Vancouver Community Network
Minutes of the 2001 Annual General Meeting
November 26, 2000
President Alison Curtis called the meeting to order at 7:15
1. Agenda
Adoption of the Agenda, M/S/C.
2. Minutes
Acceptance of the minutes of the 2000 Annual General Meeting be adopted, M/S/C
3. President's Report
The President presented and read her report.
4. Auditor's Report
Financial Statements, as approved by the Board of Directors, were presented
to the membership by the Auditor. All questions were answered with regards to the
details on the Financial Statements.
Motion that the Financial Statements be approved as presented M/S/C
5. Staff and Staff Reports
The President expressed the appreciation for all of VCN's Staff. Peter Royce
presented a brief report on VCN's activities in the past year especially on the
various projects that are currently underway. A Written Report was presented
by Steven Chan on the Technological accomplishments and challenges faced
by VCN in the past year.
6. By-Law Amendments
Motion to replace Bylaw #8 (1), (2), (3) which state:
8 (1). A member may be expelled by a special resolution of the members passed at
a general meeting.
(2). The notice of a special resolution for expulsion shall be accompanied by
a brief statement of the reason or reasons for the proposed expulsion.
(3). The Person who is a subject of a proposed resolution for expulsion shall
be given the opportunity to be heard at the general meeting before the
special resolution is put to a vote.
With the Following:
8(1). A member may be expelled or suspended by a resolution passed by
not less than 3/4 of the Directors present at a Directors meeting
provided that,
(a) The notice of resolution for expulsion or suspension shall be
accompanied by a brief statement for the reason or reasons for the
proposed expulsion or suspension and given seven (7) days written notice
prior to the Directors meeting and,
(b) The member who is the subject of a proposed resolution for expulsion
or suspension shall be given the opportunity to be heard at the
Directors meeting before the resolution for expulsion or suspension is
put to a vote
(2) A member so expelled or suspended by the Board of Directors may
appeal the decision at the next Annual General Meeting of the Society.
The decision of the members at any such Annual General Meeting, in the
form of a Special Resolution, shall be final with respect to the
expulsion or suspension of the member. Any member expelled or suspended
by the resolution of the Directors shall be deemed not to be a member of
the Society until the Special Resolution of the members is passed at the
next Annual General Meeting.
(M/S/C)
Motion to Replace Bylaw #25(1) & #26(1) which states:
25 (1). There shall be no more than 15 directors comprised of officers and
directors at large
26 (1). The First directors shall retire from office at the first annual general
meeting
(2). Directors and officers shall be elected for a one-year term and shall
retire as directors and officers at the annual general meeting after
their election, when their successors are elected.
With the following:
25 (1). The number of Directors shall be twelve (12) or a lesser or
greater number determined from time to time at a general meeting, and
26 (1). The term of office shall be two (2) years and each Director shall
at the time of his election and throughout his term be a member in good
standing, and shall be elected to hold office until the second Annual
General Meeting after he shall have been elected, or until his
successors shall have been duly appointed or elected.
(2). Each Director shall be eligible for two (2) and only two (2)
additional consecutive two-year terms.
(3). The President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be
Officers of the Society and appointed annually for a one (1) year term
from among the Directors of the Society by the Board of Directors. Each
Officer shall be eligible for three (3) and only three (3) consecutive
one-year terms.
After some discussion it was decided to Vote on each Bylaw Amendment and
their parts independently
Motion to accept the Change to Bylaw 25 (1) (M/S/3 For/12 Against/0 Abs)
This motion was not Carried.
Motion to accept The Amended Bylaw 26 (1) (M/S/13 For/1 Against/1 Abs)
This motion was Carried.
Motion to accept the Amended Bylaw 25 (2) & (3) (M/S/13 For/1 Against/1 Abs).
This motion was carried.
Motion for the 1/2 the VCN Board plus one be replaced in 2002 and 1/2 the
board plus one be replaced in 2003 (M/S/12 For/ 3 Against/0 Abs).
This motion was carried.
Motion to replace Bylaw #26 (3) which states:
26 (3). Nominations for the positions of directors and officers shall be
received from the members at the Annual General Meeting, and apart
from that, election procedures at the Annual General Meeting shall be
determined by the members present.
With the following:
27 (1). The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of nominees for
election as Directors and present its report at the Annual General
Meeting. The report of the Nominating Committee shall include a slate
who have been selected by the Nominating Committee and who have agreed
to stand for elections as Directors.
(a) Additional nominations for the positions of Directors shall be
received from the members 14 days in advance of the next Annual General
Meeting provided that such nominations are supported by two (2) members
in good standing of the Society.
Following a discussion it was decided to vote on the two parts of the
Bylaw Independently.
Motion to accept Bylaw 27 (1) (a) as above, with changes to read as follows :
(a) Additional nominations for the positions of Directors shall be received from
the members at the next Annual General Meeting provided that such
nominations are supported by two (2) members in good standing of the Society.
(M/S/13 For/1 Against/1 Abs). This motion is carried
Motion to accept Bylaw 27 (1) (M/S/C). This Motion is Carried.
7. Members Issues
Following the disastrous attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001
the introduction of Bill C-36 which is Anti-Terrorism Legislation is being brought in.
The following Motion has been made
Whereas Bill C-36, Canada's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, expands
the legal powers of Canadian police agencies to the detriment of
fundamental civil liberties;
And Whereas the Bill extends wire-tape legislation and the ability to
monitor Internet and email usage;
And Whereas the definition of terrorism in section 83 (b)(i)(A) states
"that an act or omission, in or outside Canada, that is committed in whole
or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or
cause, and in 83(b)(ii) and that is intended (E)"to cause serious
interference with or serious disruption of an essential service or serious
disruption of an essential service, facility or system, whether public or
private, other than as a result of lawful advocacy, protest, dissent or
stoppage of work..." is overly broad and brings much civil dissent such as
illegal strikes and anti-globalization protests under this legislation;
And Whereas the Canadian government has done nothing to address the
fundamental political, social and economic problems, including massive
world wide poverty, which are the fundamental underlying causes of terrorism;
And Whereas the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Civil Liberties
Association, the head of Privacy Commission, the head of the Freedom of
Information Commission, the head of the Human Rights Commission and the
oversight committee of CSIS all oppose this Bill as eroding our fundamental
civil liberties and overriding the Charter of Rights;
Be It Resolved that this Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Community
Network go on record as opposing Bill C-36 as an unwarranted intrusion into
the lives of people living in Canada and protest the shameful use of World
Trade Centre destruction as a justification for depriving people of their
liberties:
And Be It Further Resolved that the Vancouver Community Network AGM demand
the government deal with the underlying issues of terrorism relating to
massive inequity and historical injustices;
And Be It Further Resolved that this resolution be communicated to other
the Prime Minister, the Justice Minister, the Leaders of the Opposition and
other Community Networks.
And Be It Further Resolved That The VCN Board Review and Consider
Supporting Any Charter Challenges With Regards to Bill C-36
Motion to Accept the Above Statement (M/S/C)
8. Appointment of Auditor
Motion to Accept Tompkins, Wozny, Miller & Co. as VCN's Auditors (M/S/C)
9. Board of Directors Election
There was one nomination from the Floor. Patrick Clark was nominated and
has accepted to run for the Board.
Motion to accept the following to the Board:
Sharlene Smith, President
Alexandra Samuel, Vice President
Alison Curtis, Past President
Patrick Clark
Jason Currell
Amali de Silva
Mary Hammond
Craig McLachlan
Sujay Nazareth
John Olldym
Jim Sayre
Ruth Tsukishima
(M/S/C) This Motion was Carried.
10. Volunteer Appreciation
The President offered her thanks to all of VCN's Volunteers, including the
Board. Certificates of Appreciation were handed out to the Volunteers present.
11. The Meeting was Adjourned at 8:30 PM
12. Dr. Richard Rosenberg was the Guest speaker for the evening and he
discussed the issues surrounding Bill C-36 and C-42.