November 30th, 2020 — CANCELLED: SPECIAL MEETING OF MEMBERS
Today, we regret to announce our Special Meeting of Members on Dec. 9th, 2020 is cancelled. CBAC Executive Minister Rev. Dr. Peter Reid and CBAC President Andrew Hopper shared statements along with the announcement.
IN BRIEF:
- CBAC Council has granted permission for the Dec. 9th meeting to be cancelled, as certain areas of Atlantic Canada face rises in COVID-19 cases, new gathering limits, and travel advisories and restrictions.
- CBAC Council will meet in December to formally change the CBAC by-laws to allow for a fully virtual business meeting—and there will be a motion to ratify this change at the next Assembly.
- This decision comes after consultation with the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, longtime legal counsel Mr. Dan Ingersoll, and Corporations Canada, and after our efforts to have an in-person vote on these matters.
- Delegates are invited to register for our fully-virtual business meeting on January 21st. 2021: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbac-assembly-zoom-business-meeting-for-2020-tickets-131100259405
A LETTER FROM MR. ANDREW HOPPER, CBAC PRESIDENT
We have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation, especially in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Currently the Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton zones have moved to the Orange phase by Public Health. In Nova Scotia the Halifax region has an outbreak and is under strict new guidelines. On top of this, the Atlantic Bubble has burst and PE, NL, and NB have closed their borders. It is looking increasingly as if having an in-person gathering on December 9th would be a foolhardy endeavour.
The question is: where do we go from here? We have consulted with the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, our lawyer, Mr. Dan Ingersoll, and Corporations Canada.
Having heard our situation, CCCC’s advice is to pursue a plan of action in which Council will vote to change the by-laws regarding virtual meetings, with the change effective until the next Assembly. This option has been communicated by Corporations Canada as a viable alternative if the body’s annual meeting of members cannot happen. CCCC’s advice has been cautiously endorsed by Mr. Ingersoll as well.
CBAC Executive Minister Peter Reid also spoke directly with an employee at Corporations Canada, who indicated that because of the pandemic, there is a lot of flexibility. His primary concern seemed to be that we file our financial information on time, which we do. The gentleman at Corporations Canada indicated they would not be taking a hard line on “Not for Profit Corporations” during this pandemic. He seemed to suggest the organization could make decisions that would allow for an online virtual meeting of members.
Based upon all of this information, Council has granted permission to cancel our December 9th Special Meeting of Members. The CBAC Council will meet in mid-December to vote on our proposed by-law changes to move forward with the virtual Business Meeting scheduled for January 21st, 2021.
Blessings,
Andrew Hopper
CBAC President
Questions and Comments?
If you would like to get in touch with us regarding these decisions, please direct your communication to the CBAC President or the Executive Minister’s office: peter.reid@baptist-atlantic.ca