Nominations for the Board of Governors of Scouts Canada

Fellow SCOUT eh! members,

Although the By-laws of Scouts Canada state that the Nominating Committee shall report to the members, the only time a report will be made is at the AGM and that report, subject to prodigious efforts required under subsection (7), will merely present the slate of candidates to the Voting Members. The nominations process in its current form is fundamentally designed to create a slate of nominees who will be rubber stamped by the "Centum Suffragium". We would like this process be open, transparent and democratic. The role of the nominations committee should be confined to gathering the names, ensure candidates are qualified, and then distributing the list. In the meantime all we can do is to work with the system that is in place and trust that all qualifed candidates will be given due consideration on objective criteria.

Despite the manifest shortcomings of the current system it is important that competent persons be nominated by members other than those in the inner samctum of the Board (23 members) Operations Advisory Committee (17 members) and the Commissioners (20 members).

For your assistance, the By-laws of Scouts Canada provide that:

Nominating Committee

  1. Each year the Chief Commissioner shall ensure that a Nominating Committee is formed by the Board and carries out its responsibilities.
  2. The Nominating Committee shall report to the Members and shall be chaired by the Past Chief Commissioner. Should no former Chief Commissioner be willing and able to serve, the Board shall appoint a chair of the Nominating Committee.
  3. The Nominating Committee shall be comprised of the following:
    1. the chair;
    2. the Chief Commissioner;
    3. two (2) Members-at-large; and
    4. three (3) Voting Members, one (1) of which will be a Youth Member.
  4. The Nominating Committee shall prepare for presentation to the annual general meeting of Members in each year a list of:
    1. Officers, namely, Chief Commissioner, Vice-Chair of the Board - Finance, Vice-Chair of the Board - Strategic, Past Chief Commissioner, Honorary Legal Counsel and such other Officer or Officers as the Board may determine;
    2. eighteen (18) individuals with at least one (1) individual from each Province and one (1) from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut provided that four (4) of the eighteen (18) must be Youth Members;
    3. Honorary Members; and
    4. The Chief Scout, in the event the Governor General, for any reason, is unable to accept the office.
  5. The Nominating Committee shall take into consideration candidates who adequately represent the constituencies served by the Corporation and make recommendations to the Board with respect to any vacancies on the Board.
  6. At least sixty (60) days prior to the annual general meeting of Members, the chair of the Nominating Committee shall circulate to the Voting Members by mail or by electronic means the nominations of the Nominating Committee for positions on the Board accompanied by a curriculum vitae for each such nominee.
  7. Additional nominations for positions on the Board may be made provided that (a) each nomination is signed by five (5) Voting Members and is accompanied by a curriculum vitae and a written confirmation from the nominee acknowledging that he is willing to serve and that he has an understanding of the position to which he has been nominated and (b) such additional nominations are presented to the chair of the Nominating Committee, care of the National Office, at least twenty-five (25) days prior to the date of the annual general meeting of Members.
  8. At least fourteen (14) days prior to the annual general meeting of Members, the chair of the Nominating Committee shall circulate to the Voting Members by mail or by electronic means the names of the additional nominees along with their curriculum vitae and the names of their nominators.

Original Message

To: Members of the Board of Governors
Council Commissioners
Operations Advisory Committee
Subject: Nominations for the Board of Governors

Please review the attached letter from Mike Scott with respect to Nominations for the Board of Governors.

Nominations should be sent to cdinelle@scouts.ca by JUNE 30, 2006.

Thanking you in advance for your attention.

Cheryl Dinelle
Executive Assistant
To J. Robert Stewart
EC/CEO.s Office
Scouts Canada
(613) 224-5131 Ext. 252
cdinelle@scouts.ca

c.c.  CEDs . For Information Only
Attachment: nominations.pdf