5.1 The Board
1 National Clubs: The Board of Directors shall be comprised of the officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) who are residents of Canada plus a minimum of four (4) directors representing a minimum of four (4) of the (6) regions across Canada. All of whom must be members in good standing with the Club and The Canadian Kennel Club. Nor more than three (3) Directors may be elected from any one region and Directors must reside in the region they represent. Directors must be elected by members residing within the region they represent. They shall be elected for 2 terms provided and shall serve until their successors are elected. General Management of the Club's affairs
shall be entrusted to the Board of Directors.
5.2 Officers
The officers of the club shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. All must be residents of Canada and members in good standing of the Canadian Kennel Club
- The President shall chair all Board and general meetings of the Club and shall have such duties and responsibilities as specified in these by-laws.
- The Vice-President shall assume the duties and exercise the responsibilities of the President upon the direction of the President or in such case, as the President is unable to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the President.
- The Secretary shall keep a record of all Board and general meetings of the Club and of all votes taken in the order of business. The Secretary shall receive and send correspondence on behalf of the club to notify members of meetings, notify Officers and Directors of their election to office, keep a roll of the current members of the Club complete with addresses and telephone numbers, and carry out such other duties as are prescribed in these by-laws.
- The Treasurer shall collect and receive all revenues of the Club and shall deposit same in a club bank account as approved by the Board, in the name of the Club. The books of the club shall be open to inspection by the Board at any time and a financial report shall be provided at every meeting of the Board and every annual general meeting of the dub. The financial records of the club shall be the property of the Club.
5.3 Vacancies
Should a vacancy occur on the Board, the Board may appoint a member of the club to fill the vacancy. Should a vacancy occur in the office of president, such vacancy shall be filled automatically by the Vice-president and the resulting vacancy in the office of Vice-president shall be filled by a majority vote of the Board.
5.4 Terms of Office The elected Officers and Directors shall take office on January 1st of the year following the election. Each of the Former Board members shall turn over to his successor in office, all properties and records relating to that office by January 1st of the new terms.
6. CLUB YEAR
The Club's fiscal year shall begin on the 1st day of January and end on the 31st day of December.
7. FINANCES
A Club must have a separate and independent bank account in the name of the club and all cheques drawn from the club account must have the signature of a minimum of two officers and naming the office.
8. VOTING
At the annual General meeting or at a Special General meeting of the Club voting shall be limited to those members in good standing who are present at the meeting, except for the election of officers and Directors and amendments to the constitution and by-laws (and standard for the breed) which shall be decided by written ballot. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. The Board of Directors may decide to submit other specific questions for decision of the members by written ballot. Non-Resident are ineligible to vote.
9. ELECTIONS
9. - 1 Ballots. the election of Officers and Directors shall be conducted by secret ballot. Ballots to be valid, must be received by the Secretary (or an independent individual or firm designated by the Board). Ballots shall be counted at the meeting by three members in good standing. The person receiving the largest number of votes from each position shall be declared elected. If any nominee is unable to serve for any reason, such nominee shall not be elected and the vacancy so created shall be filled by the new Board of Directors in the manner provided by Section 5.3
9.- 2 Nominations
- No person may be a candidate in a club election who has not been nominated in accordance with these by-laws. A Nominating Committee shall be chosen by the Board of Directors before November 15th. The committee shall consist of three members from different areas of Canada, and two alternates, all members in good standing, no ore than one of whom may be a member of the current Board of Directors. The Board shall name a chairman for the Committee. The Nominating Committee may conduct its business by mail.
- The Nominating Committee shall nominate from among the eligible members of the Club, one candidate for each office and for each other position on the Board of Directors and shall procure the acceptance of each nominee . Candidates shall not be nominated for more than one office or position.
The Committee shall then submit its slate of candidates to the Secretary who shall mail the list, including the full name of each candidate and the name of the province and region in which he resides, to each of the member of the club on or before November 15th, so that additional nomination may be made by the Members if they so desire,
- Additional nomination of eligible members may be made by written petition addressed to the Secretary and received at his regular address at or before December 15th, signed by one member and companied by the written acceptance of each such additional nominee signifying his willingness to be a candidate.
- If no valid additional nominations are received by the Secretary on or before December 15th, the nominating Committees slate shall be declared elected and not balloting will be required.
- If one or more valid additional nominations are received by the Secretary on or before December 15th, he or an independent individual or firm designated by the Board shall on or before Decembel5th, mail to each member in good standing a ballot listing all of the nominees for each position in alphabetical order, with the names of the province or region in which they reside, together with a blank envelope and a return envelope addressed to the Secretary marked BALLOT and bearing the name of the member to whom it was sent. So that the ballots may remain secret, each voter, after making his ballot, shall seal it in the blank envelope which in turn shall be place din the second envelope addressed to the Secretary. The inspectors of election shall check the returns against the list of members whose dues are paid for the current year prior to opening the outer envelopes and removing the blank envelope, and shall certify the eligibility of the voters as well as the results of the voting which shall be announced at the Annual Meeting or by Written notification to all members.
- Nominations cannot be made at the Annual meeting or in any manner other than provided above.
10. COMMITTEES
10.1 Standing Committees.
The Board my each year appoint standing committees to advance the work of the Club in such matters as Conformation Shows, Obedience Trials, or related events approved by the Canadian kennel Club, trophies, annual prizes, membership and other fields which may well be served by committees. Such committees shall always be subject to final authority of the Board. Ad hoc committees may from time to time be appointed by the board to aid the Board with specific projects.
10.2 Committee Appointments
Any committee appointment may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board upon written notice being sent to the appointee, and the Board may appoint a successor to the person whose services have been terminated.
11. DISCIPLINE
11.1 Canadian Kennel Club Suspension
Any member who is suspended, debarred, expelled or deprived of privileges from the Canadian Kennel Club automatically shall be suspended from the privileges of this Club for a like period.
11,2 Complaints
- Any member may lay a complaint against a member for alleged misconduct prejudicial to the best interest of the Club or the breed. Written complaints containing details of the alleged misconduct must be filed in duplicate with the Secretary together with a deposit of $50.00 which shall be forfeited if the defendant is found guilty at a hearing of the Board or of a committee duly appointed for this purpose
- the Secretary upon receiving such a complaint, within 30 days shall forward a copy of the complaint, along with notice of hearing to the defendant, the complainant and each member of the Board or appointed committee,
- The hearing date shall be set no later than 90 days from date of receipt of the complaint. If the hearing is held by the Board, a minimum of four members of the Board must be present. In the event that the hearing is held by a committee, at lest a majority of the appointed committee shall be present. In the event that the hearing is held by a committee, at least a majority of the appointed committee shall be present. Should a complaint be laid against the Secretary, then the president shall act in accordance with these by-laws.
11.3 Hearing
The Board or appointed Committee shall ensure that both the complainant and the defendant are treated fairly and in accordance with the rules of natural justice. Should the complainant be sustained after hearing all the evidence
and testimony presented by the complainant and defendant, the Board or Committee may be a majority vote of those present, impose an appropriate penalty. The Secretary shall then notify each of the parties of the decision within 30 days of the decision.
11.4 Expulsion
a) Expulsion of a member from the Club shall be accomplished at an Annual General Meeting of the Club following a proper hearing and upon the recommendation of the Board or Committee being provided as stated in Section 3 of this Article. The President shall read the complaint and report the finding and recommendations of the Board or appointed committee, and shall invite the defendant, if present, to speak on his own behalf. The meeting shall then vote by secret written ballot on the proposed expulsion. a 2/3 vote of those present shall be necessary for expulsion.
b) At the discretion of the Board, expulsion may also take place by mail-in vote consisting of a 213 majority of all eligible voting members in favour of expulsion. Proxy voting is not permitted.
12: AMENDMENTS
12.1 Proposal of Amendments
Amendments to the constitution, the by-laws and breed standard may be proposed b the Board of Directors or by written petition addressed to the Secretary signed by ten members in good standing. Amendments proposed
by such petition shall be considered by the Board of Directors at the next meeting and must subsequently be presented to the Board within ninety days of the date when the petition was received by the Secretary.
12.2 Amendment by Vote
The constitution, by-laws, and breed standard may be amended at any time provided a copy of the proposed amendment has been mailed by the Secretary to each member in good standing on the date of mailing, accompanied by a ballot on which he may indicate his choice for or against the action to be taken. Dual envelope procedures shall be followed in handling such ballots, to assure secrecy of the vote. Notice with such ballot shall specify a date not less than 30 days after the date of mailing by which date the ballots must be returned to the Secretary to be counted. In the case of breed standards, the two-thirds majority vote of those eligible voting members who have voted is required to affect an amendment. For constitutions and by-laws a two thirds majority vote of eligible voting members is required. Voting must be by mail in ballot. Proxies are not permitted .
12.3 Canadian Kennel Club Approval
No amendment of the constitution, by-laws breed standard shall become effective until it has been approved by the Canadian Kennel Club.
13. Conducting Club Business:
13.1 Contracts , documents or any instruments in writing requiring the signature of the corporation and properly approved by the Membership, shall be signed by any two Executive Officers being the President and one other Executive Officer and all contracts, documents and instruments in writing so signed shall be binding upon the corporation without any further authorization or formality.
13.2 All banking, documents and cheques may only be signed by either the President or the Secretary and the Treasurer.
13.3 No person or officer shall have he authority to bind the club to any contract, document , instrument or any other obligation unless dual authorized in writing by the Board.
14. DISSOLUTION
The club may dissolved at any time by providing to the CKC, written documentation signed by at least 2/3 of the members of the club who are in favour of this decision. Proxies are not permitted. In the event of the dissolution of the Club, other than the purposed of reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary or by operation of law, none of the property of the Club, nor any proceeds thereof, nor any assets of the Club shall be distributed to any members of the Club, but after payment of the debts of the Club, its property and assets shall be given to a charitableorganization for the benefit of dogs, such organization being selected by the Board of Directors.
15. ORDER OF BUSINESS
15.1 At meetings of the Club, the order of business, so far as the character and nature of the meeting may permit, shall be as follows-
Roll Call
Minutes of Last Meeting Report of President Report of Secretary
Report of Treasurer Reports of committees
Election of Officers and Board (at annual meeting)
Election of new members Unfinished business New Business
Adjournment
15.2 At meetings of the Board, the order of business, unless otherwise directed by majority vote of those present, shall be as follows;
Reading of minutes of last meeting
Report of Secretary
Report of Treasurer
Reports of Committees
Unfinished Business
Election of New members
New Business
Adjournment
