CFUW Oakville

The CFUW Oakville newsletter, In Touch, is now available. The corrected February issue can be viewed/downloaded at  February 2012

The Executive email addresses had been typed incorrectly. They are now corrected. My apologies — Carolyne

Monday, January 16 is the General Meeting for CFUW Oakville. 

The Keynote speaker will be Dr. Laurel Trainor of McMaster University’s Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour.  The topic is:  How Music Affect Brain Development.

Teri Shaw has volunteered to have her name stand for nomination to the position of CFUW National Vice President, Advocacy for another term.  Presently, Teri is CFUW Ontario Council Advocacy Coordinator and CFUW National Vice President, Advocacy.  Teri was CFUW Oakville President in 2001.

On Monday, members will be asked to vote on a motion to nominate Teri as Vice President, Advocacy on the CFUW National Board.  Below are highlights of Teri’s Advocacy experience.

See you at the Operating Engineers Banquet Hall at 7:00 for the social hour.

Anne Douglas

CFUW Oakville, President

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Teri Shaw CFUW Advocacy Highlights, 2010 – 2011

January 8, 2012

Administrative:

• Advocacy Strategic Plan, passed by Board, June 2011
• Policies including Partnerships, Advocacy guidelines
• Study on Board Committees, September 2011
• Established Advocacy Committee involving the Advocacy Standing Committees
• Analysis of Advocacy Communications tools

What happened at National:

Resolutions – advocacy

• Create the tool-kits for resolution advocacy
• The highlight this year is Irwin Cotler’s Private member’s bill on Non-State Torture

Working with parliament

• Briefs to Finance on the Budget
• Called to speak to the Committee on the Status of Women to speak on the long-form census;
• Called to speak to the Liberal Women’s Caucus
• Major campaign on the Gun Registry over the past two years; won the battle, but ultimately lost the war
• A number of one-on-one MP meetings, including the Minister of the Status of Women’s office
• National creates packages of template letters and information sheets for clubs on a number of topics

Working with NGOs

• Projects with a number of them, like Elizabeth Fry on the current Crime Omnibus Bill; on projects for International Women’s Day; with the Grandmothers to Grandmothers concerning Canada’s Access to Medicine Regime, for example
• Working with the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights, a roundtable of national women’s organization.  We are attempting to support it in some fashion as funding is being cut for most of the organizations

Working with clubs & club members:

• Campaigns – “Policy to Action” establish a new method to use policy rather than just create new resolutions every year
• Study groups – Aboriginal Study Group, Afghan Focus Group and the Child Care Initiative
• Issue Liaisons – reviving a project involving members monitoring issues for us.

What do I do:

• As mentioned earlier, the Strategic Plan and two studies; created and work with the Advocacy Committee; established policies and projects
• Assist and work with the advocacy Standing Committees
• Vet letters and activities
• Assist with the new website

We are very saddened to report that one of our long time members, Mary Harvey, has passed away.

A visitation for Mary will be held at Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Road East, this Friday, January 13 from 2 – 4 pm. and 7 – 9 pm.

A memorial service will be held at St. Jude’s this Saturday, January 14 at 2:00 pm. Reception to follow in the Victoria Hall.

Please keep the Harvey family in your thoughts and prayers.

Anne Douglas, President, CFUW Oakville

by Susan Walkinshaw, Membership Chair, CFUW Oakville susanwalkinshaw@cogeco.ca Tel: 905-338-0572

The application forms for the 2012 CFUW Oakville Awards are now available on the Awards page.  http://www.cfuwoakville.ca/awards

The December / January issue of In Touch has been posted at http://www.cfuwoakville.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011-12-In-touch.pdf 

The CFUW Oakville resolution for the next CFUW AGM has been posted on the Advocacy page http://www.cfuwoakville.ca/advocacy/

Canadian Federation of University Women
Fédération canadienne des femmes diplômées des universités
251 Bank Street, Suite 305, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1X3
Tel: 613 234 8252; Fax: 613 234 8221
www.cfuw.org
Date:    November 21, 2011

To:        CFUW Clubs, Member University Alumnae Associations, Regional Directors and  members of the Board of Directors

From:    Eileen A. Grant, Chair Constitution, Bylaws and Standing Rules Committee (CBS) Members:   
             Rose Beatty, UWC Vancouver
             Grace Hollett, CFUW St. John’s
             Leila Metcalf, CFUW Ottawa
             Fran Mitchell, CFUW Richmond
             Brenda Wallace, CFUW Board

This launches Part 2 of the revision process of the Constitution and Bylaws begun at the 2009 Annual General Meeting. Over 2010 and 2011, under the direction of the Board, the CBS Committee undertook an extensive research, consultation and revision process resulting in the August 2011 draft of the Constitution and Bylaws. In October 2011 the Federal government proclaimed the Canada Not-­-for-­-profit Corporations Act SC 2009 c23 (CNCA).

Since then the Committee has revised the August 2011 draft to include changes which will bring the revised Bylaws in compliance with the new Act. The Committee has also made minor revisions to provide continuity and consistency with the changes brought about by the new Act and incorporated the substantive changes requested during discussion on the floor of the 2011 AGM.

Since the AGM in August we have had many conversations, in person, by telephone and electronically with individual CFUW members about the Constitution and Bylaws. We have incorporated the changes that improve the readability of the document; however, we have not incorporated the substantive changes suggested. We wanted to insure that we follow a transparent and fair process, so we are asking that those be submitted formally as part of this amendment process.

Part 2 of the Revision Process

The Timetable (see Appendix 2):
                 
                November 21, 2011    November 2011 Draft to be circulated.
                January 31, 2012        Deadline for proposed amendments.
                February 21, 2012      February 2012 Draft to be circulated.
                March 21, 2012           Deadline for proposed amendments to the amendments
                April 21, 2012              April 2012 Draft to be circulated.

*    The submissions received will be sent out after the close of each amendment process.
*    This process will accommodate changes to any of the drafts which improve correctness,  readability and continuity and consistency.
Proposed Amendments:

Proposed amendments to the draft will be accepted from CFUW Clubs, Member University Alumnae Associations, Regional Directors and members of the Board of Directors. Submissions from Clubs and University Alumnae Associations must be sent in as a single submission under the signature of the Club/Association president. All submissions are to be sent to eagrant10@gmail.com.

If the proposed amendment is to enhance continuity, consistency or readability or identifies a spelling or grammar error, it may be submitted in an email or a marked copy of the November 2011 draft identifying the bylaw and the proposed change/correction.

If the proposed amendment is substantive, please state the proposed amendment and include a detailed rationale and any supporting references. If the references are web­– based please provide the web link. Check the Act for compliance and provide the section/subsection number pertinent to the amendment. Because the Act is considered the first governing document of any organization incorporated under it, there is no need to repeat a section or subsection that appears in the Act or its regulations, unless the section/sub-­-section contains a phrase similar to “unless the articles or by-­-laws of a corporation otherwise provide …”.

See Appendix 1 for the list of reference documents that are either attached to this Memorandum or available on the web, including a website where you can access the whole Act in a very user friendly format.

Please submit all substantive amendments as a Word.doc attachment. All submissions must include the name of the submitting Club/Association and its President or the Regional Director or Board member and contact information.

More on the November 2011 draft:

We have highlighted the differences between the August 2011 and November 2011 drafts:
Blue – These are changes required by the new CNCA Act. We have supplied the CNCA reference for each of these bylaws/changes.
Green – These are changes that follow out of the CNCA, particularly when there was an option for specify CFUW parameters. The Ministry website was very helpful in providing a set of model bylaws and an interactive site that allows users to develop appropriate wording in the language of the Act.
Red – These are the changes that are intended to improve the readability, consistency and continuity of the document. They also include one substantive change suggested on the floor of the 2011 AGM: Committees

For as much colour as you will see there is relatively little change to the actual content.

As you are reading the November 2011 draft, please keep in mind:

In many cases the Act is prescriptive and as such provides the Corporation with no alternatives. These sections have not been reproduced in the bylaws as these may not be changed in any way by the Corporation/CFUW. This is dealt with in the bylaws under Bylaw -­- Binding Effect. As with the CCA, it is the first governing document of CFUW and the Articles and Bylaws are our second. With this in mind the Act has delivered on its promise of simplifying incorporation for the not-­-for-­-profit organization.

The Act is specific about how the Board is to be elected. The Act is also specific about the need for a financial review and who can undertake it. There are options as to the form that review can take.

You will see references to “ordinary and special motions” throughout the November 2011 draft. These references are to the number of votes required for the motion to pass. It was their suggestion that to insure compliance with the Act that those motions be defined under “definitions” and referred to simple as ordinary or special motions in the Bylaws, which we did.

The Act does not specify standing committees and suggests only that the board appoint committees/advisory groups as required. The list of standing committees included in the November 2011 draft comes from the Chair of Advocacy who has been working on the revision of the Committee process.

If you have any questions about the process please contact us at eagrant10@gmail.com Again, all submissions should be sent to the same address.

Regards,
Eileen Grant, CFUW Saanich Peninsula and Committee Chair, Rose Beatty, UWC Vancouver, Grace Hollett, CFUW St. John’s, Leila Metcalf, CFUW Ottawa, Fran Mitchell, CFUW Richmond and Brenda Wallace, CFUW Board
Constitution, Bylaws and Standing Rules Committee

Documents attached in this letter:
The November 2011 Draft .doc
The November 2011 Draft .pdf 
The August 2011 Draft
The current Constitution, Bylaws and Standing Rules – March 2011
Related web links:
Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act  
CNCA Model Bylaws: http://www.corporationscanada.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-dgc.nsf/eng/cs04999.html   
CNCA Bylaw Builder:         http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-­-dgc.nsf/eng/h cs04734.htm

Appendix

Excerpt from the Minutes of the 4 November2011 Board Meeting:

Moved that:

Rule F.2 Amendments to the Constitution, By-­-Laws or Standing Rules (By-­-Law XIX) be amended by:

In 2.2, strike out “amendments” and insert “proposed Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules” and strike out “at least five months prior to CFUW AGM.” and insert “on or before Nov. 21th, 2011.”

In 2.3 strike out “at least four months before an AGM” and insert “on or before January 31, 2012.”

Strike out 2.4 and insert “2.4 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall make available proposed amendments.”

Insert the following after “2.4…available proposed amendments.”

“2.5 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Committee shall send an Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules to the Clubs, Alumnae Associations, Regional Directors and members of the Board of on or before February 21, 2012.

2.6 Proposed amendments to the amendments to the Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules shall be sent to the Chair of the Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee on or before March 21, 2012.

2.7 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall make available any proposed amendments to the amendments to the Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules.

2.8 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall send the Final Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules to the Voting Body on or before April 21 2012″

With these amendments the Rule would now read

Rule F.2 Amendments to the Constitution, By-­-Laws or Standing Rules (By-­-Law XIX)

2.1 Any sponsoring body must submit proposed amendments to the Chair of the Constitution, By-­-Laws and Rules Committee at least seven months prior to the AGM at which they are to be considered.

2.2 The Chair of the Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall send the proposed Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules to the CFUW Clubs,
 
Alumnae Associations, Regional Directors and members of the Board of Directors on or before November 21, 2011.

2.3 Proposed amendments shall be sent to the Chair of the Constitution, By-­-laws and Standing Rules Committee on or before January 31, 2012

2.4 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall make available proposed amendments.

2.5 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Committee shall send an Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules to the Clubs, Alumnae Associations, Regional Directors and members of the Board of on or before February 21, 2012.

2.6 Proposed amendments to the amendments to the Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules shall be sent to the Chair of the Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee on or before March 21, 2012.

2.7 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall make available any proposed amendments to the amendments to the Amended Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules.

2.8 The Constitution, By-­-Laws and Standing Rules Committee shall send the Final Draft of the Revised CFUW Constitution, Bylaws and Schedules to the Voting Body on or before April 21 2012

The General Meeting is November 21 at the Operating Engineers Hall.

Social commences at 7 p.m., meeting commences at 8 p.m.
The topic is “Women’s Mental Health and the Legal System”
The speakers are Megan McNeil and Jenna Masciantonio who work for the Canadian Mental Health Association–Halton Region Branch.

Members are encouraged to bring a friend to hear the speakers.

The Christmas/Holiday Dinner tickets
Monday, December 5, 2011 Harbour Banquet & Conference Centre, 2340 Ontario Street, Oakville
Cash Bar: 6:00pm Dinner: 7:00pm Cost: $40:00
John Huston “How the Victorians Invented Christmas”
Join us for an evening of holiday fun with good friends, good food and good theatre.
CFUW Oakville is honoured to welcome Toronto actor, John Huston, who will give us an entertaining history lesson on how the Victorians invented Christmas.
Dinner tickets are available at the November General Meeting and through Jane Heakes, Sue Stevens and Susan Walkinshaw.
Ticket sales end November 30th!
Reserved tables are being set up so please contact Susan Walkinshaw directly, or set up at the November meeting.

Susan Walkinshaw is planning to distribute the 2011-2012 Membership Directory, remaining membership cards, scholarship receipts, and member name tags. If you are not able to attend, please ask a friend to pick it up for you.