G21-C005 Hold General Meetings Annually with a Guaranteed Virtual Attendance Option

Submitter Name

Sarah Gabrielle Baron and Constantine Kritsonis

Ratification Vote results: Adopted

Proposal

Change Article 8 to read:

A General Meeting shall be virtual or a hybrid of in-person and virtual. All General Meetings will allow for online attendance, online participation and online voting.

Replace Article 8.2 with the following:

A quorum shall be two hundred (200) Members present at a General Meeting who are in good standing, representing at least two regions, as defined in the Bylaws.

Change Article 8.3 to read:

General Meetings shall be held at least once per calendar year. General Meetings shall occur within three-hundred and sixty-five (365) days of the previous General Meeting.

Change Bylaw 4.1 to read:

Calling of General Meetings:

Change Bylaw 4.1.1 to read:

The General Meeting of Members may be called by the Federal Council by majority vote. Federal Council may establish the location and the date of the meeting.

Change Bylaw 4.2.1 to read:

General Meetings may also be called by:

Change Bylaw 4.2.1.2 to read:

Federal Council by a majority vote of Council members voting.

Replace Bylaw 4.4.1 with the following:

Votes cast by internet means shall be counted in real time. Votes shall be conducted by a process where the authenticity of the vote can be verified.

Objective

To enable a virtual attendance option at General Meetings. This enables participation by Members who would otherwise not be able to attend. To increase the frequency of General Meetings to a minimum of one per year. 

Benefits

Strengthens participatory democracy within the GPC by enabling more Members to participate in Party decisions. As Greens, we strive to make participation affordable, accessible, and carbon neutral.

Supporting Comments from Submitter

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to place limits on in person gatherings, virtual general meetings in large organizations are becoming more common. For example, several Canadian credit unions and banks have geared up for holding virtual Annual General Meetings.

The Green Party of Canada has previously held an online special General Meeting successfully (OSGM 2016).

The tradition of holding biennial general meetings or conventions is shared by most Canadian political parties. The driver for this limited frequency has to do with the logistics and cost of holding these conventions, which historically have been held in person. However, other national Green parties (for example, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand) conduct virtual Annual General Meetings.

As Greens, we strive to make participation affordable, accessible and carbon neutral.

Green Value(s)

Participatory Democracy

Relation to Existing Policy

This proposal would rescind, replace, and/or amend sections of Article 8 and Bylaw 4.