CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS

BYLAWS ****BYLAW NO.1

back to constitution

CONTENTS

1. INTERPRETATION

1.1 In this Bylaws **** Bylaw and its amendment hereafter passed, unless the context otherwise defined, the interpretation shall be defined as those in Section 2 of the Constitution.

1.2 For easy reference in the verification of profession in the approval of application for membership, the profession identified in item (h) of Article 2.1 of the Constitution is being qualified as below:

(i) the practice of which is regulated and governed by a body constituted and established in Quebec for that purpose which includes, but not be limited to, the following disciplines, namely: the actuaries, architects, accountants, engineers, dentists, lawyers, medical doctors, notaries, nurses, pharmacists, etc.;

(ii) the occupation as per sub-item ii) of said Article; ****of the said Article;

(iii) the occupation as per sub-item iii) of said Article; or

(iv) the practice requiring specialized knowledge which is, in the opinion of a majority of all members of the Federation, including those members not otherwise entitled to vote, properly considered a profession which includes, the acupuncturists, audiologists, computer system analysts, computer programmers, dietitians, land surveyors, landscape architects, quantity surveyors, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, and writers with book publication, **professional artists, musicians and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. **** practitioners.

2. MEMBERSHIP

2.1 Application for membership shall be made in such form as may be prescribed, from time to time, by the Federation; and proof of qualifications of applicants for membership shall be established in such manner as defined by the Executive Committee of the Federation.

2.2 The acceptance or rejection of an applicant for membership shall be determined by the Membership Committee and reported to the Board. In the event that the Membership Committee rejects an application, the applicant may appeal to the Board whose decision shall be final and binding against the applicant and the Membership Committee.

2.3 Applications for membership shall be submitted to the Secretary bearing the signatures of two (2) sponsoring Members in good standing, who in turn shall forward them to the Membership Committee for approval.

2.4 The annual membership fees shall be determined, from time to time, by the Board. They are: $50 for Regular Members, Special Members and Associate Members; and $10 for Student Members.

2.5 Non-paying members, with less than 365 days in deliquency, shall be allowed to vote and be elected as soon as the membership fee is paid up.

2.6 With the exception in the formation of the Federation, new members have to pay up the membership fee sixty (60) days before they shall be allowed to vote and be elected.

3. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

3.1 The fiscal year of the Federation shall be terminated on the thirty-first day of October  August in each year.

3.2 The annual general meeting of Members shall be held within four (4) months after the year end.

3.3 Proxy shall be allowed at the annual general meeting and the extraordinary general meeting, provided that the member is either out-of-province or sick. The proxy shall have to be registered with the Secretary, at least, with a twenty-four (24) hours advance notice.

4. DIRECTORS

4.1 There shall be **eleven (11) thirteen (13) Directors. The term of office shall be three (3) years. To permit the induction of new Directors and retain experienced ones in the Board, the terms of approximately one-third (1/3) of Directors shall have expired every year.

4.2 At the first election of Directors, the first four (4) candidates with the highest number of votes shall have three (3) years term; the next four (4) candidates with the next highest number of votes shall have two (2) years term; while the last three (3) candidates with the next highest number of votes shall have one (1) year term.

5. OFFICERS

5.1 There shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Past-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and other Officers with their duties prescribed as below.

5.2 The President shall preside at all meetings of the Members of the Federation, the chairperson of the Board, and of the Executive Committee. He shall be an ex officio member of all committees. He shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation and shall conduct the business of the Federation.

5.3 The Vice-President shall assist the President in all matters relating to the business of the Federation. He shall also, in the absence or disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise the power of the President.

5.4 The Past-President shall act as an advisor to the President.

5.5 The Secretary shall:

a) attend all meetings of the Board of Directors, record all facts and minutes of all proceedings in the books kept for that purpose;

b) receive, forward and file the minutes of meetings of committees;

c) receive applications for memberships and maintain an up-to-date membership record;

d) give notices required to be given to Members and to Directors including any notice submitted by a Member in respect of a question to be proposed for consideration of the Members at the annual meeting of Members;

e) be the custodian of all books, papers, records, correspondence, contracts and other documents belonging to the Federation of which he shall deliver up only when authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors to do so and to such person or persons as may be named in the resolution;

f) recruit assistant(s) as deemed necessary; and

g) perform such other duties as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors.

5.6 The Treasurer shall:

a) keep full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements of the Federation in proper books of account;

b) deposit all monies or other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Federation in such bank or banks as may from time to time be designated by the Board, taking proper vouchers therefor and shall render to the Board at the regular meetings thereof or whenever required of him, an account of all his transactions as Treasurer, and of the financial position of the Federation;

c) prepare an annual financial statement presentation to the annual general meeting;

d) cooperate with the auditor, either internal or external, in the examination as necessary to enable him to report thereon in accordance with the generally accepted auditing standards; and

e) perform such other duties as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors.

5.7 The Program Chair shall plan, oversee, and organize any and all educational and social functions including, but not be limited to, the annual general meeting dinner held by the Federation.

5.8 The Public Relations Chair shall plan and carry out the activities in the promotion and fund-raising of the Federation; assist the President and any other Directors in any matters involving the public media and other organizations which relates to the Federation and its Objects.

5.9 The Nomination Chair, working in conjunction with other members of the Nominating Committee, shall plan for the nomination and election activities as stipulated in the Constitution.

5.10 The Membership Chair shall verify the credentials of applicants, approve or reject application of membership and report the same at the next Board meeting.

5.11 The Audit Chair shall plan, oversee and verify the proper operations of the Federation as a whole. He shall also lead and supervise the internal auditing of the books and financial statements of the Federation.

6. STANDING & SPECIAL COMMITTEES

6.1 The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Past-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.

6.2 The Secretariate shall consist of the Secretary, assistant secretaries, in the Chinese, English, and French languages, nominated by the Secretary, and approved by the Board.

6.3 The Program Committee shall consist of the Program Chair, and any number of committee members nominated by the committee chair in consultation with the President, and approved by the Board.

6.4 The Public Relations Committee shall consist of the Public Relations Chair, and any number of committee members nominated by the committee chair in consultation with the President, and approved by the Board.

6.5 The Nomination Committee shall consist of the Nomination Chair, and the President, the ***Vice President and with the Past-President as an ex-officio.

6.6 The Membership Committee shall consist of the Membership Chair, and two (2) other committee members nominated by the Committee chair in consultation with the President, and approved by the Board.

6.7 The Audit Committee shall consist of the Audit Chair, and two (2) other committee members nominated and approved by the Board.

6.8 The Board shall appoint any Special Committee as circumstances warrant from time to time.

6.9 Meetings of committees shall be called by the chair of each committee on his initiative, or on the request of a majority of the members of that committee, or the Board. Minutes of the committee meetings shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board within seven (7) days of the meeting.

7. LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

8. AUDITORS

8.1 The auditor shall ***may be appointed at the annual general meeting. The remuneration of the auditor shall be determined by the Board. The auditor may attend the annual general meeting.

9. SPENDING LIMITS

9.1 **Any expenditure and/or reimbursement of amounts exceeding $500.00 shall be submitted to the President and one (1) other elected officer of the Board for approval.

9.2 **Any expenditure and/or reimbursement of amounts exceeding $500.00 shall be submitted to the Board for approval.

10. DEFINITION

10.1 **Unless otherwise specified, 'Majority of the Board' shall mean a vote taken by the Board by a simple majority.

10.2 **In the event the Federation is required to comment or take necessary action per   Article 3.2 of the Constitution, a vote of no less than 3/4 of the Board members shall be required.  For purposes of this section, 'Board members' shall mean 2/3 or more of the Board.

History of Reading:

Second reading on 1993.10.21.

*The No. of Directors  was increased from 11 to 13 at the FCCP 2nd AGM on November 4, 1994

** Added at the FCCP 6th AGM on November 13, 1999; First Reading Nov 3, 1999; Second Reading Nov 9, 1999

*** Revised at the FCCP 6th AGM on Novemeber 13, 1999; First Reading Nov 3, 1999; Second Reading Nov 9, 1999

**** Revised at the FCCP 8th AGM on November 22, 2001; First Reading April 4, 2001; Second Reading November 7, 2001.

ENACTED on this twenty-sixth day, in the month of November, in the year nineteen hundred and ninety-three, duly approved at the General Assembly of the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals (Quebec).

The Ah-Hoc **** Ad-Hoc Committee. (Original signed by the following:)

LAU, Arthur (Chair)
SO, Patrick (Vice-Chair)
NG, Henry (Treasurer)
SEAH, Stanley (English Secretary)
LY, David (French Secretary)
TANG, Andrew (Chinese Secretary)
FAN, Nim-Jup (Member)
LIN, David (Member)