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Minutes From The DCF AGM - June 25, 2019
MINUTES OF THE DCF 2019 AGM
Held on June 25, 2019 at 7:00 PM ET
DCF Annual General Meeting May 15, 2007
Douglas-Coldwell Foundation Board Meeting
Annual General Meeting – Tuesday May 15th, 2007 AGM
Boardroom
300-279 Laurier Ave W
Ottawa, ON.
11:20 p.m. AGM declared open by Tessa Hebb
Attendance
Board:
Tessa Hebb
David Mackenzie
Anne Scotton
Pat Kerwin
Kealey Cummings
Fraser Green
Board by Phone:
Howard Leeson
Dick Proctor
Staff:
Doug Massey
Members:
George Crowell
Erin Armstrong
Éric Hébert-Daly
Proxy Votes:
27 proxies received
Regrets:
Alexa McDonough
Frank Saptel
Lynn Williams
Howard Pawley
Marion Dewar
Adoption of Agenda
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1. Approval of Minutes of March 13th, 2006 Board Meeting
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2. President’s Report (Given by outgoing President Tessa Hebb)
It has been a terrific year since our last AGM. At the last AGM we were just preparing for the 2006 Douglas-Coldwell Foundation Award. There were 12 applicants of which we decided to choose 2 of these applicants – the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) on their 1% Solution on Homelessness awarded in 2006 and the second being the Canadian Health Coalition in co-operation with Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and others for a Medicare Conference in May 2007 in Regina, SK, awarded in 2007.
Our presentation at the Federal NDP convention in Quebec City of the awards and our booth the convention were very effective. We handed out free posters and held a draw for free DVD’s. Pat Kerwin, Fraser Green, Marion Dewar, Frank Saptel, Michael Deraiche and myself (Tessa Hebb) all helped at the booth. Alexa McDonough and myself (Tessa Hebb) presented the awards on behalf of the Foundation. Fraser Green gave a wonderful appeal for suppor of the Foundation followed by a standing ovation by the Convention for the DCF. Thank you to all for making it an overwhelming success.
Committees – we will be adding 3 committees to assist with input on the Foundation’s activities. Finance (& Fundraising), Grants and Communications. They will be meeting by conference call and those reports will be forwarded to the Board. We are encouraging members to get involved. They will be chaired by Board Members. Pat will be chairing the Finance Committee, Tessa Hebb will chair the Grants Committee and Frank Saptel will chair the Communications Committee.
On my 10th Anniversary of taking on the Presidency of the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation, I have decided to step down, remaining on the Board as Past President to assist with the transition. With the organization is such great shape, I feel it is good time to do this. Our Vice President, David Mackenzie, has agreed to step forward for nomination as the next President, and has been approved by the Board to come on as the next President.
Anne Scotton: A huge vote of thanks to you Tessa. This will mark the first time that the President hasn’t passed away while in office, as both Tommy Douglas and Kalman Kaplansky passed on during their terms. The Foundation has survived and grown due to your dedication. Your energy, inspiration, encouragement and optimism in your leadership have made a world of difference and I wanted to thank you from me and on behalf of the other Board Members and the founders of the DCF as they are probably looking down very pleased with what you have done during your term.
Tessa: Thank you. I’m more invigorated by the activities of the Foundation with the great support of the people involved in it than I have ever been.
President's Report:
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3. Secretary’s Report
Anne reported on membership
We currently have 216 members in total
Compromised of :
189 invididual members
27 association members
Doug added that it is so important that direct word of mouth is the best method of increasing the Foundation’s membership. We have proof after the booths that we have been running that a conversation about what the Foundation is working on, what it is all about, etc, etc goes miles with attracting new members and donors.
Secretary’s Report:
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4. Treasurer’s Report
Pat presented the Audited Financial Statements from OHCD, our Auditor (available upon request by any member of the Foundation). Pat went through our investments, yearly revenues and expenses. Next year the statements will report the investments at market value based on the new investment reporting regulations. Currently we report the market value as a note on our statements so we are happy with this new requirement.
All scholarships have been granted this year except for the University of Regina.
2nd DVD update: We are currently working on the 2nd DVD of Tommy’s speeches which is being introduced by Ed Broadbent. It will contain speeches of Tommy in the House of Commons. Pat has also secured the audio of the debates in the House of Commons
Motion to also reappoint OHCD as our auditors.
Treasurer’s Report:
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5. Nomination Committee
Tessa indicated to the Board in November 2006 that she was going to step down as President of the DCF but would remain on the Board of Directors as Past-President.
Ted Jackson, Jill Marzetti and Robert Needham have also resigned from the DCF Board of Directors. Tessa would like to thank them all for their many years of service on the DCF Board of Directors.
To replace these three positions the following names have been brought forth to give us more coverage across the country.
Dick Proctor – British Columbia
Howard Leeson – Saskatchewan
Erin Armstrong – Ottawa (Beverlee Bell’s daughter)
In addition David Mackenzie has agreed to have his name go forward for President, Frank Saptel as Vice President, Anne Scotton as Executive Secretary and Pat Kerwin as Treasurer.
This report is the recommendation of the Board members be adopted at the AGM.
Tessa asked for any further nominations from the floor?
Hearing none – our 3 nominations have been appointed to the Board. In addition we have two new Honorary Patrons on the Board – Shirley Douglas and Ed Broadbent have agreed to come on as advisors to the Board.
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6. By-laws Review and Updates
Reviewed Administrative changes for by-laws
Administrative Changes:
Changes to “Rules and Regulations – as amended”
Fees and Dues:
1. Fees and Dues
1.1 An Individual Lifetime Member shall pay a one-time due of $1,000.00
1.2 An Individual Annual Member shall pay minimum annual membership dues of $60.00
1.3 A Youth (26 years of age and under) Individual Annual Member shall pay minimum annual membership dues of $12.00
1.4 An Association Annual Member shall pay minimum annual membership dues of $100.00
2. Head Office
2.1 The head office of the Corporation shall be located at 300-279 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5J9
3. Expenses
3.1 Each Director shall be paid the following expenses for attendance at Board Meetings and, if he or she is a member of the Executive or other Committee, at each meeting thereof:
3.1.1 The most economical return train, bus or airfare
3.1.2 Transportation as required to and from airport and for airport parking
3.1.3 If driving, kilometer reimbursement as per the Treasury Board guidelines
3.1.4 Single hotel room including taxes
3.1.5 Meals and personal expenses up to the daily maximum as per the Treasury Board guidelines
Motion: To bring forth the suggested changes to the members at the 2008 AGM and to adopt the Administrative changes to the 2007 AGM for approval.
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7. Other Business
No other business to report.
Motion to Adjourn
Tessa asked for that we adopt a motion to adjourn the meeting at 1 p.m.
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Latest posts
DCF Board Meeting - February 27, 2020
DCF Board Meeting
Thursday, February 27th, 2020
19:00 ET
Location:
By Telephone
Attendance:
Karl Bélanger, Melissa Hunter, Mohammad Akbar, Rebecca Blaikie, Jon Weier, Derek De Vlieger, Diana Idibe, Chirs Markevich.
- Adoption of Agenda
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2. Adoption of minutes
Minutes of the July 23rd, 2019 meeting
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3. President’s report:
Hope everyone is well. Mayor of Ottawa has asked people to stay home because of the coronavirus, thankfully we can hold our meeting by phone.
Transition has been happening. Our new treasurer will give us an update.
The group “Nos Communes, Our Commons” appears to have gone dormant. We were wise to set conditions to go along with the grant approval.
Work has been done to update our registration with Industry Canada. No progress has been made on the Stokoe bequest. 4Executive
4. Secretary’s Report:
Anne Scotton is unable to join us and send her regrets.
5. Treasurer’s Report:
Transition has been happening. Priority now is on issuing tax receipts. We have to handle a few manually. We have a lot of different systems which are more or less
compatible with each other, but things seem under control. We are issuing cheques to catch up on some accounts due.
5. b) Fee structure at Scotia McLeod
Good discussions with Scotia McLeod about our assets. They remain healthy.
Their proposed new fee structure, SM would be much more nimble in the markets as there are no commission minimums on trades. Currently, the commission minimum is $175. That does limit profit taking opportunities and specific positions when considering weighting in the portfolio, which we must do as our assets are now stock-heavy.
Motion: BIRT the Board authorizes ScotiaMcLeod to move the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation wealth management account into a Partnership Plus account, which modifies the fee structure from a Per Transaction formula to an annual fee based on the DCF assets.
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5 c). Adoption of Treasurer’s report.
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6. Progress Summit
The Progress Summit will be held in Vancouver. We will have a booth. Looking for volunteers, so if anyone is attending, please let us know.
The next TDI Institute will be held in May. Theme is Our City & the Green New Deal. We have been invited to take part once again.
7. Office Space
Mohammad Akbar has raised the issue of the DCF securing a new permanent space by buying a building. The CFS building is no longer on the market. Board members express general interest in doing so sometime down the road.
8. DCF 50th Anniversary
Next year is the 50th anniversary of the DCF. It is a good opportunity to complete the reboot of the DCF and move forward with the plan adopted by AGM two years ago. We should have a year of activity of events, maybe a gala? Jon Weier volunteers to coordinate the DCF planning.
The Institute for Change Leaders (ICL)’s proposal to create a multimedia project that tells the story of progressive campaigns, driven by Olivia Chow, is moving forward, with Tim Harper on board. Another application will be forthcoming at the next board meeting. Board members expressed once again their support in principle for this proposal.
9. Next Meeting
Board members agreed to look for a suitable date in late April/early May.
10. Other business
The Institute for Change Leaders (ICL)’s proposal to create a multimedia project that tells the story of progressive campaigns, driven by Olivia Chow, is moving forward, with Tim Harper on board. We are still awaiting their next application.
We have received news from Beryl Young that Tommy's Dream, a children’s book that tells the story of how Tommy Douglas's childhood experience with his own health inspired him to work toward establishing universal health care, is now going to be published by Louis Anctil, the publisher of Midtown Press in Vancouver. Target is the spring of 2021. An update application will be forthcoming before the next meeting.
11. Adjournment
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DCF Board Meeting - July 23rd, 2019
DCF Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2019
6:00 ET
Location:
By Telephone
Attendance:
Karl Bélanger, Melissa Hunter, Mohammad Akbar, Rebecca Blaikie, Diane Idibe,
Jon Weier, Amy Boughner, Jay Ramasubramanyam, Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah.
Non-board member: Josh Bizjak
Adoption of Agenda
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2. Adoption of minutes
Minutes of the previous meeting are read and adopted.
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3. President’s report:
Karl mentions that there was a significant turnover of Board Members at the AGM, which is interesting and challenging.
The two committees charged by the previous AGM to review governance issues and the DCF by-laws made limited progress.
The DCF received a nice letter from a scholarship recipient and was read. The DCF needs to revisit its links with the different universities to strengthen the relationship and increase awareness.
4. Financial Report: No official report as the position is vacant, following the resignation of Emilie Taman. Karl gives a general overview of the financial situation. Our assets remain healthy. The DCF raised more money in the past year, thanks notably to a generous donation from the Flanagan Institute.
Minimal progress has been made on the transition. A full audit needs to be conducted before the end of the year.
Karl had a meeting with Scotia McLeod about our assets. They are proposing a new fee
structure, in essence moving to a fee-based structure from a per transaction cost. With the fee-based structure, our investors pledge to make himself available for board meetings and consult on the construction of a new investment policy statement. With a fee-based structure, we would be much more nimble in the markets as there are no commission minimums on trades.
Motion moved to ask the new treasurer to review, met with Scotia McLeod and report to the Board on a recommendation for the proposal.
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5. Election of officers
President: Karl Bélanger
Vice-President: Rebecca Blaikie, Derek DeVlieger
Executive Secretary: Anne Scotton in abstentia, pending her acceptance;
Mohammad Akbar as alternate.
Treasurer: Melissa Hunter
6. Staffing
Chris Markevich has moved on from his position but has been elected to the Board, which will be helpful for institutional memory. Josh Bizjak has been helping out on a volunteer basis.
Motion moved to regularize Josh Bizjak’s situation by compensating his work on a similar contract as previous assistant, to be negotiated with the President.
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7. Correspondence
