been made on the sick leave front. Hugo Landry said yes and that Stéphane Aubry would go into detail about it in his presentation.
Jacques Montpetit asked if there was going to be another round of retirement planning sessions. Hugo Landry responded that the matter would be raised at the next meeting of the Union-Management Consultation Committee. Agnieszka Barszcz asked if the Branch could fund such courses. She suggested funding just part of the retirement planning course for younger members, rather than giving the full course that includes preparing yourself mentally and what to do with your time. Hélène Lebœuf said that the employer gives some retirement planning courses. The Retirement Planning Institute also offers mid-career sessions, which would address Agnieszka Barszcz’s concern. Hugo Landry asked Hélène Lebœuf to send him the information on it, which she agreed to do.
10. Adjournment
Tom Robinson made some quick closing remarks, mentioning that there would be no survey for the 2018 AGM. The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m.