Bylaws are Done

We are pleased to announce that the Southwestern Ontario chapter bylaws are done and sent to Head Office for approval. Here are the highlights:

• The elected directors are the President, Treasurer and Secretary, which is standard practice for a registered non-profit organization. The Corporations Act of Ontario requires at least three elected directors. The council consists of many other people (for example, webmaster and employment manager), who are "appointed" by the directors from those who volunteer.


• The President can only be in office for two years. If the President wants to extend his or her term for a third year, there must be a vote at the annual general meeting.


• The chapter must hold an annual general meeting that is open to all chapter members.


• Any member with the support of nine others who belong to the chapter can require the council to hold a special meeting to deal with a specific issue.

I would like to thank the subcommittee that worked extra hours to develop, review and revise these bylaws. They are Jim Bousquet, Lori Jankowski, Debbie Kerr, Carol Lawless and Gord Varney.

If you would like to see the bylaws in their entirety, all 17 pages, send me a request: president@stc-soc.org.

By-Laws Almost Completed

The council is taking steps to register with the Ontario government as a non-profit organization. This would make the chapter a legal entity and allow it to enter into agreements with other organizations (such as banks and hotels), instead of forcing one of the council members to be responsible for the agreement. It also requires the chapter to develop by-laws defining how the chapter is run and how decisions are made. Once registered, the chapter must make annual reports to the government, proving that the chapter is meeting the standards of a non-profit organization.

The first step has been writing our by-laws and ensuring they comply with the requirements for a non-profit organization. The by-laws define:

• Who the elected officers are


• How and when elections are held


• Which council members are appointed


• The roles and responsibilities of the elected officers and appointed members


• How all chapter members can have a voice in running the affairs of this chapter


• The chapter's relationship with Head Office

The by-laws have to be approved by Head Office. After that, we can submit them to the government of Ontario along with our application for non-profit status.

If you would like to see a copy of the by-laws before they become official, please contact me, Fei Min Lorente, at president@stc-soc.org.