Meetings & Documents
 

November 2, 2020


Annual General Meeting
November 2, 2020


Minutes

Present

  • Brian Wade
  • Sue McCarthy
  • Peter Foulger
  • Peter Brimacombe
  • Christine Johnson
  • Lynette Joseph-Sankey
  • Marilyn Koch
  • Abiodun Mosuro
  • Sabrine Barakat
  • Lucy Belanger
  • Phil Belanger
  • Cathy Bourguignon
  • Vince Bowman
  • Rob Burnfield
  • Lorraine Busby
  • Kathy Comfort
  • Jason Dubue
  • Kat Gracie
  • Tania Mushka
  • Piero Narducci
  • Matt Page
  • Zivana Pavic
  • John D Reid
  • Amanda Shea
  • Barb Shea
  • Ijeoma Udechukwu
  • Greg West
  • Kathy Wright

Special Guests

  • David McGuinty, MP for Ottawa South
  • Jenny Hopper, David McGunity’s Executive Assistant
  • John Fraser, MPP for Ottawa South
  • Riley Brockington, Councillor River Ward

The meeting was held on Zoom at 19:00

1. Welcome and Introductions

Brian welcomed everyone and went over a few housekeeping notes including how to use Zoom and how the meeting will progress.


2. Approval of the Agenda

Christine Johnson, seconded by Sue McCarthy, moved to accept the agenda.
Motion carried.


3. Approval of Minutes

Sue McCarthy, seconded by Christine Johnson, moved to approve the October minutes.
Motion carried.


4. Community Check Up

David McGuinty, Member of Parliament for Ottawa South

David McGuinty: He thanked everyone for keeping democratic dialogues and structures alive. On March 12, the government began to respond to the Covid crisis. The public service has done exceptional work. Numerous government programs were put in place to cushion the blow. Among them, a wage subsidy program, increased child care benefit, $2 billion for schools, personal protective equipment, vaccines, a rapid housing initiative. Two federal properties are to be sold and redeveloped, one on Heron road and the other on Tremblay. The National Capital Commission will complete the repair of the swing bridge over Hogs Back. The constituency office is closed but the staff are still working. Mr. McGuinty expressed openness to a continued collaboration with the HCCA on all matters relevant to the community.

Lucy Belanger: She is concerned about white supremacy groups. What is being done? There are unused federal buildings. Can they be repurposed?

David McGuinty: He is aware of the problem of white supremacy groups He is concerned for Muslims in our country. In the United States the Director of the FBI was talking about it. He (David McGuinty) is in favour of repurposing unused buildings. The Heron Road property could be used for housing. Federal employees can work from home during this crisis. Telecommuting is changing the pattern of transportation which is reducing CO2 emissions.

Christine Johnson: She too is in favour of repurposing unused federal buildings. We should keep focused on the problem of climate change.

David McGuinty: He confirmed that the repurposing of the federal properties to help resolve the housing crisis is underway. In response to Christine Johnson’s question, he also confirmed that this would be done in line with environmental standards.

Tania Mushka: The government has to increase its spending during the crisis but the debt is also a concern. Are there panels to look at debt as a percentage of GDP?

David McGuinty: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been working closely with business and labour groups. Everything is interconnected. In response to requests to refund airline tickets, some countries have taken a position in their national airlines. Bank of Canada is aware of the debt problem. He is worried about small businesses like restaurants. He is worried about women in the work force. He is very impressed with the commitment of the civil service.

John Fraser, Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa South

John Fraser: The Federal Government has stepped up to help. In the health care sector, acute care was done very well but there are serious concerns about long-term-care. Contact tracing is not where it needs to be. Ottawa Public Health under Dr. Vera Etches has done a great job. Students are back in school. Front line workers are everywhere like the people working at grocery stores.

Kathy Wright: In long-term-care facilities, the provincial government has increased care to 4 hours per day per resident.

John Fraser: The provincial government has introduced legislation that requires a minimum of 4 hours per day per resident. There is a serious staff shortage in long-term-care.

Lynette Joseph-Sankey: She is a nurse. Staff are penalized if they use too many supplies.

John Fraser: Excellent care is being delivered but owners put limitations on the staff. We have to rethink long-term-care. It’s going to take more money, openness and ingenuity. He’s willing to take more time to talk about this in private.

Riley Brockington, City Councillor

Riley Brockington: He thanked the members of the Board for their work. He presented a written report (attached) and underscored his priority projects for the upcoming year.


5. Environment and Parks

Sue McCarthy explained that John Sankey has been looking after Uplands Park for many years but has decided to take a step back. The recommendation is that HCCA officially adopt Uplands Park and take responsibility for organizing park clean-ups as required by the City, and other actions that the board deems appropriate or necessary.

Sue McCarthy, seconded by Christine Johnson, moved that The Hunt Club Community Association adopt Uplands Park.
Motion carried.


6. Finance

Brian Wade presented the results of the Financial Review for the 2019-2020 year. The Statement of Operations (attached) and the Balance Sheet (attached) were presented to the membership.

Peter Foulger presented the Treasurer Report for October 2020 (attached)

Motion: To accept the documents and pay Cathy Kroeger ($30) and Christine Johnson ($29.39) as per the Treasurer’s Report.
Moved by Sue McCarthy, seconded by Marilyn Koch, carried.

Brian presented the 2020-2021 Draft Budget (attached)


7. Governance

Brian verbally reported on the highlights of the 2020 President’s Report (attached).

Brian presented the motion to amend Section 6 Item 5 of the HCCA bylaws as approved by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Governance Committee.

Brian Wade moved, seconded by Sue McCarthy, to amend bylaw 6.5 to read as follows: “The President is an ex officio member of all committees and may chair a committee, upon direction and approval by the board of directors.” Motion carried.

Follow up
The amended bylaws will be provided to the web team so that the web site can be updated and sent to Service Ontario, if required.


8. Elections

Christine Johnson: As Past President, she was in charge of elections. The process was different from the normal one this year because of the Covid crisis. People had to submit their applications on-line by October 23. Voting was done on-line prior to the Annual General Meeting. On-line voting was done via the Election-Buddy software.

Motion: To accept the results of the online Board of Directors election, which took place between October 31 and November 1, 2020, as follows:
President: Brian Wade was acclaimed, by 100% of the votes, including 2 abstentions.
Directors: The following 8 candidates, who each won 2/3 of votes cast by eligible voters were elected: Abiodun Mosuro, Jason Dubue, John D. Reid, Kat Gracie, Marilyn Koch, Sabrine Barakat, Sue McCarthy, Zivana Pavic
Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by Cathy Bourguignon, carried.

Motion: To accept the two incumbents as per the HCCA Bylaws, which state, under ‘Board of Directors’: “Where fewer than 10 directors are elected, the President shall choose which of the existing directors shall remain.” As such, President elect Brian Wade choose Peter Foulger and Lynette Joseph-Sankey who each won the next highest amount of votes (20 votes) cast by eligible voters.
Moved by Christine Johnson, seconded by Ijeoma Udechukwu, carried.

Follow up:
The names of the President and Elected Officers will be sent to Service Ontario.


9. Adjournment of Meeting

Next meeting Monday December 7 at 19:00