Quebec Executive meeting
(First of the year, via Zoom)
January 25, 2022, at 9:00 am
In Attendance: Yvon Brodeur, Denis Caissy, Jean Couillard, Hugo Landry, Nancy
Lavoie, Steve Malenfant, Réjean Michaud, Pierre Potvin, Lisanne Racine, Karine
Régimbald and Robert Tellier.
Regrets: Gerlando Renna.
1. Opening Remarks:
Pierre welcomed everyone and chaired the meeting, his first since his election.
2. Code of respect:
Pierre forwarded us a code of conduct that comprises 10 rules of commitment.
He asked us to approve it and we will sign it at our next in-person meeting. All
agreed with the process and to commit to it and self-manage. Nancy asked that
we also add a policy on respect of everybody outside our regional executive.
(follow-up:
Pierre)
3. Review and approval of the agenda:
No items were added to the agenda.
Robert moved to approve and Lisanne seconded.
All in favour. Agenda carried. Varia remained open.
4. Approval of the minutes for the December 16 and 17, 2021, meeting:
Hugo moved to approve, Nancy seconded.
All in favour. The minutes for the December 16 and 17, 2021, meeting were
carried.
5. Director Update:
a) Executive Organization Chart: Pierre sent us an organizational chart that
includes everyone’s responsibilities on the various committees. He
reviewed it with each member and will send us an update based on our
feedback. Among other things, Karine indicated that she was no longer
interested in working on the Status of Women Committee with the FTQ.
She will be looking for a substitute.
In addition, Pierre reported that PIPSC let him know that some of the
candidates that we proposed for our national committees did not officially
sign up during the call for nominations, last fall. We explained to Pierre
that, historically, PIPSC never opposed our recommendations. We
preferred to have members of the regional executive representing us, so
we can get first-hand information. Should no Executive member state any
interest in serving on a national committee, we will select a candidate who
has formally applied to serve on that committee. (Follow-up: Pierre)
b) Region website: Pierre mentioned that we should post a pipsc.ca address
for each of us on the website, as each member’s email address can only
be found in one place. Furthermore, other email addresses can be added
and used according to people’s needs.
c) Access List in Google Drive: Hugo updated the permissions to access the
Region’s Drive following the membership changes to the Regional
Executive.
d) 2022 Calendar of Events:
Regional Council: May 27–28 in Estrimont;
—Labour School: April 27–30 in Quebec City (Nancy confirmed later that
the hotel chosen will be the PUR);
—Steward Council: TBD.
e) New file and directory (structure, hotels and tools): Pierre forwarded us a
directory of Quebec hotels, submitted by the FTQ, to which he made
some modifications.
6. Follow-up regarding committees:
a) Training Committee:
i) Labour School: as per item 5d), April 27–30 in Quebec City, at Hotel
PUR Quebec. 3 series of training will be given:
—Social Steward by Érick D’Amours and Christian Gaboury;
—Burnout and Harassment by Denis and Hugo;
—Advanced Grievance and Consultation by ARTs.
Jennifer Carr, PIPSC President, will be invited to 1 of the first 2 series.
Robert and Karine will act as observers.
ii) Core Steward: scheduled for early April in person. Karine and an ERO
will facilitate the training.
b) Communications Committee: Hugo told us that they are considering the
production of 3 vignettes (agriculture, marine biology and administration).
Currently, access to the work sites for filming is an issue. He will check the
budget that he has been granted. He could also ask for the FTQ to help,
both physically and financially.
c) Workplace Violence Committee: Nancy is planning to hold 4–6 meetings
this year. They will be paired with events such as the RC or the SC, or they
would likely be held at Trois-Rivières. Pierre informed Nancy that he would
like to bring Giovanni Giolti into the picture.
d) Youth Committee: Lisanne told us that they held a virtual meeting on
January 12 and that everything went well. Several new members have
joined the committee chaired by Wendy Blouin. The budget has not yet
been requested and future activities are to be determined.
e) Status of Women Committee: Karine will contact Sophie Laporte to find out
if she is still interested in continuing.
f) Human Rights and Diversity Committee: Steve has not received any
information from the FTQ and will contact them. As for Jean, he called for
applications from everyone in the AFS group and he received none.
g) Mobilization Committee: Denis said that for Women’s Day, March 8, he
plans to send a message to all men asking them to pay tribute to a woman
they admire via a website.
7. Finance:
Since Gerry is away, we have not received any financial update.
He is currently preparing the financial reports and budget for the coming year.
8. Selection of National Committee Candidates:
Already discussed in 5a).
9. Organization of FCAC (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada) employees:
Pierre and Yvon have not received any additional information regarding this.
10. Quebec Regional Council:
a) Volunteers: besides Pierre and Anne Renaud, Nancy will be the contact point
between the hotel and the organizing committee; Réjean will chair the
Council; Hugo will take care of the tech side and Robert will act as
Parliamentarian.
b) Date and location: May 27 and 28 at Estrimont (Orford);
c) Deadlines as set in the Bylaws: Anne Renaud, assisted by Pierre and Nancy
will ensure that all correspondence to members respects the deadlines set by
our bylaws.
d) Number of participants: based on the Region’s membership list, we can
accommodate 83 people at the Council (6179/75). If we exclude the 10
Executive members (other than Pierre), we can extend an invitation to 73
people.
e) Resolutions: Resolutions must be submitted at least 6 weeks prior to the
Council meeting (deadline: April 15). A resolution submitted by Philippe
Ouimet in 2021 was postponed to this year. Hugo will ask him if he still wants
to submit it. Meanwhile, Robert will draft 2 new resolutions: one to invite de
facto the entire regional Executive and to exclude it from the calculation
based on the formula #of members-total/75. The other would allow the
Regional director to delegate an alternate to chair the Regional Council.
(follow-up: Hugo and Robert)
f) Committee Meetings: Officers should notify Anne R. of their intention to hold a
meeting with their committee members, which will likely take place on Friday
morning, May 27.
11. Policy Statement on Education:
Robert convened Karine, Denis, Hugo, Pierre and Yvon to a virtual meeting at
4:00 p.m. today in order to fine-tune the working document that Robert had
developed in 2020.
12. Varia:
a) Steward Council:
i) Robert proposed that we give away a thermos grocery bag with the
Institute’s logo to the attending members. As needed, we could ask
ServicePlus and the FTQ for a financial contribution.
ii) Steve pointed out that at our last SC (in conjunction with the RC) several
members did not show up for the event and we had to pay for their
attendance anyway. A discussion ensued as to whether we should ask
them to reimburse the costs or not. We concluded that it is better to make
our members aware of this reality than to penalize them. There is already a
mention in our correspondence regarding the need to notify the organizers
as soon as possible should you be unable to participate in the event. An
overly harsh approach on our part could lead to a loss of motivation among
our members (especially in the current context).
13. Roundtable:
a) Jean stated that it is very difficult to send out communications to our members
and that communication with PIPSC is very difficult. For example, he said he
was denied permission to send Christmas cards during the Holiday season.
Many agreed that improvements need to be made with PIPSC
Communications Section. A resolution stating this should be presented at our
next national AGM.
(Action: Jean)
14. Next meeting date:
The next Executive meeting will be held in late February. A Doodle will be sent
by Hugo to set a mutually convenient date. (follow-up: Hugo)
15. Closing remarks and adjournment of the meeting:
Pierre thanked everyone for participating, and the meeting was adjourned.