Constitution
The Name of the Society
The Society shall be known as The Ontario Society For Chinese Education, hereafter referred to as“ the Society ”
Headquarters
The headquarters of the Society shall be located in the City of North York, in the
Province of Ontario, Canada. The Society may establish other offices and agencies
in Canada or elsewhere as the Board of Directors may determine.
Mission and Objective
(a). The mission of the Society is to consolidate the efforts among education
personnel and schools to promote Chinese education in Canada, to continually
upgrade Chinese education standards and to facilitate the exchange of teaching
ideas and experiences.
(b). The Society aims to assist Canadians to maintain, acquire and cultivate the
Chinese language and culture, so that they can actively contribute to Canada's
multiculturalism.
(c). The Society shall be a non-profit, academic, charitable organization, dedicated
to the service of the community.
Membership
Membership in the Society in the following classifications shall be subject to the
qualifications Indicated and payment of prescribed fee: Membership of the Society
is divided into three categories:
1. Regular Membership applies to any person who is presently engaged in or
actively involved in Chinese education in Canada, and supports the purpose and
objectives of the Society.
2. Group memberships may be granted to schools, classes or academic
organizations, but not individuals. Group membership may apply to the
following:
2:1 Any Chinese school whose mission is to teach the traditional Chinese
language and culture. At the time of application for membership, the school
must have been established for at least one year in Canada, and is
autonomous in administration.
2:1(1) An independent administration is one where a Board of Directors or an
equivalent organization has been formed in accordance with approved
constitution, and can exercise or enjoy the following rights and
privileges:
(i) Employment and dismissal of teaching staff;
(ii) Design and implementation of Chinese education programs;
(iii) Financial autonomy in its day-to-day operations.
2:2 An agglomeration of Chinese classes bearing the characteristics as detailed in
Section 1:2 and 1:2:1, except for autonomy in administration, may apply for
group membership if they possess the following elements:
(i) A combination of seven or more classes under the same program
coordination and has formed a Chinese education system. (Note: A class
shall consist of at least one teacher with ten or more pupils.)
(ii) An organization similar to that of a Board of Directors with the authority
to create a constitution, sign written agreements with the local Board of
Education on educational matters;
2:3 Any registered Ontario-registered Chinese academic and cultural
organization, which it has been established for at least one year and is
administratively autonomous.
3. Honorary membership may be extended to any individual or organization who
has been recognized by the Board of Directors as having made an outstanding
contribution towards promoting Chinese education in Canada.
Having met membership requirements and deemed by the Board of Directors the
Society as qualified, one may become a general member, a group member or an
honorary member.
In the case of group membership, once the membership application has been
approved, the group member must officially notify the Society, in writing, of any
changes of representatives, within two months of the changes .
Privileges and Obligations of Members
All member of the Society shall enjoy the freedom of speech, the right to participate
in elections, and all privileges and services provided by the Society.
All members of the Society are expected to actively support and assist the Society in
the pursuit of its mission, observe the constitution, abide by all the resolutions, take
up any post upon election or appointed by the Society and pay the designated
membership fee.
Membership shall be withdrawn should a member be found by the Board of
Directors to have violated the Constitution, jeopardized the reputation of the Society
or been involved in criminal offence. Once the Board of Directors has passed the
resolution, the member shall be advised in writing of the suspension or even
permanently expelled from the Society.
Officers
The elected officers of the Society shall be a President and two Vice-Presidents, a
Secretary for correspondence in Chinese and a Secretary for correspondence in
English, a Treasurer, and seven to eleven Directors.
The President and Vice-Presidents shall serve for two years. They shall be jointly
responsible to carryout the daily operation of the Society and its Programs. The
Directors shall serve for two years. The Secretary and Treasurer shall serve for two
years.
Election of officers
1. The Board of Directors shall appoint a Nominating Committee, which will select a
slate of two nominees for each office to be vacated at the end of the current term,
except for the office of President. The Secretary shall submit by mail the slate of
nominees proposed by the Committee for each office to be vacated at the end of
the current term to all members no later than May1st Each nominee must agree to
have his/her name placed on the slate before it is mailed to the membership. After
the slate has been examined by the membership, further nominations may be
made by members with the usual conditions of two signatures and the written
acceptance of the nominee. All formal nominations must be in the hands of the
Convener of the committee not later than May 31st.
2. The ballot bearing the names of the nominees for all positions to be vacated at the
end of the current term shall be mailed to each member in good standing not later
thanAug.16th . Ballots shall be returned to the Secretary. The closing date for
receipt of ballots shall be no later than Aug. 31st.
3. The elected officers along with the appointed directors shall take office at the end
of the Annual Meeting.
4. An office of the Board of Directors shall be automatically vacated:
(a) if the officer delivers a written resignation to the Secretary.
(b) if he/she ceases to be eligible as a member in good standing.
5. The President may fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors by appointment of an
eligible member (Article V, Section 5) in good standing to serve until the next
annual meeting, when the office shall be filled by election.
6. If the office of the President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall fill that
position until the end of the next annual meeting. If both the above positions are
vacant at the same time, the Board of Directors shall appoint a Director to act as
President for the balance of the year.
Directors and Standing Committees
Directors:
1. The President shall serve a term of two years. If re-elected, the term shall be
extended for another two years. The President shall take charge of the general
business of the Society. Externally, he/she represents the Society, assumes the
responsibilities of contacting and corresponding with the federal, provincial and
municipal government, educational institutions, schools and related
organizations
2. The Vice-Presidents shall assist the President in operating the business of the
Society. In the absence of the President, the Vice-Chairpersons shall act on
his/her behalf. One Vice-President shall be responsible for educational affairs and
the other shall be responsible for general affairs.
3. The two Secretaries, one for Chinese communication and one for English
communication, shall be responsible for writing, organizing, receiving,
despatching, and safe-keeping of all internal and external documents.
4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial matters of the Society,
including the preparation of monthly balance statements and an annual financial
report to be presented at the Annual General Meeting.
5. The General Affairs Officer shall be responsible for the purchase and custody of
all the materials necessary for the day-to-day operation of the Society.
6. The two Directors of Public Relations shall be responsible for fundraising and
promoting the Society and its works in public.
Standing Committees:
1. The Board of Directors shall set up the following standing committees, each
headed by a director, with recruits from among the members.
(a). Membership Committee – to be responsible for evaluating membership
qualifications and reaching out to all the individual members, Chinese schools
and academic organizations with a view to achieving closer ties with them.
(b). Education Committee - to assist in the following ventures:
a): host teacher training sessions
b): carry out research and improve teaching aids/materials
c): promote excellence in teaching
d): assist in lobbying for the recognition of Chinese teachers' qualifications
e): take an active interest in policy-making by the local Board of Education,
especially with regard to Chinese education and program advisory
work.
(c). Publications Committee - to collect and compile information on the members
and their works for publications.
(d). Special Projects Committee - to be responsible for planning and conducting
designated special projects.
2. All projects undertaken by the Society, except the duties and charges mentioned
in Articles "Election of officers"and "Directors and Standing Committees",
shall be discussed and resolved by the Board of Directors’ at a meeting prior to
assigning them to the groups concerned for implementation.
3. All committees shall report to the Board of Directors to keep them informed of
the preparation and progress of their various assignments.
Meetings
l . The Annual Meeting of the Society, unless it is otherwise agreed, shall be held at
a time and place to be determined not less than three months in advance by the
Board of Directors.
2. Special general meetings may be held at the discretion of the Board of Directors,
or on written request signed by not less than 11 members in good standing.
Written notice stating the purpose of such a meeting shall be given to all members
of the Society at least 15 days in advance.
3. At all meetings of the Society, every question shall be determined by a majority
of votes unless it involves Constitutional changes (see Article IX), or unless
otherwise specifically provided for by Board of Directors resolution.
4. The Board of Directors shall meet at least once between the time of the Annual
Meeting and the close of the fiscal period.
Quorum
l . At any meeting of the Board of Directors, a simple majority of the voting
members of that Committee shall constitute a quorum.
2. At any general meeting of the Society, twenty members in good standing shall
constitute a quorum.
3. In conducting elections or transacting other business of the Society by letter
ballot, the ballots returned shall constitute a quorum, unless otherwise designated
in the constitution or by Board of Directors resolution.
Financial Affairs
1. The financial resources of the Society shall include the following:
(a): Membership fees (Annual membership fee shall be determined by the Board
of Directors)
(b): Government subsidies
(c): Donations
2. Fiscal period:
The fiscal period of the Society shall be the twelve-month period commencing
September lst and ending August 31.
Amendments
l. The Constitution of the Society may be repealed or amended by a two-thirds
majority vote of the ballots returned (in the case of a letter ballot), or of the voting
members present at the Annual Meeting (in the case of voting at this time,
provided that a notice of motion has been mailed to the membership at least
fifteen days prior to the Annual Meeting). All proposed amendments must be
signed by five members in good standing and duly submitted to the Secretary.
Endorsed amendments become effective at the end of the Annual Meeting.
2. Bylaws of the Society may be enacted, repealed or amended at any Annual
Meeting by a majority vote of the voting members present, such changes to be
immediately effective.
3.(a) Members are urged to provide a prior notice of motion when contemplating
motions that are of major importance to the Society, or which may implicate
the Society in a major way. Otherwise, the Chairman, with the approval of the
majority of voting members participating, may request the tabling for further
consideration of motions of this nature that are made from the floor at the
Annual Meeting.
(b) A notice of motion will be required on matters of major importance to the
Society in order for them to be dealt with at the Annual Meeting.
Bylaws
Registered Nonprfit Canadian Charitable Society? The Society will be a Canadian Charitable Society; Donations to the Society may be claimed as Charitable Donations for income Tax purposes pending approval by CCRA.
l. The-Society shall be carried on without purpose of gain for its members, and any
profits or other accretions to the Society shall be used in promoting it objectives. 2. In the event of dissolution or winding-up of the Society, all it's remaining assets,
after payment of liabilities, shall be distributed to one or more recognized
charitable organization in Canada, or to a Canadian municipality.
Dues
l. The annual dues for the different classes of membership shall be as determined
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors and approved by an
Annual Meeting of the Society.
2. Dues shall be due and payable on the first day of each fiscal year in each year
Non-payment of dues on the last day of March shall constitute delinquency and
the member shall be deemed not in good standing and shall not be entitled to
vote. If dues in full are not paid by the last day of the fiscal period of the Society,
upon due notice having been given by prepaid mail to his/her last known address,
the member in arrears shall be struck off the rolls of the Society. Application for
reinstatement to membership may be accepted by the Treasurer provided it is
accompanied by all unpaid dues.
3. A statement of dues shall be mailed to all members each year.
4. Any member may withdraw from the Society by written resignation delivered to
the Treasurer but without refund of dues. Unless such resignation is received,
he/she shall be considered liable for unpaid dues.
Duties of officers
l. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Society, and shall preside
at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Directors, other than Standing
Committees, that are judged necessary in the interests of the Society. He/she
shares, with other members of the Board of Directors, a responsibility for actively
promoting the Society, and for bringing matters of concern to the attention of the
Society.
2. The President shall carry out the duties assigned by the Board of Directors. The
Vice-presidents shall act, as the President in the latter's absence, or assist the
President in his/her functions at other times.
3. The Secretary shall record and maintain minutes of the annual Meeting and of all
meetings of the Board of Directors, maintain a list of members of the Society, and
perform duties as the Board of Directors shall determine.
4. The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds and other assets of the Society make
all disbursements of funds receive fees and other monies payable to the Society,
keep accurate records of receipts and expenditures, and prepare and present to
each Annual Meeting a statement of receipts and expenditures and of other assets
and liabilities, duly audited.
Appointments by the president and the executive commitiee
At the end of each Annual Meeting of the Society, the newly elected Executive shall meet. The President shall appoint, by Board of Directors resolution, various Standing and other committees to serve for one-year terms, unless the term is otherwise stated in the Bylaws.
Standing Committees:
(a) Nominating Committee - The Nominating Committee shall consist of three
members in good standing, and the Past-President as an ex-officio member. One
of the members shall serve as Convener, and Committee membership shall
rotate, so that each year the Convener is retired and a new member is appointed
for a three-year term during the last year of which he/she shall be Convener. The
Nominating Committee will perform its responsibilities in accordance with
Section VI of the Constitution.
(b) Election Committee - The Election Committee shall consist of not fewer than two
members in good standing, one of which shall be designated as Convener. The
Election Committee shall serve as scrutinizers and be responsible for counting of
the ballots. A signed report of the Committee shall be prepared by the Convener
and presented at the Annual Meeting.
(c) Executive Finance Committee - The Executive Finance Committee shall consist
of the President, Treasurer and Secretary.
(d) Other such committees as are deemed necessary.
Auditor
The Auditors to audit the accounts of the Society for the next Annual Meeting will be nominated from the floor by the membership at the Annual Meeting.
Rules and regulations
The Board of Directors may by resolution prescribe such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this Constitution and these Bylaws, relating to the management and operation of the Society as are considered necessary. Such rules and regulations shall have force and effect only until the next Annual Meeting, when they shall be confirmed, or shall from that time cease to have force and effect.
