Executive Meeting on February 23, 2021 (2nd of the year)
Videoconference meeting via Zoom
Start of the meeting: 6:30 p.m.
In attendance: Yvon Brodeur, Stéphanie Fréchette, Hugo Landry, Nancy Lavoie, Réjean Michaud, Benoît Pelletier, Gerlando Renna and Robert Tellier.
Absences: Martine Lacroix and Christian Tremblay (resigned).
- Opening Remarks:
Yvon welcomed everyone and will chair the meeting. He indicated that Christian Tremblay had resigned from the Executive following his appointment as Assistant Director of Customs and Excise.
- Approval of the Agenda:
Following the addition of an item to Other Business, the agenda was approved unanimously; Other Business items can still be added.
- Approval of the Minutes of January 25, 2021:
Benoît moved and Robert seconded that the minutes of January 25, 2021, be approved with some minor changes. Carried unanimously.
- Business Arising from the Minutes of January 25, 2021:
a) Regional Council and Executive Elections:
This follow-up will be addressed under agenda item #5.
b) Videoconference with Branch Presidents:
Hugo did not have time to 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.
(Action: Hugo)
c) Follow-up on the various committees (Board of Directors, Regional and FTQ):
Yvon took out a list of all the chairs of the various committees and will send them a letter requesting that they let the committee members know their schedule of activities for 2021.
(Action: Yvon)
- Follow-up on Board of Directors (BOD) meetings:
Yvon sent us the resolutions adopted during the last BOD. He will do the same for future meetings.
- Regional Executive Elections:
At our last meeting, we had decided to hold virtual elections during the month of May, and we were holding out hope for an in-person Regional Council (RC) in September. Benoît and Stéphanie underlined that our By-Laws force us to hold our elections as part of a RC. Therefore, we will need to establish the composition of members who will form the RC for this year before going ahead with the election process.
Notice of Election (and nominations) must be received by the members at least 6 weeks prior to the RC.
Benoît specified that we are entitled to 90 members for the composition of the RC. Of this number, 8 will come from the current Regional Executive, 15 will come from the Branch Presidents and there will be 67 places available for all the other Stewards from the Québec Region.
For the moment, the main issue is holding our elections virtually (confidentiality, positions reserved for the Branch Presidents, positions dedicated to the Treasurer and the Secretary, etc.). Hugo informed us that there are computer platforms that would allow us to hold our type of elections continuously or simultaneously, such as ADoodle.
Nancy said she believes the 2021 national AGM will once again be held virtually and that the National Elections will be held via the Lumi platform.
Benoît and Stéphanie will contact the Institute (as well as others, including Informatics) for assistance in holding virtual elections that take our needs into account. Ideally, we would like to have the election issue sorted during May.
(Action: Benoît and Stéphanie)
- Election of Elections Chair:
The election of an Elections Chair has been postponed for the time being, while we decide how our virtual elections will proceed.
- Regional Council:
On this point, we are also waiting for the answers from the Institute regarding our virtual elections and we will see, afterwards, if we will hold a partial (or complete) RC around these elections.
8) Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting Schedule:
The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on March 26 and 27, 2021.
9) Other Business:
a) Canadian Labour Congress (CLC): Robert informed us that he has received an invitation to participate in the CLC, which will be held June 16–18 in a virtual format. He does not intend to participate and asked if anyone would like to take his place. Yvon, who does not intend to participate either, will inquire if we can replace the people who were initially invited.
(Action: Yvon)
10) Roundtable:
a) Nancy asked Yvon what the objective of the BOD was in creating a Task Force on Standing Committees. Yvon answered that one of the objectives is to merge some committees together. Yvon will send more details to Nancy in the next few weeks.
b) Robert asked Benoît (and Yvon) about the possibility of holding a meeting of the Training and Education Committee (TEC) on Thursday evening of the current week. They will discuss, among other things, a possible basic Steward training course in 2021. They will also invite Martine to participate.
c) Hugo informed us that they have (internally) filed a group grievance on scientific integrity.
d) Réjean told us that he will participate in a virtual seminar on March 18 with our partners from the FTQ regarding the Pension and Insurance Committee.
11) Date of Next Meeting:
Our next Executive meeting will be held as soon as possible, once we get answers from the Institute on how they can help us with our proposed virtual elections.
12) Adjournment:
Yvon thanked everyone for their participation and the meeting was adjourned.