The
organization shall be known as the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.
2. SECRETARIAT:
The
Secretariat of the Canadian Section shall be at the office of International and
Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Parliament of Canada, Ottawa.
3. OBJECTIVES:
Recognizing
that strengthening democracy, creating prosperity and realizing human potential
are the hemisphere’s most pressing priorities, the objectives of the Canadian
Section are:
(1) to promote parliamentary
participation in the inter-American system and contribute to
inter-parliamentary dialogue; and
(2) to maintain contact with
parliamentary representatives of member states of the Organization of American
States (OAS), and to seek to meet periodically with all such representatives,
for joint public discussions of common problems and objectives.
4. MEMBERSHIP:
Any member of
the Senate or House of Commons of Canada shall be entitled to become a member
on application to the Canadian Section and on payment of the membership fee for
the current year.
5. WORKING
YEAR:
The operating
year of the association shall be the fiscal year, commencing on the first day
of April and ending on the thirty first day of March of the following year.
6. ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETINGS:
(a) At
least one meeting of the general membership shall be held each fiscal year.
(b) An
Annual General Meeting must be held within 60 calendar days of the opening of a
new Parliament.
(c) The
Executive Committee or 10 members of the Association may, upon a minimum of two
weeks’ notice, call an Annual General Meeting.
(d) The
quorum shall be set at 20 or one third of the total membership, whichever is
the lesser amount, provided that the Senate and the House of Commons are
represented.
(e) The
assembly shall:
i) Elect the members of the
Executive Committee;
ii) Receive a summary report
of the expenses of the previous fiscal year and a written report of the
Association’s activities for that year from the Chair;
iii) Amend, where necessary and
with one week’s notice, the association’s statutes by a two-thirds vote of the
members present at the meeting;
iv) Make suggestions and adopt
resolutions in accordance with the aims of the Association;
v) Transact any other
necessary business.
7. SPECIAL
GENERAL MEETING:
The Executive
Committee or 10 members of the Association may, upon two weeks’ notice, call a
special general meeting.
8. THE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
(a) Subject
to Article 9, the Executive Committee of the Canadian Section shall be elected
at the Annual General Meeting. It shall have the responsibility for the
general management of the affairs of the Canadian Section and shall report
thereon at each Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Section.
(b) The
Executive Committee shall consist of twelve elected members as follows, with
30% of its members from the Senate and 70% from the House of Commons:
i) A
Chair
ii) Two Vice-Chairs, one of
whom shall be a senator, or two MPs if the Chair is a senator
iii) Nine
Counsellors.
(c) Each
recognized political party should be represented on the Executive Committee in
numbers proportionate to their representation in the House; nothing precludes
an independent Senator or Member of Parliament from being a member of the Executive
Committee.
(d) Members
of the Executive Committee shall be members in good standing of the Canadian
Section.
(e) The
Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair or any four of its
members.
(f) If
for any reason a position on the Executive Committee becomes vacant, the
Executive Committee shall fill the position from the general membership for the
balance of the term.
(g) The
Chair shall assume the duties normally associated with that office, including
that of presiding at meetings of the Executive Committee and the general
membership. In his or her absence, the Chair shall designate a Vice-Chair to
act on his or her behalf.
(h) Quorum
shall be set at four, provided that a representative from each house is
present.
9. NOMINATIONS
AND ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
(a) The
Association Secretary shall distribute nomination forms to all members of the
Association.
(b) Nominations
should be received at least 3 working days in advance of the Annual General
Meeting. The Association Secretary shall prepare a nominations report based on
nominations received. Once the deadline for nominations has passed, the
nominations should be made public.
(c) In
order to be eligible to vote, parliamentarians should be members of the
Association at least 7 days prior to the Annual General Meeting. Once this
deadline has passed, the names of all members eligible to vote shall be placed
on a voters list.
(d) Nominations
will only be accepted from the floor at the Annual General Meeting for
positions for which no candidate has been nominated.
(e) The
election shall be presided over by a parliamentarian to be chosen from a list
that has received the approval of the Speakers of the Senate and the House of
Commons, and who is not nominated for a position on the Executive Committee.
Elections shall be conducted by secret ballot with the support of the
Association Secretary and additional necessary staff from the International and
Interparliamentary Affairs Directorate.
(f) The
ballot box shall be placed in full view and each parliamentarian shall insert
his or her own ballot into the box.
10. FUNCTIONS
OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
The Executive
Committee shall meet at least twice yearly to:
(1) Direct
and manage the affairs and budget of the Association in accordance with the
decisions taken at its General Meetings and directives of the Joint
Interparliamentary Council;
(2) Draw
up a work plan and submit it to the General Meeting;
(3) Approve
any activities, including travel, that are added to the Association’s work plan
over the course of the year;
(4) Convene
the Annual General Meeting;
(5) Draw
up a draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year and submit it to the Joint
Interparliamentary Council;
(6) Submit
reports to the membership as required;
(7) Ensure
that regular reports are submitted to the Senate and House of Commons, as
required in the rules and practices of both Houses.
11. EXECUTIVE
SECRETARY:
The Executive
Secretary of the Canadian Section shall be an officer of the International and
Inter-Parliamentary Affairs Directorate. The Executive Secretary shall be
accountable to the Executive Committee, particularly to the Chair, and shall be
responsible for providing the administrative management for activities of the
Canadian Section, for determining and coordinating any additional resources
required to support these activities and will act as Secretary for outgoing
delegations.
12. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT:
(a) The funding of the Canadian Section will be
derived from:
i) Membership fees
ii) Grants
iii) Gifts and bequests
(b) The operating year of the Canadian Section is
the federal fiscal year commencing on the first day of April and ending on the
thirty-first day of March of the following year.
(c) 30
% of the Canadian Section's annual grant shall be included in the Estimates of
the Speaker of the Senate and 70 % will be included in the Estimates of the
Speaker of the House of Commons.
(d) The
signing officers of the Canadian Section shall be the Chair or, in his or her
absence or impossibility to act, one other parliamentarian assigned by the
Executive Committee together with the Executive Secretary of the Canadian
Section.
(e) A
financial statement of the Canadian Section shall be presented to the Executive
Committee on a quarterly basis in so far as possible.
13. PARTICIPATION
IN PARLAMERICA’S
ANNUAL
SESSION:
(a) Delegates
to the Annual Session and other meetings of ParlAmericas, as designated by the
Executive Committee, shall be chosen according to the Selection Procedure laid
down in Article 14.
(b) The
number of delegates for the meetings and sessions of ParlAmericas shall
normally be:
i) Meetings
of the Executive Committee, when Canada is designated to represent the North
American subregion - The Chair or one other member
ii) Annual
Session - A maximum of twelve, with both houses and all parties to be
represented
(c) A
member of the Canadian delegation elected by his or her peers during a meeting
of ParlAmericas to be an officer of the Assembly or an officer or member of one
of its committees or subcommittees shall serve in accordance with the Rules of
Procedure of ParlAmericas.
14. DELEGATE SELECTION PROCEDURE:
(a) Upon the approval of its budget by the Joint
Interparliamentary Council, the Executive Committee shall meet to establish the
number of participants at each of the activities listed in its work plan for
that fiscal year.
(b) If the names of the individual members who are
to participate at each of these activities are known, these are to be noted on
the record of the meeting and forwarded to the Whips for their approval.
(c) For
all other vacancies on delegations, the Association must send applications to
its general membership for selection as delegates to be determined by Whips of
each party, with due regard for the need to build strong Canadian delegations
at international conferences.
i) The
membership shall be notified of meetings to take place and be invited to
apply. Members shall be provided with an application form and the deadline for
submission and will be selected according to the procedure contained in
paragraphs 14 (c) iv) and v).
ii) The
Executive Committee shall decide the allocation of places amongst recognized
Parties on the basis of 30 % to the Senate and 70 % to the House of Commons and
with regard to party representation in each House.
iii) The
Chair shall be the leader of a delegation and members elected to office in
ParlAmericas according to Article 9 shall also be selected as delegates.
iv) The
Executive Secretary shall make a list of applicants and shall submit it to the
Whips of all parties.
v) The
Whips in choosing the delegates shall take into account that participation in
an inter-parliamentary meeting provides a valuable opportunity to increase
understanding about attitudes and policies in OAS member countries and that
this formative experience should be available to the widest possible number of
parliamentarians. For that reason delegations should reflect, as far as
possible, a 60% experience and 40% new members composition.
vi) All
members shall be advised of the delegates and alternates chosen.
vii) All
delegates and alternates selected shall be advised that, as a condition of
participation, they must agree to take a full part in briefings and give the
time required to prepare themselves to make a contribution at the meetings.
15. DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT:
In the event of a dissolution of Parliament, the
Executive Committee in office at that time shall carry on the affairs of the
Canadian Section until a new Executive Committee is elected as soon as practicable
after a general election, with due regard to policies and related procedures
set out in the Financial Management and Policy Guide for Parliamentary
Associations.
16. PROCEDURE:
The rules of
procedure to be followed in conducting Canadian Section business shall conform
to Canadian parliamentary practice and rules of procedure.