2018 AGM — Annual General Meeting / AGA 2018 — Assemblée générale annuelle

Proposal to Modify §3.1 of the CEC Bylaws

In Yves and jef’s recent meeting with Clément Topping (arts grant writer / consultant), the idea of the CEC moving to a model where the Board would consist of 50% Québec residents was discussed, because this would make us eligible to apply for funding from the CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec).

The Motion

To modify section 3.1 of the Bylaws of the CEC to read as follows (changes are indicated in bold within double-square brackets):

3.1 Board of Directors

The property and business of the CEC shall be managed by a Board of Directors of the CEC (the Board) [[, normally composed of a minimum]] of six (6) directors.

3.1 Conseil d’administration

Les biens et les affaires de la CEC sont administrés par un conseil d’administration [[normalement constitué d’un minimum]] de six (6) administrateurs.

And to invite Kevin Austin and Julie Matson (both of whom reside in Montréal) to join the existing Board starting in the 2018–19 fiscal year.

Some Background

In preliminary discussions between CEC President Eldad Tsabary, Kevin Austin and CEC Administrators Yves Gigon and jef chippewa, Kevin expressed interest in returning to the board to assist in this transition and suggested Julie Matson as a second new Board member.

Instead of altering the current Board it would seem more appropriate to expand it, offering the added benefit of broader representation (background, interests and experience). This is something the CEC has always held an interest in (and was even written into the original Bylaws), and we have evolved in parallel to the community as resources have allowed. Such topics are today increasingly important across the Canadian arts funding spectrum, and the idea of revisiting and updating the CEC’s identity has been present in most of our activities over the past five years or so (e.g., it was brought up at last year’s AGM by Jean-François Denis).

In parallel, the challenges we have encountered in recent years with “core”-type funding for eContact! has led to many discussions about the continued relevance of the CEC’s existing model for funding applications. The SOCAN Foundation is keen on continuing to provide Operational Funding (jef recently met with the Québec-based Director, Julien Boumard Coallier) but we now need to apply for several years’ worth of Project Funding before again being eligible for Core-type funding at the Canada Council for the Arts. Generally speaking, it might be time for the CEC to consider more activities that would involve project-based funding that could potentially help us more effectively reach specific targeted audiences that as a whole would help us develop a more diverse public, in addition to its ongoing core funding.

JTTP will see its 20th anniversary as coordinated by the CEC in 2019 and jef has informally proposed to coordinate a tour (sim. the CEC’s 25th Anniversary) across Canada. The launch would be in Montréal and, if the proposed changes to the makeup of the Board are voted in, any events held in Québec would be eligible for CALQ (project) funding.

The Impact

An expanded Board (as proposed to consist of 50% Québec-based members with the addition of Julie Matson and Kevin Austin) would provide:

Potential for greater representation and inclusion;
Access to Québec provincial arts funding;
Increased opportunities for project-based funding;
An increase from 16% (1/6) to 25% of the Board being non-male;
No decrease in the number of Board members living in ROC (rest of Canada).

Tabled for Vote at a Later Meeting

The motion can be introduced and discussed at the 2018 AGM, but needs to be tabled for a vote at a subsequent General Meeting. A special General Meeting could be held (say) a month later with only two items on the agenda that would need to be put to vote:

The proposed changes to §3.1 of the CEC Bylaws;
Adding Austin and Matson to the Board.

The Bylaws

The Bylaws of the CEC were written in the early 1980s and revised in 1995 (general revisions and “short version”), in 2012 (to incorporate the CEC Board Advisory Panel) and again in 2013 (Laws for Canadian Non-Profit Corporations) in response to changing conditions within the community and the laws of Canada.

As provided for in the bylaws, this motion is designed to allow for a larger number of members of the Board of Directors to provide increased diversity and representation. This move is in response to the changing artistic practices and government support models for artistic communities in Canada.

Eldad Tsabary
President of the CEC Board
Montréal, Friday, 27 July 2018

CEC

CEC