Minutes of the Board of Directors' Special Meeting - November 16, 2023 – Virtual Meeting

1. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 40-1 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 2:02 pm EST.

2. Land acknowledgement

• P.-C. Bérubé presented a land acknowledgement as a small act of reconciliation with Indigenous people of the Montreal region from where he was participating.

3. Board meeting agenda

Document 3A: Agenda

• 40-2 Motion presented and seconded, and carried by all that the Board approves the agenda.

4. Governance Policy: Removal of Section 7.3.2

Document 5A: Briefing note

• 40-3 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approves the removal of section 7.3.2 from the Governance policy.

5. Current state update and contingency plan

Document 4A: Contingency plan

• Proposal to discontinue the contingency plan that was implemented following the September 2023 Board meeting. Board membership is now returned to higher numbers. Ms. Reid suggested that the contingency plan could be looked at for learning for future use as applicable.
• 40-4 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board discontinue all work on the contingency plan and its implementation.

6. Standing committees membership renewal

• The Board members thanked Mary Reid for taking on the leadership during the Board of Directors transition period.
• 40-5 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board reappoint Directors to Standing Committees as follows:
  • External Affairs Committee: Bill Adair (Chair); Brad McCannell; and Kory Earle.
  • Internal Affairs Committee: Dr. J. McLaughlin (Chair); Laurie Ringaert; Maureen Haan and Mary Reid.

7. Resuming of the two Standing Committees

• 40-6 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to resume the activities of the two Standing Committees due to return to higher Board membership.
• Action: Board requested that the two Standing Committees be briefed by the public officers and Vice-Chairperson on activities done while they were away.

8. Indigenous awareness and Board effectiveness training: Statements of work and contractors

Document 8A: Briefing note and Statement of work

• The proposed Statements of work for both training sessions were provided to Board members. A list of potential contractors was also presented.
• Update and suggestions for dates of the training sessions as well as the locations will be presented at the March 2024 Board meeting. Based on the Board composition and the GIC appointments, timing of trainings will need to be flexible.
• The Board mentioned that, if possible, they would like additional suggestions for potential contractors for the Board effectiveness training.
• Board agreed to include a link to the organization’s values stated on its website in the Statement of work for Indigenous awareness training. They also agreed that the chosen contractor should be familiar with Accessibility Standards Canada’s 3-year Strategic plan and its themes/strategic pillars. The Board stressed the importance of having an Indigenous-led contractor.
• The Board members also recommended multiple changes to the required skills and requirements.
• Action: Ms. Ringaert and Ms. Reid will forward a copy of their recommended changes to the Corporate Secretariat. The Corporate Secretariat will make the changes and send it for final review to Ms. Ringaert and Ms. Reid. The Corporate Secretariat team will then continue the process with the Procurement team.

A) Indigenous awareness training – Statement of work:

• 40-7 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approves the Statement of work for Indigenous awareness training with the proposed modifications. The Statement of work will also reflect principles outlined in the Accessibility policy.

B) Board effectiveness training – Statement of work:

• 40-8 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approves the Statement of work for the Board effectiveness training, with modifications. The Statement of work will also reflect principles outlined in the Accessibility policy.

9. Orientation handbook for new Board members

Document 9A: Orientation handbook

• The Corporate Secretariat presented to the Board the new Orientation handbook for information. The handbook includes the content that was recommended by the Internal Affairs Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at the May 2023 Board meeting. The handbook will be available on the digital e-binder by December 2023.

10. Concluding remarks

• The Chairperson thanked all Board members. D. Zuppa will be acting CEO during the CEO’s absence for next week. The Chairperson will be away on vacation. The Vice-Chairperson will be Acting Chairperson during this period.

11. Adjournment

• 40-9 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:39 p.m. EST.