ACP Council has approved a proposed amendment to its bylaws to remediate a potential conflict in sections 23 and 24 of the bylaws.
The amendment was approved by Council via teleconference on April 12, 2018, after considering feedback gathered during a consultation with registrants which closed on April 6, 2018. Ninety-four per cent of registrants who provided feedback were in favour of the amendment as proposed. The amended bylaw below takes effect immediately.
Background
Section 23(4) of the bylaws limits an elected member to serve two consecutive three-year terms (total of six years) as a voting member of Council. Where an elected member is serving as president-elect of Council, section 24(1) allows for his/her term to be extended to a fourth year to accommodate succession and their role as president.
If the term of the president-elect was extended for this reason, section 24(2) required that the deferred election be held the year following, however that the successful candidate will only be elected for a two-year term, to fulfill the residual of the second third-year term of the president that was affected by the extension granted under 24(1).
Section 24(3) addresses such circumstances in districts 3 and 5 when two positions are being contested. Section 24(3)(c) states that “the nominee receiving the second highest number of votes in the election in that district must be declared elected for the position with the shortened term.”
Potential Conflict – should the president be seeking re-election for a second term and receive the highest number of ballots, section 24(3) would install them for a second three-year term; however, they would have already served four years, and section 23(4), limits them to serving six consecutive years as an elected member on council.
The approved amendment to the bylaw below resolves this potential conflict.
Amendment details
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Previous ACP Bylaw |
Commentary |
Approved Amended Version |
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24(3) If Subsections (1) and (2) affect an election in District 3 or 5 and as a result two Council positions are open for election in either of those districts in a year: (a) the Registrar must declare when he calls for nominations that one of the positions is for a shortened term; (b) each voting member in that district will be entitled to cast two votes in that election, but cannot cast more than one vote for any nominee; and (c) the nominee receiving the second highest number of votes in the election in that district must be declared elected for the position with the shortened term. |
Council positions in Districts 3 and 5 are usually elected in different years to stagger election of the positions Section 24(3) of the bylaws was designed to deal with the potential that there may be two elections in one year in Council Districts 3 or 5. It protects the stagger by providing for one shortened term and one standard three-year term. The previous bylaw presented an anomaly where the term of the president is extended for one year under s24(1). If the president seeks re-election and secures the most votes, the previous bylaw indicated that he or she would serve a three-year term and the person who secures the second most votes would serve a two-year term. This would conflict with limitations prescribed in s23(4) of the bylaws, and would result in candidates in Districts 3 and 5 being treated differently than those residing in Council Districts 1, 2, 4, A and B (and Districts 3 and 5 in circumstances where there are not two elections in a year.) The approved amendment resolves the potential conflict in a manner that ensures that elected candidates in all districts are only eligible to serve up to six consecutive years as an elected member of council. |
24(3) If Subsections (1) and (2) affect an election in District 3 or 5 and as a result two Council positions are open for election in either of those districts in a year: (a) the Registrar must declare when the Registrar calls for nominations that one of the positions is for a shortened term; (b) each voting member in that district will be entitled to cast two votes in that election, but cannot cast more than one vote for any nominee; (c) subject to (d), the nominee receiving the second highest number of votes in the election in that district must be declared elected for the position with the shortened term; (d) if the nominee receiving the highest number of votes had served in the preceding year as the president under subsection (1), that nominee must be declared elected for the shortened term and the nominee who received the second highest number of votes in the election in that district must be declared elected for the position with the three-year term. |
