Policies & Procedures

1. There are currently 22 Branches of the Association. The Association operates on two levels, an umbrella group of Provincial Officers elected at the October General Meeting (AGM) and Directors (Branch Chairs) and a parallel Executive for each Branch. Overall functioning of both levels of the Association is guided by a Constitution and Bylaws and by compatible Branch Regulations. There is some cross over between the functioning of the two groups, where the Chair of each Branch is a Director working with the Provincial Officers in conducting the affairs of the Association at a March Directors Meeting. The Provincial Officers appoint an Association Secretary, and Treasurer and hire an Office Manager for the Association’s Central Office. The Branch Officers and Directors are elected and share with their Provincial counterparts the responsibilities for the flow of correspondence, member enrollment by category, dues income and dues revenue sharing.

4. As of October 19, 2016, all Dues are payable by Dues Check-Off (DCO) through a once a year deduction from the February Pension Cheque, with the exception of existing Cash Paying Members or Associate Members who may pay either by cash or personal cheque directly to the Branch.

Categories Defined

Active Members are persons receiving a pension from the Public Service
Pension Plan administered by the British Columbia Pension Corporation, and/or their spouses, who have applied for membership, paid dues, and been enrolled in the Association in accordance with these Bylaws. Spouses can become members independent of the pensioner who makes the choice to not join, but they can only go on dues check off upon application by the pensioner. A surviving spouse can go on dues check off upon receiving a survivors pension.

3. Candidates for Honored Membership shall be nominated and recommended by Resolution at a regular Branch meeting, with said Resolution being forwarded in writing to the Secretary of the Provincial Body, and the Directors shall have the power by majority vote to accept or reject the Resolution. Said Resolutions may also be raised and approved by majority vote at the Provincial Annual general Meeting.

5. Associate Members are persons or their spouses, receiving a pension from a plan administered by the British Columbia Pension Corporation, other than the Public Service Pension Plan, who have applied for membership, paid dues, and been enrolled in the Association in accordance with the bylaws, policies and procedures.

Dues Date

1. Annual Dues shall be payable in advance on the second day of January of each year (unless on Dues Check Off). The exception being for an applicant enrolled after the end of February shall pay no dues for that calendar year.

Checkoff due to Branches

3. The Association Treasurer will remit to Branches no later than March 31, the Branches’ share of the annual dues received by dues check-off.

Branches remit dues to Provincial

5. The Provincial share of the dues paid directly to the Branch shall be remitted to the Association Treasurer. This amount shall be paid no later than June 15th of the current year.

Dues paid in advance

7. Where a member has paid annual dues one or more years in advance, the full amount of dues paid for years beyond the current year, shall be transferred along with the transfer of membership.

Administrative dealings with the Pension Corporation

9. Dues Payments withheld from Pension Payments in February, as a result of revocable Dues Check-Off (DCO), shall be remitted by the British Columbia Pension Corporation to the Association Treasurer. The Association Officers may make any reasonable administrative arrangements with the British Columbia Pension Corporation to obtain a Dues Deduction Report in duplicate and updated member address lists twice yearly and obituary notices monthly. They will work with Association Branches to achieve proper distribution of dues, address changes and obituary notifications.

President

1. The President shall:
(a) preside at all meetings of the Association, the Board of Directors, and the Officers.
(b) direct the operations of the Association, including the Central Office.
(c) be an ex-officio member of all standing and ad hoc committees provided that a Vice President may be appointed to act on the President’s behalf as a member of any such committee.
(d) In the absence of the President, the duties shall be performed by the First Vice-President, and in the absence of the President and First Vice-President, by the Second Vice President, and in the absence of the President and both Vice-Presidents, by a person appointed by the Board of Directors.

Second Vice-President

3. The Second Vice-President shall:
(a) in the absence of the First Vice-President, perform the duties of the First Vice-President;
(b) from time to time perform the duties of Chairperson of standing or ad hoc committees as appointed by the President or Directors;
(c) be assigned to carry out other duties as required.

Treasurer

5. The Treasurer shall:
(a) receive all moneys payable or accruing to the Association and shall deposit same in a Chartered Bank or credit Union to the credit of the Association. The Treasurer with the President, or with the First Vice-President, or with the Secretary, may sign and issue all cheques for moneys to be paid. The Treasurer shall endorse all negotiable paper made payable to the order of the Association. In the absence of the Treasurer, any two of the Officers may sign.
(b) not disburse funds of the Association without the sanction of the Officers.
(c) invest funds of the Association only as authorized by the Directors, and only on instructions to do so.
(d) carry in the Treasurer’s books as special accounts, funds donated to or acquired by the Association for specific purposes, and shall render itemized statements on these accounts.
(e) cause suitable records to be maintained of the assets, liabilities, funds, reserves and financial transactions of the Association.
(f) cause to be prepared forthwith after the end of the fiscal year of the Association a duly examined statement of the receipts and disbursements of the Provincial Office and a set of consolidated financial statements for the provincial office and all established branches. These statements shall be submitted to the Annual General Meeting, together with the Auditor or Examiner’s report.
(g) report to the Directors concerning the state of the Association’s finances at regular meetings of the Board and when required by the Officers, shall produce any books, accounts, records and documents.

Delegate formula

1. Voting members at Annual and General Meetings shall include the Officers, Directors, and Delegates elected by Branches as follows:
a) All active Branches may elect one delegate.
b) Delegates appointed by branches and registered at a meeting shall be accredited.

Special meetings

3. The order of business at Special Meetings of the Association shall be restricted to the business stated in the notice of the meeting.

Resolutions to Secretary

5. A copy of the Special Resolution shall be sent to the Secretary of the Association at least forty (40) days prior to the Annual or Extraordinary general meeting at which it is to be considered. The Association Secretary shall send a copy of the Special Resolution to the Resolutions and Bylaws Committee.

Late Resolutions

8. Any resolution not sent in by the forty (40) days requirement of 5 above shall be classed as a late resolution and dealt with as outlined in the Resolutions Protocol.

Nomination forms

1. Persons being nominated shall complete a nominations form as approved by the Directors. See below for nominations from the floor.2. The nominating committees report will be printed and circulated prior to the start of the meeting.

NOMINATIONS FORMS

The nomination form shall contain the nominees name and the name of the nominating member, along with a declaration signed by the nominee showing they are a qualified nominee, declaring a willingness to stand for nomination and agreeing to serve if elected. The nominating member shall sign the form showing they are a valid member.

1. The books and records of the Association may be inspected by a member at times and places convenient to, and in the presence of, the Treasurer or Secretary, as applicable.

2. On instruction from the Officers, the following records may be destroyed after five years from audit:
a) Receipt Books
b) Cancelled cheques
c) Cheque stubs
d) Deposit Slips
e) Receipts.

3. All correspondence, not of historical interest, may be destroyed after a period of three years.

Branch Regulations

1. (a) Each Branch shall have the power to MAKE REGULATIONS for its own guidance, such regulations being not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Association and subject to such rules for self-government of Branches as the Directors may approve.
(b) Branch Regulations shall be filed with the Provincial Secretary. They will be forwarded to the Resolutions and Bylaws Committee which will review them and advise the Branch if they are consistent with the Bylaws of the Association.

Signing Officers

3. Any Branch shall have at least two (2) Officers whose joint signatures shall be necessary on cheques or other financial papers.

Branch doesn’t speak for Association

5. No Branch shall negotiate with any Government or other body in such manner as to commit the Association, or to imply Association support of such action without obtaining approval from the Provincial Directors, of the action proposed.

Assets property of Association

7. Upon suspension or termination of any Branch, all books and assets of the Branch shall become the property of the Association, and may be disposed of at the discretion of the Directors.

Fiscal year

9. Each Branch shall end its financial year on the same date as adopted in the Association bylaws and submit a copy of its examined financial statements to the Association Treasurer within two months of that date.

Branch Formation

10. If it is determined that a new local Branch is desired or required, the BCGREA Table Officers, including the Membership Secretary, must be contacted for assistance.

To start a new Branch, the following steps must be followed:

1) A new Branch may be proposed by the BCGREA Table Officers if an area is identified where it appears there is a sufficient number of local members who are not able to attend meetings or activities of existing Branches within a reasonable commuting time.

2) Alternatively, a minimum of 5 members residing in a proposed geographical area for a new Branch can agree to serve as a Branch Organizing Committee and apply in writing to the BCGREA Table Officers to explore the viability of establishing a new Branch.

a)  Upon receiving an appropriate request to explore the establishment of a new Branch, the BCGREA Table Officers will appoint a mentor to provide guidance and assistance to the new Branch Organizing Committee.

b) The primary task of the Organizing Committee will be to determine if there is sufficient demonstrated support by potential members to ensure the ongoing viability of a new Branch in the proposed geographical area.

c) The members of the Organizing Committee must also be prepared to serve as the Founding Executive of the new Branch for a period of 2 years, after which time regular elections will take place.

3) When a new Branch is proposed, an analysis of the postal codes of existing members residing in the affected area(s) will be done to see if the numbers warrant proceeding further.

a) A minimum of 150 members must reside in the area proposed of any new Branch.

b) The proposed creation of any new Branch must not result in any neighbouring Branch being left with less than 150 members.

c) If the proposed membership numbers fall within the guidelines, it will be necessary to determine if the affected members are interested in participating in the activities of the proposed new Branch.

d) Member interest in participating in the activities of the proposed new Branch can be gauged by a variety of means, including member surveys, in-person meetings of the proposed members, or other method(s) determined by the Organizing Committee and/or BCGREA Table Officers.

4) Affected members will be contacted by email, letter (for members with no email contact), or other suitable method, advising of the proposal to establish a new Branch.  Applicable privacy policies and regulations will be followed any time that member contact information is used for this purpose.

5) When the Committee has evidence that a sufficient number of potential members are prepared to support the activities of the new Branch, any Branches that have members in the proposed geographical area shall be notified of the possible formation of a new Branch and encouraged to support the initiative.  Information on any proposal for a new Branch will also be communicated to the general membership through e-blast(s) and/or “The Pen”.

a) Members in the target area will be given the option of staying with the current Branch.

b) If a member does not opt to remain with they current Branch, they will automatically be assigned to the new Branch.

6) If fewer than 100 members are registered with the new Branch, it will not be established and the affected members will be informed and remain with their current Branch(es).

7) Expenses incurred through the formation process will be paid by the Provincial Treasurer.

8) When the requirements for the establishment for a new Branch have all been met, the Founding Executive will submit a budget to the Provincial Treasurer who, upon approval, will provide an advance to cover the term until the next dues allocation is made.

9) The new Branch will be formally recognized at the next AGM or Directors’ meeting.

Title

Title

Preamble

Whereas ….
And Whereas ….
And Whereas ….

Enactment

Therefore Be It Resolved that ….
And Be It Further Resolved that ….

Purpose

1. The Purpose of the Personal Information Protection Act is to govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by organizations in a manner that recognizes both the rights of individuals to protect their personal information and the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate under the circumstances.

Pension Corporation

4. Only Provincial is empowered to have direct dealings with the Pension Corporation. The Association will confirm with the Pension Corporation one or more individuals who are primary contacts with the Association for information sharing purposes, and will be the designated individual for the purpose of the Act.

Provincial designate

6. The provincial designate(s) shall be appointed annually. The Directors shall select one of their members to be the provincial Privacy Officer.

Website posting

8. The Association will post the name and contact information of each Privacy Officer on the Association’s web site.

Sharing information

10. The Association will explore with the Pension Corporation, opportunities for the Pension Corporation to obtain signed waivers from all retired public servants to facilitate member recruitment by the Association and subsequent sharing of member’s personal information for administrative purposes.

Pre-2000 waivers

12. In lieu of signed waiver forms, members who were on dues checkoff on or before the year 2000, were provided with a notice, in February, 2000, that it was necessary for the Association and the Superannuation Commission to share personal information to effect the dues checkoff procedure, and if this was contrary to the members wishes they should contact the Association or the Commission, in writing, using the contact information provided.

Information review requests

14. On written request of a member, by e-mail or letter, the Association shall provide, within 30 days, either an opportunity for the member to review their personal information in the membership roster, or to receive a copy of the member’s entire personal information record from the roster of either the branch or provincial office.

Association refusing to respond

16. Should the Association refuse to comply with a member’s request, in whole or in part, it must provide written reasons according to the provision(s) in PIPA; the name, title and contact information of an individual from the Association who can answer the member’s questions about the refusal, and the member may ask for a review under Section 47 of PIPA, within 30 days of receipt of the refusal.

18. On request of a member, the Association must promptly correct its records concerning personal information, and must notify any other organization with which it had shared the incorrect information.

Custody & security provision

20. The Association shall manage against the risk of unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, or modification of member’s personal information by making reasonable custody and security provisions, including but not limited to keeping the information on computer discs rather than on the computer and in a locked cabinet.

Audits of practice

22. Should the Commissioner charged with powers and duties under PIPA elect to audit the Association’s practices, the designated Association contacts shall cooperate fully, as required by the Act.