PIPSC Moncton Branch of the Atlantic Region
MINUTES of 2022 Branch AGM
April 26, 2022
Location: Crowne Plaza, Moncton, NB
Branch Executive members in attendance: (Name - Position (Group / Dept. or Agency))
Ginette LeBlanc – A/President (AFS/Retired)
Gerry Saunders – A/Vice-President (SH/Retired)
Kelly MacKinnon – Secretary (AFS/CRA)
Frederic Basque – Member at Large (CS/SSC)
Fernand Hébert – Member at Large (SP/ECC)
Thane Reeves – Member at Large (CS/DFO)
Regrets:
Francis Poirier – Treasurer (CS/SSC)
Michael Dixon – Member at Large (CS/ESDC)
Guests:
Jennifer Carr – PIPSC President
Emmanuel (Manny) Costain – PIPSC Atlantic Regional Director
Total members and guests in attendance: 25
Opening Remarks:
Kelly MacKinnon called the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Moncton Branch to order at 6:20PM.
Kelly welcomed the Moncton delegates to the Crowne Plaza. She began the meeting by reciting a Land Acknowledgement and read the PIPSC Equality Statement. Kelly then introduced Jennifer Carr, PIPSC President and Manny Costain, Atlantic Regional Director. A roll call was held to introduce the current members of the Branch Executive. Members present were advised that meeting materials, including the 2022 agenda, 2019 AGM minutes, Financial Statements for the years 2019 to 2021, as well as the budget for 2022 had been prepared and distributed to all delegates when they registered.
Approval of the agenda was called.
Motion #1 - Approval of the Agenda was moved by Ginette LeBlanc (AFS/Retired) and
seconded by Thane Reeves (CS/DFO) - Carried.
Motion #2 - Moved by Tamara Dunn (AFS/CRA) and seconded by Ginette LeBlanc
(AFS/Retired) that the 2019 AGM minutes be approved - Carried.
There was no business arising from the minutes.
Kelly delivered the President’s report on behalf of Ginette. She provided the members present with updates on several topics of interest.
After the April 2019 AGM the Executive met five times throughout the year, and the holidays were celebrated with a sold out crowd of 125 members at a Seasonal Social at Hotel Moncton, with live entertainment from Clinton Fernandes. Email discussions were held in between meetings to make short notice decisions.
Early in 2020, the Branch celebrated PIPSC’s 100th birthday on February 6 with a gathering of 32 members at Dooly’s. There were two in-person meetings early in 2020, and two virtual meetings after pandemic restrictions were in place. The decision to postpone the 2020 AGM was done via email.
In 2021, there were 2 virtual meetings, and one in-person meeting. No AGM was held in 2021.
Moncton Branch President Jean Trahan resigned in December 2019 to take a job with PIPSC as an ERO in Ottawa. With Jean’s resignation, Ginette LeBlanc (VP) moved into the role of Acting President, with the intention to only stay until a spring AGM. Throughout the pandemic, Kelly and Ginette have been handling communication from members and PIPSC, until we could have an election. We’ve had two members at large resign as well over the past two years. This concludes the President’s report.
Motion #3 - Moved by Kelly MacKinnon (AFS/CRA) and seconded by Gerry Saunders
(SH/Retired) that the President’s Report be approved - Carried.
Treasurer’s Report
Francis Poirier was unable to attend the meeting. Kelly MacKinnon presented the Branch’s Statement of Fund Utilization report for the periods of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
Motion #4 – Tamara Dunn (AFS/CRA) moved and Tasha Wingo (AFS/CRA) seconded that the reports be accepted. Carried.
Kelly also presented the 2022 Budget for approval.
Motion #5 – Tasha Wingo (AFS/CRA) moved and Joanne Doiron (AFS/CRA) seconded that the Budget be accepted. Carried.
Upcoming Events
The Holiday Social will be held at Legends (in the Moncton Coliseum Complex) on December 6, 2022. Live entertainment will be provided by Clinton Fernandes. The Executive will meet in June to plan the calendar for additional events for the coming year.
President’s Address
PIPSC President Jennifer Carr started her address with a presentation on what the union does for its members recognising that not all in attendance would be familiar with this. She then spoke about the journey that led to her involvement with the union and how she is leading PIPSC since she was elected recently. She also talked about issues and priorities that affect members in the workplace before concluding with a question and answer session. The meeting was recessed for dinner.
Atlantic Regional Director’s Address
Atlantic Regional Director, Emmanuel Costain addressed the members with a message of improved communication through openness and transparency. He talked about the ongoing challenge of NB bargaining groups and the pension issues as well as working to get improvements on the federal government’s vaccine mandate. He also talked about how the Atlantic Region Executive met in February and is working to make sure no one is excluded. He reported that $22,450 had been given to food banks in 2021. In his conclusion, he reminded the members that he is there to serve them.
Elections Atlantic Regional Director Manny Costain conducted the elections.
Branch President (Two year term): Kelly MacKinnon (AFS/CRA) was nominated by Gerry Saunders (SH/Retired). Kelly accepted. Manny called for other nominations three times. There being none, Kelly MacKinnon was acclaimed as Branch President. Ginette LeBlanc now returns to her elected role as Vice President for one more year.
Branch Treasurer (Two year term): Francis Poirier (CS/SSC) was nominated by Kelly
MacKinnon (AFS/CRA). Francis was not in attendance, but had earlier indicated via email that he would accept the nomination. Manny called for other nominations three times. There being none, Francis Poirier was acclaimed as Branch Treasurer.
Three Members at Large (Two year term):
Gerry Saunders was nominated by Kelly MacKinnon (AFS/CRA). Gerry accepted the nomination.
Fernand Hebert (SP/ECCC) was nominated by Thane Reeves (CS/DFO). Fernand accepted the nomination.
Thane Reeves (CS/DFO) was nominated by Kelly MacKinnon (AFS/CRA). Thane accepted the nomination.
There being no additional nominations, the nominees above were acclaimed.
Branch Secretary (One year term): With the election of Kelly MacKinnon as Branch President, her position of Secretary now becomes vacant for one year. Mike Dixon (CS/CSD) was nominated by Kelly MacKinnon (AFS/CRA). Mike was not in attendance, but had earlier indicated via email that he would accept the nomination. Manny called for other nominations three times. There being none, Mike Dixon was acclaimed as Branch Secretary.
Three Members at Large (One year term):
Charline Gray was nominated by Ginette LeBlanc (AFS/Retired). Charline accepted the nomination.
Tamara Dunn (AFS/CRA) nominated herself.
Tasha Wingo (AFS/CRA) nominated herself.
There being no additional nominations, the nominees above were acclaimed.
Kelly presented gifts to Jennifer Carr and Manny Costain, and thanked them for coming to our AGM.
Kelly thanked Gerry Saunders for conducting the 50/50 draw. Proceeds ($120) will be donated to the Food Depot Alimentaire. The winning ticket was held by Fred Basque (CS/SSC).
Motion #6 – Joanne Doiron (AFS/CRA) moved that the meeting adjourn at 8:11 pm. Carried.