THE PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF CANADA 

Meeting of the Executive, December 6, 2019 (6th of the year)

Regional Office (PIPSC) – Montreal – Meeting starts at 9:00 a.m.  


 

  1. Welcome and call to order:

In Yvon’s absence, Martine welcomed everyone and chaired the meeting.

In attendance: Richard Doyle, Stéphanie Fréchette, Martine Lacroix, Hugo Landry, Nancy Lavoie, Réjean Michaud, Benoît Pelletier and Robert Tellier.

Absents: Yvon Brodeur, Gerlando Renna and Christian Tremblay.


 

  1. Reading and adoption of the agenda

Two additions are proposed to add to miscellaneous and it will remain open.

Proposed by: Benoît Seconded by: Robert


 

  1. Minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Polytechnique (30th anniversary).

  

 

  1. Reading and adoption of the minutes of the last meeting – October 21, 2019:

The minutes have been sent to everyone; no corrections were made.

Proposed by: Benoît Seconded by: Robert

 

 

  1. Business arising from the minutes:
    1. Union ribbons and baseball-style T-Shirts (¾ sleeve): Christian was out of town, so he would follow up at the next meeting.

Follow-up: Christian


 

  1. Isolated post allowance (in Gaspé): Since Yvon was absent, he would follow up at the next meeting Follow-up: Yvon

 

  1. Lucie Mornault mediation:   

Since Yvon was absent, he would follow up at the next meeting. Follow-up: Yvon

              

  1. Director’s Report:

 

  1. As Yvon was absent, he would follow up at the next meeting on two points that he had to discuss with the Board of Directors: to provide financial compensation to people who carpool, and to add a second day of union leave to the Union Work-Family Policy, when taking part in multiple events held on weekends or holidays.

 

  1. Martine reported that the next CLC Convention would be held in Vancouver, from May 3 to 7, 2020. Yvon will be accompanied by two members of the Executive. Those who are interested should let Yvon know, and provide reasons they would like to attend.

 

  1. Board Committees for 2020: The Quebec Region recommends these candidates for the following committees:

-Bylaws and Policies: Stéphanie Fréchette

-Calls for elections: no nominations received

-Elections: Nancy Lavoie

-Finances: Benoît Pelletier

-Human Rights: Sonia Richard;

-Computer Services: Hugo Landry

-Science: Pierre Morin

-Professional Recognition: Johanne Potvin

 

  1. Representatives of the Region to the FTQ:

Health & Safety: Martine Lacroix

-Promotion of French: Sonia Richard

-Information (communications): Hugo Landry

-Education: Robert Tellier

-LGBTQ: Wendy Dugas-Blouin

-Youth: Wendy Dugas-Blouin

-Women: Sophie Laporte

-Retirement and Insurance: Réjean Michaud

-Environment and Sustainable Development: Samuel Gilbert.

 

 

  1. Treasury:
  1. Report:

Given Gerry’s absence, Robert presented some elements that would be in his Treasurer’s report. He will file the financial documents on the Drive and it will be up to us to consult them.

 

  1. Benoit reported that the Eastern Quebec Branch will not need the Region’s help ($500) because they will not be affiliated with the FTQ Regional Council. 

  

  1. Report of the Regional and National Committees:
    1. Education and learning: Martine did not attend the last TEC meeting in November, but should be present at the next one on December 16. She shares her reservations with us about the current functioning and composition of the TEC.

For his part, Robert has prepared a draft policy statement on union training. It is almost finalized and he requested our comments as soon as possible. This statement included three motions that could be submitted at the National AGM. In the meantime, we will have to “sell” our product to the other constituent bodies at the national level. A pilot project of our idea for experiential training will take place in Halifax. Traditional training models may need to be modified accordingly. 

Benoît reported that the training school will take place in Quebec City, from February 5 to 8, at the Hotel Pur. We will take advantage of this event to mark the 100th anniversary of the PIPSC on February 6, during a cocktail organized jointly with the Quebec City Branch and the Youth Committee. The other courses are listed in the calendar, which is available on the Drive.

Regarding the FTQ instructor training session next January, Isabelle Lessard will replace Sonia Richard who is unable to attend. 

  1. Finance Committee: Benoit did not have a meeting since the PIPSC AGM. The members present at the AGM appreciated the Finance Committee’s presentations. 
  2. Hotels: Benoît reported that the training school file is settled and he will follow up at the next meeting regarding the other events. L’Estrimont will probably host several training sessions.
  3. Youth Committee: Hugo is our liaison officer and he reported that one member stepped down (Nicolas Lapointe); we agreed to replace him with Sonia Lavigne. As previously mentioned, to mark the 100th anniversary of the PIPSC, on February 6, a cocktail will be organized jointly with the Region and two members of the Quebec Branch (Denis Caissy and Lisanne Racine). On this matter, the Quebec Region Executive unanimously voted for a budget of $7,700 to finance the event.
  4. Status of Women: Stéphanie is our liaison officer and she reported that the next meeting would be held in January 2020 at the Delta Trois-Rivières, over a period of two days, in conjunction with the Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Committee.  
  5. Task Force on Official Languages: Since Yvon was absent, he would follow up at the next meeting.
  6. Bylaws and Policies Committee: a two-day meeting was held last week and Stéphanie reiterated her intention to finish updating the policies of the Region Branches. 
  7. Science Advisory Committee: No news received from Pierre Morin. 
  8. Human Rights Committee: No report received from Sonia Richard. 
  9. Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee We haven’t heard from our representative, Johanne Potvin. 
  10. Information Technology Services and Projects Committee: Hugo reported that the Concur application is working very well, but is not yet available to constituent bodies such as Branches and Subgroups. The issue of adding a “Committees” tab to the Region’s website has not yet been resolved. The Drive will be upgraded to be able to store more data. 
  11. Communication & Information Committee: Hugo reported that he developed a draft mandate, similar to that of the Youth Committee. Hugo gave us a summary and asked us to read it and give him our comments so that we could approve it at the next meeting. 

Several projects are underway: the production of four video vignettes on the trades, an email address (like Quebec 411) where people can ask questions on any subject, reception of a camera purchased to make short videos for the training school, among other things. On that matter, the camera purchase was discussed at the FTQ Convention in Quebec City and a vote was also held by email. The camera purchase was approved by a majority of the Region’s Executive members. 

  1. Harassment & Violence in the Workplace Committee: Nancy reported that the next meeting would be held on January 17 and 18, 2020, in conjunction with the Status of Women Committee. A “share drive” will be accessible to all.
  2. Election Committee: Nancy reported that they would submit a resolution for terms on this committee to be changed to three years, because she believes that it takes at least two years to be effective. A “share drive” will provide a corporate memory and a registry of complainants will be designed to keep a record of their cases. 


 

  1. File updates by those in charge:
    1. Branches: Richard reported that he has had several communications with Branch Chairs about purchasing bottles similar to those received at the PIPSC AGM, including whether the logo on the bottles can be changed. Richard also planned to meet with members of the Correctional Service in Drummondville to find out their needs. He asked Stéphanie (Drummondville Branch Chair) to grant him a budget for promotional items for these members. Finally, Richard tells us that he has had no follow-up from Yvon regarding the Montreal-East Branch.  

 

  1. Promotional items: Hugo reported that matter of the mugs was still not settled; the logo must still be reviewed.


 

  1. PIPSC and FTQ AGMs (post-mortem): 

Richard reported that he made several contacts with various representatives of other organizations at the FTQ Triennial Convention. He hated the way the debates on resolutions were handled.

Réjean said he was very disappointed with the results of our National AGM. Too much time was devoted to the Professionals Canada file and so only half of the resolutions were dealt with, which was unfortunate.

Martine, who monitored the AGM from a distance, made the same comments and suggested that there should be fewer presentations.

Robert considered presenting a resolution to the Regional Council to change the current attendance ratio at the AGM to reduce the number of attendees from 600 to approximately 400.

 

.  

  1. Miscellaneous
    1. Union authority (Nancy): At the FTQ Convention, Nancy met with a woman who told her about the “Union Authority” program, which is similar to our “Service Plus” program, except that the FTQ program involves more suppliers. Registration is free. Nancy e-mailed us about this.

 

  1. Bottles (Richard): 

Item already covered in #9a.

           

  1. Round table: 
    1. Richard was elected National Consultation Chair for his department. Bravo!
  2. Date of next meeting and adjournment:

Given Yvon’s absence, the date of our next meeting (the 1st of 2020) has not been set. A poll via Doodle will be sent to everyone. 

 

Adjournment:

Proposed by: Robert Seconded by: Nancy