PREAMBLE
These By-Laws, in general, pertain to matters of Branch organization not covered by the By-Laws and Regulations of The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and of the Prairie/Northwest Territories Region, and are made pursuant to those By-Laws and Regulations.
DEFINITIONS
"Institute" and/or “PIPSC” means The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
"Members" means those Regular and Retired members covered by the geographic area of the Branch, as described by the Institute.
BY-LAW 1 NAME
The name of the Branch shall be the PIPSC Lethbridge Branch hereinafter referred to as the "Branch".
BY-LAW 2 PURPOSE
To represent Branch member interests and concerns; to provide a forum for the discussion of Institute affairs; to administer this Constitution and By-Laws; to make recommendations to Regional Council and to the Institute on topics or matters within the objectives of the Institute, and to nominate delegates to Regional and Institute meetings in accordance with the Constitutions and By-Laws of those bodies.
BY-LAW 3 MEMBERSHIP
All members located within the geographic area of the Branch shall be members of the Branch.
BY-LAW 4 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
All members shall be eligible to hold office, nominate members for positions on the Branch Executive, propose amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Branch, and vote in Branch affairs and attend and speak at General Meetings of the Branch.
BY-LAW 5 EXECUTIVE
5.1 The Branch Executive shall be composed of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer and Members-at-Large to the maximum permitted by Institute By-Laws elected by and from the Branch members at the Branch Annual General Meeting.
5.2 Term of Office The term of office shall be two (2) years with the exception of the first election when the President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for two (2) year term and the remainder for a one (1) year term.
5.3 Meetings The Branch Executive meetings shall be held at least four (4) times per calendar year.
5.4 Quorum The quorum for an Executive meeting shall be three (3) Branch Executive.
5.5 Voting Decisions shall be by majority vote.
5.6 Vacancies
5.6.1 If the position of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume the position of the President until the next election.
5.6.2 If a position, other than that of the President, becomes vacant for any reason, the remaining members of the Executive may select an eligible member of the Branch to fill that vacancy until the next election.
5.6.3 Any member who is absent from two (2) consecutive meetings of the Executive without valid reason shall be considered to have resigned from the Executive.
BY-LAW 6 DUTIES OF THE BRANCH EXECUTIVE
6.1 President - To convene and chair all meetings of the Branch, and to present to the Annual General Meeting a report on Branch activities.
6.2 Vice-President - To assist the President in the performance of his duties and to perform the duties of the President in his absence.
6.3 Secretary-Treasurer - To notify the members of meetings; to ensure that minutes are kept and a copy filed with the Institute; to administer and report on Branch finances; to present a budget to Branch members at the Branch meeting of the calendar year; to present a financial statement to the Annual General Meeting, and to submit a copy to the Regional and National Offices each year. Copies of the report shall be available to Branch members.
6.4 Members-at-Large - To perform such duties as may be required by the Branch Executive.
BY-LAW 7 BRANCH MEETINGS
7.1 Annual General Branch Meetings
7.1.1 An Annual General Meeting shall be held each calendar year. The interval between Annual General Meetings shall not exceed fifteen (15) months. Members shall be notified at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
7.1.2 Quorum at Annual General Meetings shall constitute fifty percent (50%) of the members in attendance at the beginning of the meeting.
7.1.3 Agenda The agenda shall include the following items:
- Roll Call (members of the Branch Executive)
- Approval of the Agenda
- Adoption of the Minutes of the previous Annual General meeting
- Business Arising from the Minutes
- Report of the President
- Annual Financial Report
- Report of the Elections Committee
- New Business, including By-Law Amendments.
7.1.4 Voting All members at the Annual General Meeting are eligible to vote. Voting for positions on the Branch Executive shall be by secret ballot. Otherwise, voting shall normally be by a show of hands and each member shall have one (1) vote. Decisions shall be by a simple majority vote.
7.1.5 Filing of Documents Each year, following the Annual General Meeting, the Sub-Group Executive shall submit a copy of the draft AGM minutes, the annual financial report and the elections report to the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Institute prior to end of the calendar year. (BOD – July 2007) (BOD - July 2007)
7.2 Special General Meeting
7.2.1 A Special General Meeting of the Branch shall be called by the Branch Executive or at the written request of at least 10% of Branch members and shall be held within six (6) weeks of such decision or request.
7.2.2 Only the matter for which the Special General Meeting was called shall appear on the agenda.
7.2.3 The same provisions shall apply to the notice, quorum and voting at a Special General Meeting as is prescribed for the Annual General Meeting.
BY-LAW 8 STANDING COMMITTEES
8.1 Standing Committees may be established by either the Branch Executive or the Branch when required.
8.2 The composition and terms of reference shall be established when a Standing Committee is struck.
8.3 Each Standing committee shall be required to have a Chair.
8.4 Copies of Standing Committee reports shall be filed with the Branch Secretary-Treasurer.
8.5 Standing Committees may only be dissolved by a majority vote of the members of the body that established them.
BY-LAW 9 FINANCES
9.1 Fiscal Year: The fiscal year of the Branch shall be the calendar year.
9.2 Expenditures: Adoption of the budget by the Branch membership shall not preclude the right of the Branch Executive to expend additional funds should the need arise. Such additional expenditures shall be reported to the Branch membership at the next Branch meeting.
9.3 Branch Funds Branch funds will be maintained in an account assigned by the Institute.
(BOD – July 2007)
9.4 Signatures: The President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer shall be the signing officers. Cheques issued in the Branch's name shall require two (2) authorized signatures.
9.5 Auditing: As required, auditing and verification procedures shall be carried out by members of the Branch. The review shall not be carried out by anyone responsible for the administration of Branch funds
BY-LAW 10 ELECTIONS
10.1 Elections Committee The Executive shall appoint an Elections Committee to receive nominations for positions on the Branch Executive and to conduct the elections. Any member of the Committee who becomes a candidate in the elections shall resign from the Committee.
10.2 Procedure for Nominations
10.2.1 The Elections Committee shall distribute a request for nominations to all members of the Branch at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of election.
10.2.2 Nominations may be made from the floor of the Branch meeting providing those nominated agree to stand and, in cases where more than one (1) candidate is running for the same position, an election by ballot shall be carried out.
10.2.3 The Elections Committee shall satisfy itself that the candidates for election are eligible and willing to serve.
10.3 Election Procedure
10.3.1 The Elections Committee shall serve as Returning Officers and shall establish procedures for the efficient conduct of an election, the counting and tabulating of ballots and all matters directly related thereto. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for a position shall be declared elected
10.3.2 The newly elected Executive shall take office immediately following the meeting at which the election is held.
10.3.3 The Elections Committee shall ensure the membership is informed of the results of the election as soon as possible.
BY-LAW 11 PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
At any meetings of the Branch, matters of procedure, insofar as they are not specifically provided for, shall be governed by a majority vote of the members present and voting upon the matters of procedure. The Chair of such meeting shall first rule on any matter of procedure and shall, in his rulings in the absence of any By-Law to the contrary, rely upon and be governed by the latest, available edition at the meeting of Sturgis' Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure.
BY-LAW 12 REGULATIONS
12.1 Branch Executive may make such Regulations, and any amendments thereto, not inconsistent with these By-Laws, as it deems necessary or convenient for the operating of the Branch.
12.2 All proposed Regulations and amendments thereto shall be submitted to the Institute for review and approval. They shall take effect on a date determined by the Branch Executive, but not earlier than the date they were approved by the Institute.
12.3 Each such Regulation shall be presented to the next General Meeting of the Branch, and may be rescinded or amended by such meeting. These constitute changes to the Regulations and shall be subject to Article 11.2.
(BLPC – June 13, 2007)
BY-LAW 13 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
13.1 The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended at any meeting of the Branch. Amendments may be proposed by any two (2) members of the Branch.
13.2 All members shall be notified of the proposed amendments at least three (3) weeks prior to the Branch meeting. Notice shall include:
(a) the article to be amended, and
(b) the new wording.
13.3 Approval of amendments shall require a simple majority of Branch members voting.
13.4 Any amendments shall take effect upon approval by the Branch members and approval by the Institute.
BY-LAW 14 CONTEXT AND GENDER
In this Constitution and By-Laws, expressions in the masculine or feminine, in plural or in singular, may be substituted to give effect to the true meaning of the Constitution and By-Laws.
Approved by the Board of Directors
May 23, 1992
Approved by the Board of Directors
August 11, 2007