Source: https://jetaaqa.ca/2016-bylaws/
Timestamp: 2020-04-06 10:30:26
Document Index: 117929685

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 1', 'ART 2', 'ART 3', 'ART 4', 'ART 5', 'ART 6', 'ART 7', 'ART 8', 'ART 9', 'ART 10', 'ART 11', 'ART 12']

2016 Bylaws - JETAA Québec/Atlantic
JETAA Québec/Atlantic
2016 Bylaws
The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Alumni Association Quebec and Atlantic Canada Chapter (CN3), hereinafter “JETAA Quebec/Atlantic”, is an inclusive, not-for-profit volunteer organisation dedicated to fostering a community of former Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (hereinafter “JET Programme”) participants and facilitating their transition back to Canada, all the while perpetuating and furthering the goals of cultural exchange and understanding of the JET Programme.
PART 1 – JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Membership and Responsibilities
JETAA Quebec/Atlantic members must be past participants of the JET Programme and be resident and domiciled in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince-Edward Island or Newfoundland/Labrador.This provision does not preclude spouses, friends, family or members of other JET or Japan-related organisations being accorded special membership status.The according of such status is at the discretion of the Executive. Prior to according special membership status to the aforementioned persons, a clear written policy must be created and adopted by the majority of the Executive. Once adopted, this policy shall be applied equally to all persons seeking special membership status.
JETAA Quebec/Atlantic is responsible for providing its members with:
Support for pre-departure orientation and training for the JET Programme for departees;
Post-JET Programme re-orientation and training for returnees;
Further opportunities for cultural exchange and understanding within the territories covered by the CN3 Chapter, including but not limited to Japan-Canada relations.
These obligations are subject to the funding limitations set out by the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR); however, when establishing the annual budget, the Executive shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the responsibilities set out in section 2 are met.
PART 2 – JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Executive Council
JETAA Quebec/Atlantic is a democratic organisation run by volunteer elected representatives.
The Executive is composed of but not limited to the following positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster, Membership Coordinator, Social Coordinator and a Communications Coordinator.All positions can be merged or divided at any time subject to the number of interested candidates with the exception of the President and Treasurer positions, which shall not be held by the same individual.
PART 3 – Annual General Assembly, General Election Rules of Procedure
In January of each year at the General Assembly, the incumbent Executive is dissolved and General Elections are held to elect the new Executive.
The Communications Coordinator shall make a written solicitation for platforms to all members no later than twenty-one (21) days before the determined date of the General Assembly.
Every interested candidate shall submit a written platform clearly indicating the sought-after position no later than seven (7) days prior to the date of the General Assembly.
The Executive has no obligation to ensure voting by all members but is required to take reasonable steps to ensure that each member, especially those outside the Greater Montreal Area, has the opportunity to participate.
All members have the right to vote but should they choose not to exercise this right, they are bound by the fair and democratic decisions taken by the members who participated in the election process.
At the General Assembly, each candidate shall introduce themselves and state the position they are running for.
Once the candidates for each position have been introduced, the vote will be held by show of hands. However, should any member present at the General Assembly, including the candidates, request a secret ballot, a secret ballot shall be held.
In the event that no candidates come forward to contest the incumbent of any given position, the incumbent shall be acclaimed and no vote held.
In the event that no candidates have submitted a platform for an open position, candidacy may be taken verbally at the General Assembly and the election will proceed as if the candidate had submitted a written platform.
In the event that no candidate presents himself, either before or on the day of the General Elections, the incumbent shall remain in his functions until a replacement is found or until the position is merged with another.
The procedure set forth in the preceding sections takes precedence; however, subject to the number of interested candidates, it may be changed by a simple majority of members present at the General Assembly.Changes made on the day of the General Assembly apply only to that day and do not modify the election rules of procedure set out in the present bylaws.
Once the new Executive has been elected, the President shall submit the Déclaration Annuelle to the Registraire des enterprises du Québec, pursuant to article 26 of the Act Respecting the Legal Publicity of Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships and Legal Persons, R.S.Q. c. P-45. Submission must be made within fifteen (15) days following the General Assembly or before June 15th, whichever is earlier.
PART 4 – Roles and Responsibilities of the Executive
The following provisions apply to all members of the Executive, including the President.
Executive members are members of equal standing in JETAA Quebec/Atlantic. They are elected representatives and are subject to the same rights and privileges accorded to all other members of JETAA Quebec/Atlantic.
There shall be no special privileges for Executive members or for any of their family, friends or personal or professional acquaintances.
Executive positions are volunteer positions and Executives shall not accept any salary, gifts or monetary compensation of any kind for their services on the JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Executive Council.
The Executive shall always strive to represent JETAA Quebec/Atlantic to the best of their abilities at international, national and local forums.
Each position on the Executive shall be held by that member for one year or until the General Assembly of the year following that member’s election, whichever is earlier.
Subject to the results of the annual elections, there is no limit on the number of consecutive terms that one member may serve as an Executive member.
In the event that a member of the Executive is unable or unwilling to continue his duties before the expiry of the term, a replacement may be suggested or the position may be merged with another for the remainder of the term. Replacement and/or merger shall expire when the Executive is dissolved at the General Assembly.
PART 5 – Meetings
Executive Meetings should be held once a month, whenever possible.
A budget meeting shall be held in April of each year.
The President shall prepare an agenda for the meeting and distribute it to the other Executive members at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting. If a topic is not added to the agenda by the time of the meeting, the President may use his discretion to add it during the meeting.
The President presides the meeting following the set agenda and shall act as a moderator while ensuring that the meeting runs smoothly.
All members of the Executive are expected to attend Meetings. Should an Executive be unable to attend a Meeting, that Executive member shall advise the other Executives in writing at least twelve (12) hours in advance.
The President is expected to be at all meetings. If it is impossible for him to attend, he shall advise the remaining Executive members at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance.
With the exception of the President, an Executive member may miss a maximum of six (6) meetings and shall not miss more than four (4) consecutive meetings. Any Executive member found in contravention of this section may face censure and/or expulsion following the procedure set forth in section 62 and following.
The President may miss a maximum of three (3) meetings and shall not miss more than two (2) consecutive meetings. Should the President be found in violation of this section, he shall face censure and/or expulsion following the procedure set forth in section 62 and following.
All members are welcome to attend Meetings; however, only members of the Executive may vote in the decision making process.
PART 6 – Decisions by the Executive
At Meetings, decisions by the Executive are to be decided unanimously, whenever possible.
Should there be any disagreement, a vote shall be held and decisions shall be made by simple majority unless the decisions concern situations mentioned in section 37.
A two-thirds majority will be required for any decisions involving changes to the present bylaws.
Voting on a decision shall be done by show of hands. However, should any member of the Executive request a secret ballot, a secret ballot shall be held.
All votes of Executive members are equal except as indicated in section 40.
In the event of a split vote, the presidential vote counts for two, except if the Executive is voting to censure or expel the President according to section 67.
PART 7 – Specific roles and responsibilities of the Treasurer
The Treasurer shall keep honest and accurate financial records of JETAA Quebec/Atlantic and shall demonstrate, on demand, JETAA Quebec/Atlantic financial records and status to the Executive, the other JETAA Quebec/Atlantic members, MOFA, CLAIR and to any other person or organisation authorised to audit financial records.
The Treasurer shall complete and send funding requests to funding organisations in a professional and timely manner and carry out any follow-up procedures required by the funding organisations throughout the fiscal year, which runs from April 1st to March 31st.
The Treasurer, along with the President and Vice-President, approves and signs all official funding and refund requests for CLAIR, and any changes to be made to the budget provided by CLAIR during the course of the fiscal year must also be approved and signed by the aforementioned Executive members.
For any communications pertaining to MOFA funding and refund requests, the Treasurer may act alone when liaising with a representative from the Consulate-General of Japan in Montreal.
The Treasurer shall prepare a financial summary for the previous year to be presented at the April budget meeting and may prepare one for the General Assembly in January.
The Treasurer manages the bank account with the financial institution chosen by the Executive to hold the JETAA account.
The Treasurer shall refund any Executive member who has incurred costs while in the performance of his duties, provided that:
The cost is reasonable,
Proof of expenses is made by means of a receipt, and
The cost was incurred for a pre-approved activity or the cost was ratified by simple majority at the earliest possible meeting following the activity for which the expense was incurred.
Intentional misrepresentation of incurred expenses for personal gain by any Executive member to the detriment of JETAA Quebec/Atlantic, its members or its funding organisations, shall expose that member to a vote of censure and/or expulsion following the procedure set forth in sections 62 and following. That member shall also be personally responsible for any injury, financial or otherwise, resulting from the violation of the present section and may be required to provide restitution, in whole or in part, to any person or organisation who suffered damages as a result of his actions.
Any withdrawals, fund transfers or cheques drawn must be approved and signed by the Treasurer and the President or Vice-President. Any other transactions may be made by the Treasurer acting alone.
The Treasurer may not use JETAA Quebec/Atlantic funds for personal expenses or any other expenses not approved by the Executive. Violation of the present section shall expose the Treasurer to a vote of censure and/or expulsion following the procedure set forth in sections 62 and following. The Treasurer shall also be personally responsible for any injury, financial or otherwise, resulting from the violation of the present section and may be required to provide restitution, in whole or in part, to any person or organisation who suffered damages as a result of the Treasurer’s actions.
PART 8 – The JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Credit Card
The Treasurer is the guardian of the credit card and is bound to keep it safe.
Only the President and Treasurer are authorised to sign for expenses purchased on the credit card.
The credit card may be used for pre-approved purchases only.
Credit card monthly statements and other related information shall be kept in a folder separate from CLAIR and MOFA budget information.
The Treasurer shall ensure that the credit card balance is paid in full at the end of each month. Should he neglect to do so, he shall be personally responsible for any and all interest accrued on the balance due to his negligence.
PART 9 – Participation in JET or JETAA related events
Any Executive member is allowed to attend international, national and/or local forums or conferences subject to approved funding.
Executive members wanting to attend must demonstrate, in no particular order of importance: experience and knowledge of JETAA Quebec/Atlantic, a relationship between their functions and the topics covered at the conference, and a long-term commitment to the JETAA Quebec/Atlantic executive for at least six (6) months following the conference.
Participation must be approved by a simple majority.
Following the conference, the Executive member(s) who participated shall provide the rest of the Executive and other JETAA members with a post-conference report, orally or in writing.
The President, as the general representative of the membership shall be selected to participate unless:
it would be unreasonable or impossible for him to attend,
he has already attended a conference,
no one else on the Executive has attended a conference, or
funding allows for more than one participant.
PART 10 – Abuse of Presidential power, exclusions of liability, censure and expulsion
Abuse of Presidential discretion or any other power conferred upon the President by the present bylaws or any behaviour contrary to the laws of Quebec or Canada may result in censure, expulsion, civil liability and/or criminal prosecution.
Any Executive member who engages in behaviour contrary to the present bylaws or the laws of Quebec or Canada shall be personally liable for any damage or injury caused by his actions and shall not incur the civil or criminal responsibility of the other Executive members.
Censure and/or expulsion of any Executive member shall be introduced by any other member of the Executive by way of a motion.
An Extraordinary Meeting shall be called for the purpose of voting on the motion referred to in section 49. The member who is to be censured or expulsed must be given written notice no less than fifteen (15) days prior to the Extraordinary Meeting. The notice must clearly indicate the date, time and location of the Extraordinary Meeting as well as the reasons for which he is being censured or expulsed.
The Executive member who is to be censured or expulsed is permitted to make his defence orally or in writing. If the member fails to present a defence before the vote and after timely notice has been given, that member forfeits his right to be heard unless it was impossible or unreasonable for him to do so.
The presence of the member mentioned in the motion is not required provided that a written defence was submitted before the Extraordinary Meeting or provided that the other Executive members have taken reasonable measures to ensure his presence.
Voting on the motion for censure or expulsion shall be done by secret ballot. Each Executive member has one vote.
The motion shall pass on simple majority. The President shall not vote twice if he is the person concerned in the motion to censure or expel. A split vote defeats the motion.
The decision to censure or expel is final and without appeal, except in the situations referred to in section 64.
Once the motion has passed, the Executive member mentioned in the motion must immediately resign from his position and replacement will be appointed by the other Executive members subject to section 25.
Censure and/or expulsion of an Executive member shall prevent that member from running for any Executive position in a General Election for no more than five (5) years.Any Executive member who is censured and/or expulsed for a violation of sections 32 or 33 may run again the following year provided he undertakes, in writing, to respect the requirements in the future.Any Executive member who is censured and/or expulsed for violation of sections 47 or 49 shall be considered persona non grata and shall lose membership status within JETAA Quebec/Atlantic
PART 11- Subchapters
Considering the vast territory covered by JETAA Quebec/Atlantic, any resident outside of the Greater Montreal Area may create a subchapter and organise activities in their region consistent with the JETAA Quebec/Atlantic mission.
The creator of the subchapter becomes its representative until a successor is appointed or elected.
For the purposes of these bylaws, the subchapter representative is considered to be a member of the Executive with all the same rights and responsibilities.
The subchapter representative shall request any necessary funding from the Executive before May 1st of each year. Any and all funding requests are subject to the same limitations set out in section 3 of the present bylaws.
The subchapter representative shall be accountable to the Executive and shall provide an event report and receipts for incurred expenses no more than sixty (60) days following each activity for which funding was requested.
The present bylaws apply mutatis mutandis to CN3 subchapters with the exception of sections 28, 30, 31, 32 and 33.
PART 12 – Final Provisions
To facilitate communications between the association and the funding organisations, JETAA Quebec/Atlantic headquarters shall be established in the same city as the Consulate-General of Japan located east of Ottawa. Executive meetings and the Annual General Assembly shall be held within a thirty kilometre (30km) radius of the JETAA Quebec/Atlantic headquarters.
It is the duty of each and every JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Executive member to ensure that the present bylaws are respected by all members of the Executive and that reasonable steps are taken each year to ensure that the present bylaws are communicated to all JETAA Quebec/Atlantic members.
Mindful of the goals of cultural exchange and understanding, discrimination against any JETAA Quebec/Atlantic member on the basis of gender, race, religion, language group, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation or any other prohibited grounds of discrimination as described in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada Act 1982 [U.K.] c. 11, or in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, R.S.Q. c. C-12., shall not be tolerated.Any member of JETAA Quebec/Atlantic who has been or believes to have been victim of discrimination based on prohibited grounds, or any member who has witnessed said discrimination against a fellow JETAA Quebec/Atlantic member, is encouraged to come forward and make his complaint known to the JETAA Executive Council (hereinafter the Executive) or any of its members or to any other body who has as a mission the protection against discrimination.Determined to ensure that its members are free from any and all discrimination based on prohibited grounds, JETAA Quebec/Atlantic pledges to take every claim seriously, to investigate it to the full extent of its abilities and, if necessary, to seek appropriate redress
The masculine is used to lighten the text and is not meant to discriminate in any way.
The present bylaws enter into force on the thirtieth (30th) day following their adoption by the majority of the Executive.
Adopted in Montreal on this 22nd day of May, 2008
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