A. Constitution
1. The name of the Society shall be the Yukon Council of Archives.
2. The operations of the Society are to be carried on throughout the territory;
3. The objectives of the Society are:
a) to provide a network for archival cooperation throughout the territory and chiefly in Whitehorse;
b) to promote the development, coordination, and implementation of projects of mutual interests;
c) to represent the territorial archives community in a national archival network
d) to promote archival preservation and conservation of Yukon historical documentary sources and, as required, to make representation to government and other agencies to promote this preservation;
e) to assess and report on the needs of the territorial archival community to territorial, federal, private funding agencies, and policy making agencies, and to make representation to these agencies for funding to fulfill these needs;
f) to establish and promote adequate standards, procedures and practices among archival repositories in the territory;
g) to promote public understanding and use of archives,
h) to coordinate and facilitate professional development and archival educational opportunities;
BUT
i) Not for the purpose of carrying on any trade, industry or business.
B. By-laws
1. Membership
The association will consist of institutional members, individual members, and general members as defined below:
a) Institutional membership shall be accorded to those institutions that conform to the definition of an archives as defined below:
An archives is a permanent establishment dedicated to:
-appraising, selecting and acquiring the archival records of its rsponsoring institution (normally its primary goal) and/or the archival rrecords of corporate bodies, organizations or individuals relevant to its sponsoring institution or to a defined community or thematic interest;
-preserving the archival records to accepted conservation principles;
-arranging and describing the archival records according to accepted archival principles,
-making the archival records available for continuing use under defined conditions by the sponsoring institution and by the public.
Institutional members shall pay the annual association fee and they shall designate only one representative to vote at all meetings and to be eligible to hold office in the Association.
b) Individual membership shall be accorded to any person who supports the objectives of the association, who is engaged in or interested in archival work, and who has paid the annual membership fee of the association. Individual members in good standing have the right to vote during meetings (provided they are not voting as an Institutional representative) and may hold office in the association.
c) General membership shall be accorded to those institutions that support the constitution of the association, are engaged in or interested in archival work, have paid the annual membership fee of the association but do not qualify for institutional membership. A general member in good standing shall designate only one person to vote at all meetings and to be eligible to hold office in the association.
2. The rights of the members are:
a) to attend general meetings
b) to cast one vote on each of the matters discussed before the council
c) to view all Society financial records, books, correspondence, etc.
3. Obligations of members:
a) to attend general meetings in person or by proxy
b) to pay membership fees
c) to abide by all rules and regulations of the Society
4. Conditions under which membership ceases:
a) Any member may terminate connection with the Council by sending a resignation to the Treasurer, and the Treasurer shall remove that member's name from the membership roll, but no portion of any prepaid membership fee shall be refunded to the member resigning.
b) Any member whose fees are in arrears for 3 months after the beginning of the current membership year shall forfeit that member's good standing, and if at the end of the current membership year the fees remain unpaid, that member's name shall be removed from the membership roll.
c) Any member may be expelled by a special resolution passed at a general meeting. The notice of special resolution for expulsion shall include the reasons for the proposed expulsion and the subject of the proposed expulsion shall be given an opportunity to be heard at the general meeting before the special resolution is put to a vote.
5. Manner in which disputes between members are to be resolved:
Disputes will be settled in accordance with the Arbitration Act.
6. Annual General Meeting (90 days after fiscal year end)
a) The Council will convene at least once a year within 90 days of the fiscal year end. The specific date of the Annual General Meeting shall be determined by the executive. Outgoing President shall present an annual report on the activities and programmes of the Association at the Annual General Meeting. Outgoing Treasurer shall present a report including an audited statement of Association's finances at the Annual General Meeting.
7. Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the council shall begin on April 1 and end on March 31.
8. Notice required for calling general and special meetings:
a) General or Special meetings other than the Annual General Meeting may be called at the discretion of the executive and on the requisition of one-quarter or more of the voting members of the Council.
b) At least 10 working days notice of any General meeting specifying the date, hour and place of the meeting, and the nature of special business, shall be given to members, but the non-receipt of such notice by any members shall not invalidate the proceedings of any General meeting.
c) Where a general meeting will call on members to endorse a special resolution, at least 21 days notice specifying the nature of the special resolution shall be given to members.
9. Quorum Requirements:
a) the presence in person, or by proxy, of at least one-quarter of the members in good standing shall be necessary to constitute a quorum at any General Meeting.
b) should a quorum not be achieved, the meeting shall be re-scheduled to the earliest possible date.
10. Voting rights of members:
a) Each member shall be entitled to one vote.
b) Votes are conducted by a show of hands except election of officers which will take place by secret ballot.
c) All votes on the election of officers and on resolutions shall be decided by a simple majority except as otherwise provided for in the Constitution and By-laws of the Council. In the event of a tie, the Chair-person shall have a deciding vote.
d) All votes on special resolutions shall be decided by a majority of not less than 75% of members voting at a general meeting.
11. Proxy voting
a) Proxy voting will be permitted when authorized in writing by the member unable to attend and such written authorization must be presented to the secretary at the time of the vote. Proxies shall only apply to votes conducted at one meeting, which must be specified in the written authorization. Each member present at a vote may cast not more than three proxy votes on behalf of absent members.
12. Appointment of directors and officers
a) The affairs of the Council shall be carried out by an Executive Committee consisting of an:
I. President
II. Vice-President
III. Secretary-Treasurer
b) All officers and directors shall be elected from the Council's membership at the Annual General Meeting of the Council.
c) The term of the officers and directors shall be for two years. No member of the Executive shall hold the same office for more than two consecutive terms. This shall not preclude that member from holding another executive position for up to two terms. Nomination is by 2 members. Candidates must provide verbal or written consent to stand for election. Election is by majority by secret ballot.
13. Duties of officers and directors:
a) The President shall have executive supervision over the activities of the Council and the Executive Committee. The President shall preside over the meetings of the Council.
b) The Vice-President shall discharge the duties of the President in the President's absence.
c) The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee, shall maintain a list of the members, shall be the custodian of all current records, and shall engage in correspondence in the name of the organization at the direction of the Executive. The Secretary/Treasurer also shall be responsible for the proper keeping of the books of account of the Council. The Treasurer shall receive all monies accruing to the council, and shall deposit the same with a Chartered Canadian bank or Credit Union or trust company in the name of the council. Monies shall be paid out by numbered cheques signed by the Treasurer and one other member of the Executive Committee.
d) A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of the executive officers.
e) The Executive committee shall fill by appointment any vacancy in its membership which occurs between Annual General Meetings.
f) The newly elected Executive Committee shall assume office immediately after the Annual General Meeting and shall serve until the termination of the subsequent Annual General Meeting.
g) The Executive Committee shall appoint an archivist to be responsible for the non-current records of the Council, the Executive Committee, and all other committees and officials. The Archivist shall arrange these records and deposit them with the Yukon Archives.
h) The Executive shall meet as often as is practical on all matters affecting the policy and interests of the Council, shall call and report to the Annual General Meetings, and shall be responsible for the appointment of officials and committees to carry on the work of the Council.
i) No officer or director shall be remunerated for being or acting as an officer or director.
14. Standing Committees
a) The Yukon Council of Archives shall maintain a standing committee called the Grants Committee.
b) The Grants Committee will be comprised of at least 3 and no more than 5 institutional members and 7 member-at-large and these members will be selected at each Annual General Meeting.
c) The Grants Committee will adjudicate all Canadian Council of Archives/National Archives of Canada applications for funding and make recommendations to the Canadian Council of Archives Secretariat.
d) The Grants Committee will choose a YCA member to attend national meetings.
15. Any officer of the council shall be deemed to have vacated office:
a) if that officer is concerned in or participates in the profits of any contract with the council, provided that the officer shall not be required to vacate office by reason of being a shareholder or member of any corporation that has entered into contact with the Council, but that officer shall not vote in respect of such contractor work;
b) if that officer fails to attend three consecutive duly constituted General Meetings of the Council;
c) if that member is expelled by the Society.
16. The society will not have custody and use of a seal.
17. The Council shall exercise such borrowing power as may from time to time be approved by a majority vote of the institutional members in good standing. No debenture shall be issued without the sanction of a special resolution.
18. Financial Statement
a) The Executive committee shall in each year appoint an auditor of the Society who shall be the auditor of the Society until such a time as he is replaced or his appointment is otherwise terminated.
b) The auditor shall prepare financial statements that must be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and be approved by the directors and be signed by at least two directors.
c) Financial statements for the most recently completed fiscal year shall be presented to the members of the society at the annual general meeting.
d) Financial statements shall be filed in duplicate with the Registrar of Corporations within 30 days after the annual general meeting. The financial statements filed with the Registrar of Corporations shall be signed by the auditor.
19. The By-laws of the association shall not be amended or added to except by special resolution endorsed by at least three quarters (3/4) of the members present in person or by proxy at an annual or special general meeting.
20. Records
a) the preparation and custody of minutes of proceedings of the Council and of the executive and other books and records of the Council, shall be the responsibility of the Executive of the Council, and the outgoing Secretary shall convey all records to the incoming Secretary.
b) Any member may inspect the books and records of the Council, provided that at least three working days notice of intention to inspect the books and records is given the Secretary. The Secretary shall make the books and records available to the inquiring member at a mutually convenient time and place.
c) The books and records of the Council shall be administered according to the retention and disposal schedules approved by the Executive.
d) The Yukon Archives is the official repository of the Council's archival records.
21. Dissolution Clause
Upon dissolution or winding up of the Association any funds and assets of the Association remaining after satisfaction of its debts and liabilities shall be distributed to non-profit organizations in the area whose objectives most closely resemble those of the association, as determined by its members at the time of dissolution.
A. Notice of Registered Office
Yukon Council of Archives
Box 31089
Whitehorse, Yukon
Y1A 5P7