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Annual General Meeting Minutes 2015

McGill University Retirees Association Founding AGM
Minutes - Monday June 15, 2015
Leacock 232, McGill University 1:30PM-4PM

President (interim): Ginette Lamontagne Vice-President Internal (interim): Joan Wolforth Vice-President External (interim): Henry Leighton Treasurer (interim): Wes Cross

Number of participants ( 76)

The meeting was called to order by the President who welcomed attendees and thanked the interim Executive and Board for their work since the first meeting of MURA in November 2014. She summarized the work completed so far, including:

  • the drafting of the Constitution and By-Laws,
  • the registration of the Association with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec
  • an initial meeting with the Principal of the University,
  • the mailing of a letter announcing the creation of MURA to retirees, e. the expression of interest from over 400 prospective members


The President read a message from the Principal of McGill University, Dr Suzanne Fortier congratulating MURA on its formation.

Agenda

A motion to adopt the agenda: Proposed by: John Hobbins Seconded by: Kathy Mayhew. Motion carried.

I: Proposed Activities

The VP Internal presented possible activities for MURA members and noted that sign up sheets were available at the refreshment table.

  1. Pension and benefits related activities.

    1. Pension discussion group for individuals

    2. Pension and benefits advocacy group to monitor concerns/ issues raised by members (no direct intervention on behalf of members)

    3. Regular info sessions on benefits, especially medical coverage at home and

      when travelling

    4. Representative committee to present issues to admin

  2. Member based social activities.

    1. Potential on-going social groups eg. Bridge, book club, etc.

    2. One day outings eg. Quebec vineyards, etc.

    3. Educational activities eg. Weekly lecture series, etc.

    4. Occasional events eg. Reception, semi-annual luncheon, etc.

  1. Member based physical/ health activities. : Walking, Cycling, Yoga

  2. Established McGill related activities

    1. Alumni events

    2. Alumni travel program

    3. McGill Centre for Life Long Learning: peer run semester long courses and

      weekly lecture series

    4. McGill departmental and faculty lectures and conferences

    5. McGill Minis

    6. McGill Book Fair

  3. Established non-McGill related activities (suggested by members)

a. Volunteering at museums and historic sites b. Choirs
c. Volunteering for a charity event

  1. Issues to consider

    1. Groups must have an organizing leader

    2. Groups must be self financing

    3. Space is an issue for ongoing groups

    4. Connecting people through a newsletter on our website, Facebook page, email,

      etc.

    5. Non-Montrealers: how do we assist them in forming local groups?

  2. How to proceed?

    1. Sign up sheets outside

    2. Contact Joan Wolforth to suggest groups you would like to spearhead so we can publicize them

    3. Contact a member of the Executive or Board to suggest an activity that interest you but are uncertain on how to begin or don't wish to lead

Questions from prospective members were then solicited. Queries regarding the purpose of MURA and representation of retirees at McGill and across Canada (College and University Retirees Association of Canada - CURAC) were addressed.

II. Governance (Constitution and By-Laws)

The V.P.s Internal and External introduced the draft Constitution and draft By-Laws which had received the approval of the Interim Board. She explained that these documents need to be approved in order for MURA to be recognized as a non-profit organization by the Registraire des Entreprises.

The Constitution was approved with the following amendments:

Article 3: Membership

(2). Associate member. Any person who is the spouse of a regular member is eligible to become an associate member. To be amended to “spouse or partner.

Proposed by : Bruce Shore Seconded by: Beverlea Tallant Motion carried.

To add: “If, after the death of a regular member, an Associate Member continues to receive McGill benefits, he/she may opt to become a full member”

Proposed by Jim McVety Seconded by Nick Acheson Motion carried.

Article 4: Administration
1. The Board shall normally have 13 members representing the four major McGill employee groups (MAUT, MUNASA, MUNACA, and SEU) as follows

  1. Five members of the executive committee

  2. Eight regular members of the association

Amended to: Including 5 members of the Executive, the Board shall consist of a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 13 regular members who represent the four major McGill employee groups (MAUT, MUNASA, MUNACA, and SEU).

And accordingly eliminate 4.2b of the draft.

Proposed by: Bruce Shore Seconded by: Nick Acheson Motion carried

Motion to adopt the Constitution as amended: Proposed by: Kohur GowriSankaran Seconded by: John Jonas
Motion carried

The By-Laws were approved with the following amendments:

By-Law 1b: Responsibilities of the Vice -president (Internal) Executive
Amendment: remove responsibility of VP Internal for overseeing nominations for the Board andExecutive. ThisrightlybelongstothePast-President.
Modify by-law 1.e. to reflect that change.
Proposed by: Bruce Shore
Seconded by: John Hobbins
Motion carried.

By-Law 3: remove Article 3.d Proposed by Malcom Bain Seconded by Jim McVety Motion carried

Motion to approve by-laws Proposed by: John Dealy Seconded by: Beverlea Tallant

Discussion:
1. Fine-tuning the wording is not urgent and, if necessary, can be re-visited at next year's AGM.

Motion to adopt the By-laws carried.

III. Finances (2015-2016 and 2016-2017 budgets)

The Treasurer (interim) presented budgets for the current and following year.

2015-16 Budget- $4,000
Uncertain of revenue but have requested $1000 each from the 4 McGill employee unions/associations.

2016-17 Budget- $7,500
Membership fees:
a. No fees for the 15-16 year–anticipated funding from parent organizations b.16/17 year fee of $25 annual fee

o The intention is to begin collection of membership fees in September 2015 for the 2016-7 fiscal year which begins in April 2016.

o 400+ prospective members will be contacted in the next few weeks to request fee payment. Those paying fees will be considered members.

Potential Funding
a. Discussions regarding funding directly from employee groups are in process. b. No decision on collection methods at this point.
c. Fee is not tax deductible.

Discussion:
Suggestions and concerns about a first year fee were expressed and addressed. Suggested lower first year fee of $10. Opposition to this lower fee was expressed on the grounds that it would be insufficient to fund MURA.

Motion to approve the 15/16 budget: Proposed by: Bruce Shore Seconded by: Estelle Hopmeyer Motion Carried

Motion to approve 16/17 budget Proposed by: BeverleaTallant Seconded by: Judy Pharo Motion Carried

The President expressed her recognition for the support of the employee organizations (MUNACA, SEU, MAUT & MAUT’rs, and MUNASA) and her thanks for their anticipated start-up funding.

IV: Membership Fees

The Treasurer proposed a membership fee of $25 for 2016-17 Proposed by: Blossom Shaffer
Seconded by: Irvin Griffith

Discussion:
a. Nick Acheson and John Hobbins from MAUT’rs explained that they already charge a

$25 fee. They questioned the feasibility of having members pay $25 to two

organizations. MAUT’rs is considering donating $10 of their $25 fee to MURA.
b. Several attendees expressed the importance of having an equal fee for all members

(academics and other).

c. Proposal to restate fee as up to $25 and allow further exploration of actual needs and spending.

Clarifications:
a. $25 fee collected in September 2015 will go towards 2016-2017 fiscal year beginning

April 1st, 2016.
b. Membership year and fiscal year have different starting dates.

Motion Carried

The Interim President thanked prospective members for their contribution to the discussion. Additional concerns about the budget will be addressed at a later date due to time restrictions.

Agenda Item 5: Other business.

Nick Acheson, MAUT representative on the Staff Benefits Advisory Committee, presented a report about retiree representation and benefits. Concerns regarding dental care and life insurance were raised by attendees. Discussion of potential representation for MURA on the Staff Benefits Advisory Committee (SBAC) was raised. Nick has been keeping the MURA Board abreast of any developments relevant to retirees concerning all benefits issues dealt with by the SBAC.

The President thanked all prospective members for their contribution and attendance. She expressed her gratitude to members of the current Executive Committee and Board for their work, and the colleagues who have worked on the preparation and the translation of documents.

Judy Pharo also proposed a vote of thanks to the Executive. Motion to adjourn meeting,

Proposed by: John Dealy Seconded by: Nick Acheson Motion Carried

The meeting adjourned at 4.30pm.

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