The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
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THE PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF CANADA 

Meeting of the Executive on May 1 and 2, 2019 (2nd of the year)

Manoir des Sables – Orford – Start of the meeting 1:00 p.m.  

 

  1. Welcome and call to order:

Yvon welcomes everyone and will chair the meeting.

In attendance: Yvon Brodeur, Richard Doyle, Stéphanie Fréchette, Martine Lacroix, Hugo Landry, Nancy Lavoie, Réjean Michaud, Benoît Pelletier, Gerlando Renna, Robert Tellier and Christian Tremblay.

Absent: none.


 

  1. Reading and adoption of the agenda – May 1 and 2, 2019:

No changes required.

Other business will remain open.

Proposed by: Richard Seconded by: Robert

  

 

  1. Reading and adoption of the minutes of the last meeting – February 22 & 23, 2019:

Benoît suggested four small changes to the text initially proposed. Carried unanimously. Réjean will forward the revised minutes next week.

Proposed by: Benoît Seconded by: Richard

 

 

  1. Business arising from the minutes:
    1. Union ribbons: Christian had suggested creating a ribbon that would represent the labour movement. He had to do some research to find an appropriate colour and/or a particular pattern.

Christian was very busy since our previous meeting and recently made a request for which he has not had a response as of today.

        Follow-up: Christian

  1. Director’s Report: 
    1. Request for permanent budgets: Yvon applied to the Executive Committee for permanent funding from PIPSC for the following committees: Status of Women, Violence in the Workplace, Human Rights, and Communications & Information.

Robert suggested that, for the “Communications and Information" Committee, we proceed regionally (as was done with the Youth Committee) before proposing it to National. Yvon will have to discuss it with the directors of the other regions before proposing it to the Board Follow-up: Yvon

 

  1. Montreal-Centre Branch AGM Yvon was unable to attend the AGM and no member of the Executive was able to replace him. The Region will send them a cheque for $250.00 to help fund some of the costs related to the AGM. Carried unanimously. 
  2. Advanced steward workshop (grievances): Yvon presented the project to Valérie Charette and she agrees with the concept. The file is now in Gerry’s hands to find a location for the workshop and other logistical aspects Follow-up: Gerry

 

  1. Isolated post allowance (in Gaspé): Debi asked Richard Beaulé to follow up on the file. He mentioned to Yvon that he was pessimistic about the outcome. Yvon asked for help from Magali Picard (PSAC National Vice-Chair) who sits on the NJC.

                    Follow-up-Yvon

  1. Request from Ronald Pétion: Yvon has received a request from Ronald Pétion to transfer the chairmanship to Ms. Carole Pronovost. Upon verification, we discovered that neither of them had given their names to be part of the Regional Council. We therefore asked Ms. Josée Hamel, member of the Montreal-Centre Branch, to replace Ronald Pétion at the meeting of Branch Chairs.  


 

  1. Treasury:
  1. Report:

Gerry presented the Region’s financial report for the period January 1, 2019, to April 30, 2019. We haven’t received our annual allocation, but we have sufficient cash. Gerry will present the 2019 and 2020 budgets to members at the RC. 

 

  1. Claim from the Sherbrooke Branch: The Branch has submitted a claim for $382.16 to reimburse us for the costs related to the presentation of the new Employee Wellness Support Program proposed by PIPSC. Carried unanimously.

 

  1. Reimbursement request from the Montérégie Branch: the Branch has presented us with a request for $750 to reimburse part of the costs related to the PIPSC retirement planning presentation on pension funds. Carried unanimously.

 

  1. Reimbursement request from the Haut-Richelieu Branch: the Branch submitted a request for $309.28 to reimburse the costs related to creating their banner. Carried unanimously.

 

  1. Report of the Regional and National Committees:
    1. Education and learning: Robert reported that the training scheduled for June 14 on professional burnout is extremely popular. If the Delta Hotel at Trois-Rivières has room, a second group of 20 people (plus two instructors) will be invited to the training. (Post-meeting note: the second group training will take place in Laval, same day, same time. 44 of the 47 interested people will benefit – two groups of 22 people)

Also, the Training Committee met this morning to review all upcoming training. Benoît will send us a calendar of upcoming training sessions for the next two years. Robert suggested having a meeting with the instructors before the SDC to see if they are interested. 

There were also questions about whether or not to hold a demonstration in the streets of Trois-Rivières. It is agreed that this event will be held if we are able to send a strong message. The matter will be discussed further at the next meeting. In the meantime, Christian will check out some of the logistical aspects of such an event Follow-up: Christian

Benoit attended a TEC on March 15 and they discussed a survey on the steward’s role, among other things. 

In May 2020, there will be a 5-week college, organized by the FTQ, and we will have 1 or 2 seats available.

  1. Finance Committee: Benoit had a meeting on March 22nd and will report back to the RC on Saturday. The PIPSC’s financial statements have been approved and will show a surplus of $3.9 million. The rental situation at 250 Tremblay in Ottawa has improved significantly. The next meeting will take place on May 30 and will be devoted to budgets. 
  2. Hotels: Benoît reported that the June 17 and October 21 Executive meetings would be held at the FTQ office in Trois-Rivières at 9:00 a.m. (7080 Marion Street).

Each member of the Executive shall be responsible for renting their own room, if applicable.

  1. Youth Committee: Hugo is our liaison officer and he informed us that following the invitation to all members aged 40 and under (to offer them the opportunity to join the Youth Committee), five applications were received out of a possible seven positions to be filled. Hugo submitted the names of the candidates and suggested accepting them. Seconded by Robert. Candidates accepted unanimously.

Hugo also informs us that the committee has submitted a proposal to make changes to the “Union Work–Family Life" policies. A few changes were made to the proposal and the Executive unanimously asked Yvon to present it to the Board.

At the same time, Stephanie mentioned that PIPSC is also working on changes to "Union Work–Family Life" policies.

  1. Status of Women: The committee meeting scheduled for March 19 and 20 did not take place. As the committee is not yet official, requests must be made each time for funding. Stephanie will still report back to the RC on Saturday. As discussed in item 5a), Yvon will make representations to make this committee permanent and obtain the necessary budget. If that doesn’t work, we’ll try to organize ourselves regionally. 
  2. Task Force on Official Languages: Yvon and his team prepared an official document; Yvon will be forwarding it to us shortly Follow-up: Yvon
  3. Bylaws and Policies Committee: the official meeting was held on March 23. The bylaws of each of the Branches in the Region must be reviewed. Stephanie will advise the Branch Chairs to check their respective information on PIPSC’s website. 
  4. Science Advisory Committee: Pierre Morin will present a report on this subject at the RC this weekend. 
  5. Human Rights Committee: Mario Guertin has temporarily withdrawn from the committee due to health problems. We will ask Sonia Richard, the committee chair, to keep us informed of the committee’s activities.
  6. Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee We haven’t heard from our representative, Johanne Potvin. 
  7. Information Technology Services and Projects Committee: Hugo reported that the application that replaced E-Claim (Concur) would be implemented in June 2019; BCD Travel will remain in place for travel bookings and issues. He reminded Antonio to update the email list. A page on Google Site will be displayed "live" during the RC. Finally, he reminded us that if we want a tab for one of our committees on the PIPSC website, to send him a short presentation of our committee.
  8. Communication & Information Committee: Hugo attended a meeting organized by the FTQ on this theme at the Estérel Hotel; he felt that it wasn’t particularly useful that he attended. Hugo will report back to the RC and regionally, we will need to position ourselves to know what we are doing, when and how.
  9. Harassment and Violence Prevention Committee: like the Status of Women Committee, they are hoping for a permanent operating budget. In the meantime, they are awaiting Treasury Board directives in the various departments. Nancy tells us that Sandra Guéric will help them.

 

  1. Political Action, Mobilization, Lobbying Committee: having been very busy lately, Christian informed us that he must follow up on these three mandates, including seeing to the logistics of a possible demonstration in Trois-Rivières. He also suggested that we invite politicians to our events.

 

  1. File updates by those in charge:
    1. Branches: Richard presented the agenda for the Branch Chairs meeting, which will take place on Thursday p.m. and Friday a.m. before the RC.

 

  1. Promotional items: already covered in item 4a.

 

  1. Regional Council, May 3 and 4, 2019 (Manoir des Sables):

Martine would like to introduce a motion regarding union leave to lobby at the PIPSC level to release stewards who, like those in her department, are overworked. Martine is aware that realities are very different from one department (or agency) to another. In parallel to the debate that was taking place, Stéphanie mentioned that the Treasury Board strictly applies the policy of a maximum of three months of union leave without pay per year with no financial impact for the steward. Various possible solutions were discussed, including having a head steward in Quebec. Yvon will personally discuss this issue with Debi shortly. For their part, Richard and Martine will get back to us at a later meeting to provide us with more information before taking action.

Follow-up: Yvon, Richard and Martine

 

  1. PIPSC 100th Anniversary:

a. Scholarship proposal: it is proposed that each of the Regions offer a $2,000 scholarship as part of PIPSC 100th anniversary. The proposal is accepted unanimously on the condition that the scholarship is awarded to a student from Quebec.

b. Activity: Steve Hindle proposed that each region hold an open house at their respective regional offices on February 6, 2020. A PIPSC presentation was made and put on a USB key. Yvon will send it to us in the next few weeks Follow-up: Yvon

  1. Young Professionals Standing Committee:

Yvon informs us that a woman from PIPSC has approached the Board of Directors to propose that the Youth Committees in the Regions be made permanent.

 

  1. Redefining the steward model:  

In 2009, Gary Corbett (then PIPSC President) mandated a regional task force, which included Yvon, to review the role of the stewards. After spending a great deal of time and money on the project, the report was shelved. The matter was raised again recently and Yvon gave Allison Tomka a copy of the 2009 report.

 

  1. Miscellaneous 
    1. FTQ Triennial Convention:

The FTQ Triennial Convention will be held at the Quebec City Convention Centre from November 25 to 28, 2019. Several seats are available for us and we agree to book a dozen seats for this event.


 

  1. Round table: 

No other topics were discussed.


 

  1. Date of next meeting and adjournment:

Our next meeting (the third of the year) will take place on Monday, June 17, in Trois-Rivières at 9:00 a.m. (at the FTQ office - 7080 Marion Street);


 

Adjournment:

Proposed by: Gerry Seconded by: Nancy

Published on 27 November 2020