Executive Meeting - January 25, 2021 (1st of the year)
Videoconference meeting via Zoom
Start of the meeting: 6:30 p.m.
In attendance: Yvon Brodeur, Stéphanie Fréchette, Martine Lacroix, Hugo Landry, Nancy Lavoie, Réjean Michaud, Benoît Pelletier, Gerlando Renna and Robert Tellier.
Absences: Christian Tremblay and Richard Doyle (resigned).
- Opening Remarks:
Yvon welcomed everyone and will chair the meeting.
- Approval of the Agenda:
The agenda was approved unanimously; Other Business items can still be added.
- Approval of the Minutes of September 28 and November 25, 2020:
Benoît moved and Gerry seconded that the Minutes of September 28 and November 25, 2020, be approved with some minor changes. In addition, there will be no minutes taken from the November 18 (Regional Executive) and November 30, 2020 (Regional participants) meetings related to the discussion of the proposed resolutions at the December 5, 2020, AGM. Carried unanimously.
- Business Arising from the Minutes of September 28 and November 25, 2020:
None.
- Departure of Richard Doyle (to be replaced or not):
Since we will be holding a General Election for the entire Executive next May, we will not be replacing the position vacated by Richard until then.
Hugo will assume interim responsibility for liaising with the Branch Presidents until the elections scheduled for May 2021 (see next item).
- Regional Executive Elections:
Following Yvon’s information that the Board of Directors has decided to continue the ban on in-person meetings until May 31, and the still uncertain future context regarding COVID-19, we unanimously decided to hold virtual elections during the month of May. Currently, elections are only planned for May. Hugo informed us that there are computer platforms that would allow us to hold our type of elections continuously or simultaneously.
- Regional Council:
For the moment, we are holding out hope for an in-person Regional Council next September. Hotel reservations can be made, including a no-cost cancellation option. If necessary, we could also include the Steward Council event.
In the event that in-person meetings are still prohibited, we could organize a virtual Regional Council.
Stéphanie, with Nancy’s help, will present our game plan (elections in May and Regional Council in September) to the BOD in order to get approval to move forward with our procedures.
(Action: Stéphanie and Nancy)
8) Training and Education Committee (TEC):
Following the departure of Richard (who had taken over from Martine and Robert), Benoît volunteered to ensure a follow-up between the National TEC and the Québec Region. Gerry also offers to help if Benoît is not available for an event.
9) Videoconference with Branch Presidents:
Hugo will reissue an invitation to Branch Presidents (and possibly all members who attended the National AGM last December) to discuss the next steps for the National AGM which will continue on April 10, 2021 (and on April 11 if necessary).
(Action: Hugo)
10) Follow-up on Various Committees (Board of Directors, Regional and FTQ):
Yvon will contact all the chairs of the various committees to get them to forward their schedule of activities for 2021 to their members. It should be noted that, as a result of the COVID-19 context, all members of the various committees were automatically reappointed for 2021.
(Action: Yvon)
11) Other Business:
a) Benoît asked Yvon to provide a follow-up on the BOD held last week: Yvon will send us a report of the meeting in the next few weeks. He added that he would also send us a copy of the comments made by the members of the Board of Directors following the tabling of the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Yvon reiterated that he does not intend to run for another term as Regional Director, and that we will have to find a successor.
(Action: Yvon)
12) Roundtable:
a) Benoît recently had a meeting with members of the National Finance Committee.
b) Nancy will be attending an Elections Committee meeting in February. In addition, she informed us that, as a result of changes in harassment policies, she will be required to take training on the new approach to harassment investigations.
c) Réjean said that on Friday, September 18, he attended his first virtual meeting with our FTQ partners regarding the Pension and Insurance Committee. He also participated in a virtual national meeting with the Pension Advisory Committee, chaired by Colby Briggs. Speaking on this matter, Réjean reported that a member referred by Richard called him to ask several questions about his upcoming retirement.
Réjean invited the other Executive members to refer any member that has questions on this topic or our insurance plan to him.
13) Date of Next Meeting:
Our next executive meeting will follow the next regular meeting of PIPSC’s Board of Directors, which Yvon will attend somewhere in February.
14) Adjournment:
Yvon thanked everyone for their participation and the meeting was adjourned.