To be held in conjunction with the Fall Council Meeting of the Ontario Bar Association ("OBA")
In accordance with the OBA By-law, all members are hereby advised that the OBA annual meeting is scheduled to take place on:
Friday, September 15, 2017 at 6 p.m.
at the Marriott on the Falls
Niagara Falls, Oakes South Room
6755 Fallsview Blvd., Niagara Falls, Ontario
By-law Changes:
Three years ago, the Governance Committee began a review of the OBA By-law. That work was suspended until the CBA completed the Governance portion of the Re-think process in August, 2016. Beginning in September 2016, that review was re-initiated.
Over the course of the fall of 2016, the Committee reviewed and recommended a number of changes which pertained primarily to election processes. The object of those changes was to provide greater clarity.
Concurrent with the review of election processes, the Committee engaged in several months of extensive discussions and deliberations related to other governance issues. Numerous options were identified, and those options were presented to Council at the March 2017 Council meeting. The members of Council in attendance, provided feedback on the options at that meeting. The Committee then developed a number of specific proposed amendments to the OBA By-law designed to reflect the expressed wishes of Council, to address the changes necessitated by the CBA governance structure changes approved in August 2016, and to modernize the OBA governance structure. These proposed changes were incorporated into a revised draft By-law that was approved and recommended by the Committee, and then approved by the Board of Directors, and ultimately by Council at its June, 2017 meeting.
As a result, the following motion will be presented at the OBA annual meeting on September 15th, in Niagara Falls to ratify Council’s decision:
WHEREAS the Governance Committee recommended a number of changes to the OBA's By-laws over the past year that were approved by the OBA Board of Directors;
AND WHEREAS the OBA Council, upon due consideration, approved the By-law changes recommended by the Governance Committee and approved by the Board of Directors, at its meetings in December, 2016 and June, 2017;
AND WHEREAS the By-law Amendments approved by Council have been in effect since December, 2nd, 2016, or June 16th, 2017;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The amendments to the OBA By-laws, approved by the OBA Board of Directors and OBA Council, set out in Appendix "A", attached hereto, be and are adopted.
The revised By-law containing all the amendments approved by Council over the past year, may be viewed on the OBA website. Hard copies may be obtained by contacting Valerie Dallas at 416-869-1047 x322, 1-800-668-8900, or by email at vdallas@oba.org.
View Appendix A