Parliamentary Society of Toronto (PST)
Our Objectives & Bylaws
Our Objectives
The objectives of the Parliamentary Society of Toronto are to promote:
The use of effective, democratic parliamentary practices, including the removal of unneeded complications, confusing ambiguities and archaic terminology from parliamentary usage;
Good meeting procedures and practices;
The preparation and use of parliamentary literature;
The teaching of parliamentary procedure;
The training of parliamentarians;
A wider use of parliamentarians; and
A representative, democratic organization.
Our Bylaws
PARLIAMENTARY SOCIETY OF TORONTO - CHAPTER 51 AIP
Founded October 28th, 1986
Bylaws
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLE I – NAME
ARTICLE II – LEGAL STATUS
ARTICLE III – OBJECT
ARTICLE IV – MEMBERS
ARTICLE V – OFFICERS
ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS
ARTICLE VII – THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
ARTICLE VIII – COMMITTEES
ARTICLE IX – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
ARTICLE X – AMENDMENT TO BYLAWS
ARTICLE XI – DISSOLUTION
ARTICLE I Name
The name of this Society shall be The Parliamentary Society of Toronto (known hereafter as the “Society”).
ARTICLE II Legal Status
This Society is an Unincorporated Association and shall be a local chapter of The American Institute of Parliamentarians (“AIP”).
ARTICLE III Object
1) The object of this Society shall be to promote:
a) The use of effective, democratic parliamentary practices, including the removal of unneeded complications, confusing ambiguities, and archaic terminology from parliamentary usage;
b) Good meeting procedures and practices;
c) The preparation and use of parliamentary literature;
d) The teaching of parliamentary procedure;
e) The training of parliamentarians;
f) A wider use of parliamentarians; and
2) Maintain a representative, democratic organization.
ARTICLE IV Members
Section 1. Any Member in good standing with the American Institute of Parliamentarians shall be eligible for membership in the Society upon submission to the Secretary an application for membership in a manner prescribed by the Society and, accompanied by payment of the annual dues for the first year. The Secretary shall report the name of a new Member at the next regular meeting following the successful application.
Section 2. The annual dues shall be set from time to time by the Society, payable in advance on or before April 30 of each year. Those whose dues are not paid by September 30 thereafter shall be automatically terminated from the membership of the Society unless the Executive Board grants an extension.
Section 3. The membership and fiscal year shall be April 1 to March 31.
Section 4: Membership in the Society will terminate immediately:
a) if the Member is no longer a Member of the AIP;
b) if the Member fails to meet the requirements of Section 2 of this Article;
c) upon the written (may be electronic) resignation of the Member;
d) upon the death of the Member; or
e) in accordance with the Expulsion Procedures as outlined in the Society’s parliamentary authority.
ARTICLE V Officers
Section 1. The Officers of the Society shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Director of Membership and Public Relations, and a Director of Programs. These Officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws, standing rules and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society.
Section 2. The Officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for one year or until their successors are elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the annual meeting at which they are elected.
Section 3. In the event that only one nomination is received for any Officer position, the nominee shall be elected by acclamation.
Section 4. No Member shall hold more than one office at time.
Section 5. A vacancy in a position of an Officer may be filled by the Board until the next annual meeting. No vacancy shall be filled in the period commencing thirty days prior to the annual general meeting. If an Officer is removed by the membership at a meeting the vacancy shall be filled by election at the next regular meeting.
ARTICLE VI Meetings
Section 1. The regular meeting of the Society shall be held on the first Tuesday of each month from September to May inclusive unless otherwise ordered by the Society or by the Executive Board.
Section 2. The regular meeting on the first Tuesday in April shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purposes of electing Officers, receiving reports of Officers and Committees, and for any other business that may arise.
Section 3. Special meetings can be called by the President or by the Executive Board and shall be called upon the written request of five Members of the Society. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call. Except in cases of emergency, at least three days’ notice shall be given.
Section 4. Five Members of the Society shall constitute a quorum.
Section 5: Subject only to Section 6 of this Article, any meeting of Members (whether of the Society, or of a Committee, or of the Executive Board) may be held by telephonic or electronic means that permit some or all members of the Society, Committee or Board (as the case may be) to participate remotely in the meeting, provided all participants are able to communicate adequately with each other during the meeting. A member who participates remotely in such a meeting is deemed to be present at the meeting. Any ballots that are required to be held during such meetings may be conducted by electronic means, provided secret balloting can be held by such means. The Executive Board shall be responsible for making the necessary technological arrangements to enable meetings to be held remotely in compliance with this Section.
Section 6: All formal communication with and between members may use any available technology and platform, as appropriate to effectively communicate with the members. This includes but is not limited to any combination of in-person, postal, telephone, electronic, Internet, and any emergent technology or platform, for purposes ranging from any meetings, notice, access, minutes, decisions, and surveys.
Section 7: Notwithstanding any other reference to telephonic or electronic meetings in these Bylaws, any meeting conducted under ARTICLE XI DISSOLUTION shall be an in-person meeting.
ARTICLE VII The Executive Board
Section 1. The Officers of the Society shall constitute the Executive Board.
Section 2. The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Society between its business meetings, fix the hour and place of meeting, make recommendations to the Society, and perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws, the standing rules, and the service protocol. The Board shall be subject to the orders of the Society, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Society.
Section 3. Meetings of the Executive Board can be called by the President and shall be called upon the written request of three Officers of the Board.
Section 4. Three Officers of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VIII Committees
Section 1. At the regular meeting held on the first Tuesday in February, a Nominating Committee of three Members of the Society who are not Officers of the Society shall be elected by the Society. It shall be the duty of this Committee to nominate candidates for the offices to be filled at the annual meeting in April. The Nominating Committee shall report at the regular meeting in March. Before the elections at the annual meeting in April, additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted.
Section 2. An Audit Committee of two Members, who are not Officers, shall be elected by the Society at the Society's March meeting. The Committee's duty shall be to audit the Treasurer’s accounts after the close of the fiscal year and to report at the September meeting.
Section 3. Such other Committees, standing or special, shall be appointed by the President, the Society or the Executive Board from time to time as deemed necessary to carry out the work of the Society. The President shall be ex officio a Member of all Committees except the Nominating Committee.
ARTICLE IX Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of ‘American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure’ shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Society may adopt, subject to the stipulation that any provision in the Parliamentary Authority that could be interpreted as depriving the Society of its fundamental right to assemble in order to deliberate, shall be null and void.
ARTICLE X Amendment of Bylaws
These bylaws can be amended at any regular meeting of the Society by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment had been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.
ARTICLE XI DISSOLUTION
Section 1. Voluntary Dissolution. The Society may disband by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the membership provided that a special meeting shall be called for that purpose; thirty (30) days written notice shall be given to all Society Members and to AIP headquarters; the notice shall state the purpose, date, and place of the special meeting; and Members living at a distance shall be allowed to vote by mail. If approved, the report of the vote to disband, the Society’s charter, the Society’s minutes book, and any funds shall be sent to headquarters within ten (10) days following the special meeting. The Society may vote to designate a specific AIP use for its funds or assets, subject to the approval of the AIP Board. Unless otherwise designated, the assets shall remain in the name of the Society for two (2) years before reverting to AIP's general use. Other Society records and materials may be sent to AIP headquarters.
Section 2. Involuntary Dissolution. Involuntary dissolution will take place in accordance with the bylaws of the American Institute of Parliamentarians.
Approved by the Society on October 28th, 1986, at its second meeting, and amended subsequently at various times. Last revised: January 5th, 2021.
Our Standing Rules
PARLIAMENTARY SOCIETY OF TORONTO - CHAPTER 51 AIP
Founded October 28th, 1986
Standing Rules
1. Parliamentary Service Protocol. Adopted April 6th, 2004 and revised on April 6th, 2010 and on January 5th, 2021.
2. The Treasurer will present a draft budget for the current fiscal year to the Members at the September meeting of the Society. Adopted October 1st, 2013.
3. The Parliamentary Society of Toronto’s annual dues are $20.00 except Members joining between January 1st and March 31st, the dues for that period of the year of joining shall be $10.00. Adopted May 5th, 2015. Revised April 3rd, 2018.
4. It is recommended that the Nominating Committee try to nominate different Members for positions where a Member had served for more than two years. Adopted December 6th, 2016 with clerical edits adopted January 5th, 2021.
5. Officers’ Roles and Responsibilities - Adopted December 6th, 2016.
a. President – Role described in AIP Standard Code
b. Vice-President – Role described in AIP Standard Code
i. Arrange for meeting room and equipment.
c. Secretary – Role described in AIP Standard Code
i. In co-operation with the Webmaster, update the Society’s website to reflect changes in Governing Documents and to add Agendas and Minutes of the meetings of the Society; and
ii. Co-sign all cheques with the Treasurer.
d. Treasurer – Role described in AIP Standard Code and elsewhere in the Bylaws and Standing Rules of this Society.
e. Director of Programs
i. Create and organize educational elements of the Society;
ii. Collect volunteers or assign Members to deliver various educational elements to the Society;
iii. Form Program Committee if required;
iv. A program report for year shall be submitted to the Society by the Director of Programs for its approval at its regular meeting in September; and
v. Assist Secretary with the creation of the agenda.
f. Director of Membership and Public Relations
i. Shall develop and implement a program or programs for the recruitment and retention of Members;
ii. May establish a Committee to assist them in carrying out these duties; and
iii. In the absence of the Treasurer the Director of Membership and Public Relations may accept annual dues from Members, issue a receipt to the Member, and transfer the dues to the Treasurer in a timely manner; and
iv. In cooperation with the Webmaster, maintain aspects of the Society’s website and the Society’s presence on social media.
6. Friends of the Society – The Executive Board may recommend, in recognition of meritorious service to the Parliamentary Society of Toronto (“PST”), in recognition of a significant contribution to the role of Parliamentarian, or to honour or accommodate a Member, that the PST designate a person as a Friend of the Society. The PST will send draft minutes and notices/draft agendas of meetings to Friends of the Society by e-mail. Friends of the Society may attend meetings of the PST as guests.
7. The Executive Board may appoint a person to manage elements of the Society’s Website and Social Media platforms. Referred to as a Webmaster, this role may be assigned to a person on the Executive, or it may be assigned to another Member of the Society, or to a non-Member.
Adopted April 3rd, 2018, and revised January 5th, 2021.
Parliamentary Service Protocol
PARLIAMENTARY SOCIETY OF TORONTO - CHAPTER 51 AIP
Founded October 28th, 1986
Schedule A: Parliamentary Service Protocol
Purpose
To ensure that:
• The Parliamentary Society of Toronto provides quality service to the public and to organizations requiring parliamentary services;
• Every Qualified Member of the Parliamentary Society of Toronto (the Society) has an equal opportunity to be considered for requests to the Society for a Parliamentarian; and
• Responses to requests are done in a timely fashion.
Application
The protocol applies to all Members of the Parliamentary Society of Toronto.
Definitions
A Qualified Member is:
• A Member holding an accreditation designation from the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP) and/or the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP); or
• Any Member can be deemed qualified by the Executive Board on review of their resume.
Note: The Executive Board has the right to take any Member off the qualified list.
Requirements and Responsibilities
• The Secretary of the Society will coordinate all requests for a Parliamentarian that comes to him/her.
• At the request of a Qualified Member the Secretary will post, on the Society’s web page “Able to Give Assistance to Individuals and Organizations”, their name, accreditation and email address.
• The Secretary, on receipt of a request for a Parliamentarian, will ascertain the contact information, identity of the organization; nature, date, time and location of the assignment.
• The Secretary will immediately, on receipt of the necessary information about the assignment, inform the Qualified Members by email who must then indicate their interest within 72 hours. Interested Qualified Members may elect to submit information (i.e. resume, web details, contact information) to the Secretary to be shared with the requesting party.
• The Secretary, within 7 days of receipt of the request and necessary information, will then forward all submitted information of interested Qualified Members to the requesting party requesting that they directly contact the Qualified Member(s) they are interested in.
• The Secretary will only provide information contained in the resumes and will not make any recommendations.
• Qualified Members are required to negotiate their remuneration directly with the requesting party.
Adopted as a Standing Rule of the Society on April 6th, 2004, and revised on April 6th, 2010 and on January 5th, 2021.