The Meeting

There was a quorum at our All Members Meeting held on April 15th and so we proceeded to vote on a new by-law - The Financial Solvency By-law. In my posting entitled A Silver Lining, March 21, 2009, I expressed the following:

. . . it is essential that co-op Members be treated with respect by the outside management team. Member concerns must be addressed, letters or emails answered and phone calls returned. I emphasize this point, because to do otherwise is abusive. The general membership must also receive reports by the outside management team on a regular basis.

I expressed this point again. Another member at the meeting also stipulated that the membership must receive regular reports in order to be transparent. The Financial Solvency By-law was passed and we then proceeded to vote for two members of the co-op to sit on the new Board of Directors. In addition, two outside Board members were introduced to the membership. A third outside Board member was not present at the meeting. All three Directors work within the co-op sector.

Our By-laws have been suspended for three (3) years. However, the Co-operative Corporations Act still applies, as do all provincial and municipal by-laws.

Apparently there is one other co-op in our city and about a dozen co-ops in Ontario undergoing the same transition. Hopefully, we will now move forward.