Kalayaan Centre ratifies changes to constitution

Kalayaan Centre ratifies changes to constitution

Amendments to the constitution of the Kalayaan Cultural Community Centre were ratified by its members at a special meeting held for that purpose on Saturday, February 18, 2006 at the newly acquired KCCC building located on 5225 Orbitor Drive in Mississauga.

Ching Quejas, president, presided over the meeting and introduced the new changes in the constitution, duly approved by the board of directors, item by item and explaining the reasons behind the changes.
The members were allowed to comment and/or argue for or against each item under consideration before putting it into votation. Under the constitution, a two-thirds vote of the members present is required to pass a particular amendment.

Salient points of the amended constitution presented for ratification are:

1. Increase of the number of board members from 18 to 19 to include a youth member who must be at least 18 but not more than 30 years old.

2. Qualification of a board member requiring compliance of the 150% rule provided in the by-laws where a candidate for a position must deposit $1,000 and contribute an amount equivalent to 150 per cent of said amount ($1,500) for each year of his term and failure thereof would cause the forfeiture of his deposit and pay the difference or deduct from the deposit the amount short of the 150 % removed from the constitution and placed under policies of the board of directors.

3. A switch from presidential to parliamentary system whereby a board of directors is elected who, upon election, shall elect the officers among themselves – the President, Executive Vice President, Vice President for Programs Administration, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor and Public Relations Officer.

4. A new provision: the creation of the Executive Council composed of the executive officers minus the auditor who has no vote on substantive matters.

5. New provisions in the by-laws under Section 4 –Election:

• A candidate must have been a member of the Organization for at least six (6) months;

• A voter must be a member for at least 60 days;

• Donors of at least $500 within the last 5 years may vote;

• Nomination may be made in writing before or in person on election day;

• No one can be elected in absentia unless there is a written acceptance of the nomination by the nominee.

The proposed amendments were approved, adopted and ratified by the body except a provision in the by-laws under Section 4 (Elections) that spouses are not allowed to run at the same time for the positions of President, Vice President and Treasurer which was suggested by the membership to be included instead in the policies of the Board of Directors.

There was a good turnout of attendees and the president expressed her appreciation of the members’ growing interest and involvement in community affairs evidenced by their lively participation during the deliberations. A tour of the new place and refreshments followed after the meeting. “This is so far the best attended general meeting since the establishment of KCCC” the president said. She hopes to have the same attendance at the annual general meeting and election of a new board of directors on Sunday, March 5, 2006 at the same place and time.

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