Clear Lake Cabin Association Board
Board Procedural (Operational) By-Law
January 8, 2011
General Regulations Re: Meetings
1. Each and every member of the board has equal rights
2. The Chairman should call the meeting to order precisely at the hour for which the meeting is called, providing a quorum is present
3. A quorum is a majority of the whole board, and no business can be legally transacted without a quorum being present.
4. If there is no quorum when the meeting is supposed to begin, those board members present, operating as a committee, may wish to proceed with the business of the meeting. When a quorum is present, the legally constituted meeting would then be asked to approve the decisions made by the committee.
5. The first person recognized by the chairman as desiring to speak has the right to the floor
6. No board member shall be interrupted while speaking, unless he/she is out of order, or on point of privilege, or for clarification (as defined in Bourinot’s Rule Of Order).
7. When any matter is before the Board, the consideration of same cannot be interrupted except on a motion: to table; to postpone; to refer; or to amend.
8. During a presentation by a delegation, board members should not express opinions but should only ask questions for clarification. The board should discuss the presentation during the normal course of the meeting.
9. Every board member, prior to his/her speaking, shall address the chair.
10. Any board member who feels aggrieved by a decision of the chair has the right to appeal by motion which is duly moved and seconded.
11. A question, once decided by the board shall not be reversed unless:
a) Written notice of a proposal to reverse the decision has been given from at least one meeting to another; and
b) A majority of the total number of board members votes in favour of the reversal.
12. Exceptions to rules within the jurisdiction of the board can be made by unanimous consent of the entire board.
The Agenda
13. The agenda should be prepared by the Chair. Items should only be added to the agenda after the meeting has started and by a motion approved by a majority of the whole board.
14. The agenda is an official document
15. The agenda and any official background information and reports should be in the hands of board members (via e-mail) at least two days before the meeting.
16. Members of the board should be able to place items of business on the agenda by writing (e-mailing) the chair and outlining in the request the business to be discussed.
Duties of the Chairman
17. At all meetings of the board the chairman shall:
a) Maintain the order and proper conduct and decorum of the meeting; and
b) Decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the rest of the board.
18. The chairman shall preside at the meetings of the board and may vote with the other members on all questions. Any question on which there is an equality of votes shall be deemed to be negative.
19. If the chairman wishes to speak on a motion, he/she should vacate his/her seat as a chairman and ask the vice-chairman to take over. The chairman should speak just prior to the last speaker who will be the mover of the motion. The mover of the motion has the right to close the debate.
20. The chairman may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the board by any two members duly moved and seconded.
Motions
21. To begin a motion, “I move that” is the correct phrase
22. A motion must be seconded, and then repeated distinctly by the chairman or read aloud before it is debated, and every motion shall be reduced to writing if the chairman or any board member requires it.
23. Any board member who shall have made a motion shall have liberty to withdraw it, with the consent of his/her second, before any debate has taken place thereon, but not after debate is had, without leave being granted by a majority of the board.
24. An amendment may be moved on any motion, and shall be decided upon before the original motion; but no more than one amendment to an amendment shall be entertained. An amendment can only modify the motion, not change the intent of the motion.
25. A motion for adjournment shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate, except that it cannot be entertained when the board is voting on another question or while a board member is addressing the board.
26. A motion for postponement takes precedence over a motion for referral, and a motion for referral takes precedence over a motion to amend or vote on the original subject
27. A motion is: postponed – to a specific date, and automatically appears on the agenda at that time; referred to a committee; tabled indefinitely. A tabled motion can only be removed from the table by motion and a majority vote of the board
28. A tabled motion disappears after two (2) successive meetings.
Votings
29. No question once decided shall be reversed without notice from at least one meeting to another and without a majority of the whole board voting in favour of the reversal.
30. Board members should be required to vote on every question unless excused by the chairman for some particular reason. One reason acceptable to the chairman for absentia could be a conflict of interest. If a board member abstains from voting without permission of the chair, his/her abstention should be considered as a negative vote, and that a board members name be recorded in the minutes.
31. If any board member considers himself/herself grieved by the decision of the chair, it shall be his/her privilege to appeal to the board, and the vote on such appeals shall be taken without debate except his/her reasons for appealing and the chairman may explain his/her reasons for the ruling.
32. Preceding the vote any two board member may require the recording of the yeas and nayes on any question.
33. Preceding the vote any board member can request that his/her vote be recorded in the minutes.
34. During debate on a motion, members of the board may call for the question, and unless the majority of the board decides otherwise, the chairman shall call the vote.
35. Immediately before putting the question, the mover shall have the privilege of summarizing the debate, but shall not introduce new matters.
Committees
36. The board chairman is an ex officio member of all committees. He/She may attend all meetings and contribute to the debate, but should not have the right to vote.
37. The number of members on any committee should be less than a quorum of the board.
38. After every committee meeting, the committee shall submit a report to the board of its investigations and findings together with its recommendations, if any.
Bourinot’s Rules of Order
39. Where these rules to not apply, we refer to Bourinot’s Rules of Order and the rules and procedures of parliamentary procedure as stated therein, in accordance with the association by-laws.
40. Bourinot defines Order as follows (p.15)
a) Behaviour in a meeting which permits members to conduct its business without disruption
b) An admonition (call to order) by the Speaker or chair to stop any disruption by a participant or participants.
c) An issue (point of order) raised by a participant at a meeting claiming that the procedures of the meeting or of an individual participant are contrary to procedural rules or practises.
Page 28 further states “It is the right and duty of every member to bring to the speaker’s attention any deviation or departure from the rules of ordinary procedure of the House during a debate, and any such point of order must be clearly and succinctly stated”
Page 56 states “In formal assemblies the word “order” has more than one meaning. The chair calls the meeting to order to quiet the participants and get their attention focused on the business of the meeting. The by-laws or regulations of organizations set out an order of procedure. Order also means decorum and plain good behaviour. It is the chair’s duty to see that order in all these senses is observed and preserved.
Any member can at any time rise on a point of order, interrupting a speaker if necessary, to point out a breach of the rules. The speaker should sit down while the point is cleared. The chair must then rule whether a breach of order has occurred.”
Page 56 further states “It is the duty of the chair to be ready and able at all times to maintain order , that is, to ensure the meeting proceeds and that deliberations remain calm. If there is a disturbance, the chair must courteously call for order and, if needed adsmonish the offenders. If order cannot be restored this simply, the chair can recess the meeting for a brief period or, in the event of a serious disturbance, adjourn the meeting to another day.”
Pages 102 and 103 defines a point of order related to non-parliamentary procedure or procedure not related to the order of the meeting. It states that /a member who is speaking to a motion on the floor may be challenged on a point of order if” the member is not addressing the question under consideration; he/she is talking about another subject”. The chair rules on the point of order, and the rule of that chair can be appealed by the meeting on a motion duly moved and seconded. This is a non-debatable motion.
Riding Mountain
National Park
parkscanada.gc.ca
Parc national du
Mont-Riding
parcscanada.gc.ca
Onanole & Wasagaming Wildfire Protection Program
As part of its ongoing fire management program, the Riding Mountain National Park fire crew
is preparing to implement a prescribed burn on the east side of Highway #10 near Onanole
and Wasagaming this spring. The areas being considered for burning are the Compound
Prairie, Pudge Lake and Arrowhead.
One benefit of the prescribed burn is to reduce the risk of wildfire burning into the Wasagaming
and Onanole communities by reducing the amount of spruce forest adjacent to Highway #10
and converting it to grasslands. Many of these areas of dense white spruce forest were
planted between 1930s and 1960s. Restoring the area to its natural state will also provide an
ecological benefit to wildlife and improve biodiversity.
Prescribed fire is not risk free, however, with highly trained Parks Canada fire staff and
controlled conditions, the risk is far less than the risk of wildfire. Public safety and health are
of critical importance during prescribed burns and measures are always taken to ensure the
neighbouring landowners and communities are safe and that the impact of smoke is reduced.
Public Meeting
Topic: Onanole & Wasagaming Wildfire Protection Program
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Time: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Place: RM of Park Council Chambers, in Onanole
If you would like to know more,
please attend in person or by teleconference:
The meeting is open to the public.
If you are unable to attend, you can still join in by teleconference. Simply dial
1-866-805-7923 and enter the access code 717174 to join the conference call.
There is no charge for you to participate in this way.
For more information about RMNP’s Fire Program, please contact:
Stephen Cornelsen
Resource Management Public Safety Specialist
204 848 7270
[email protected]
