41st Annual General Assembly Draft Meeting Minutes July 11-12, 2015 Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, Montreal, Quebec Call to Order The meeting was opened at 9:06 a.m. by Elder Elizabeth Norton Beauvais, who led the assembly in an opening prayer. The meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m. by the Interim President, Dawn Lavell Harvard. Motion No. 071115-001 July 11, 2015 THAT Cheryl Jacobs be accepted as Chair of the forty-first Annual General Assembly. Moved by: Dorothy George (Newfoundland) Seconded by: Judy Hughes (Saskatchewan) Abstentions: None Opposed: None CARRIED The Chair undertook a roll call of all registered delegates, seventy-one of the seventy-three registered delegates being in attendance. Elder Mary Hannaburg welcomed those in attendance and spoke about some of the events occurring over the weekend that might be of interest to attendees of the Annual General Assembly (AGA). Viviane Michel, President of the Quebec Native Women Inc., welcomed those in attendance, noted the importance of remaining in a healthy state of mind during the two day assembly, offered the hope that attendees would bond and create connections and links with one and other and thanked Aboriginal women for the work they had done over the past forty years. It was noted that Joe Norton, Grand Chief of Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke, and Denis Coderre, the Mayor of Montreal, had sent their regrets and would not be joining the AGA. The Interim President thanked the Elders for their teachings. 1 A moment of silence was held for missing and murdered sisters and for Clara Gloade, former member of the Board of Directors of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), who had passed away in the spring. Prayers were offered to families displaced by the forest fires raging across the prairie provinces. The President provided opening comments, acknowledging the importance of working collaboratively and collectively to better the future and build pathways to support Indigenous women and girls who continued to be subjected to hate crimes and violence for being women and for being Aboriginal. Approval of Agenda The Chair provided a review of the agenda, noting that Saturday’s identified luncheon speaker Liz Jordan, National Director of the Royal Bank of Canada’s Aboriginal Markets, had sent her regrets and would not be joining the AGA. In response to the request that the agenda be amended such that a discussion be held on July 12, 2015 from 10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. about the federal election, no objections were raised. In response to the request that the agenda be amended such that the optional focus group entitled, “Perceptions of Safety and Issues of Violence Experienced by Aboriginal Women & Girls” not be held in another room at the same time as the nominations for President and the question and answer session with candidates, it being posited that the election of the President was far too important to have any delegates not participate, it was noted that the focus group would, instead, be held over the lunch period. Motion No. 071115-002 July 11, 2015 THAT the agenda be accepted as amended. Moved by: Sharlene Paul (New Brunswick) Seconded by: April Maloney (Nova Scotia) Abstentions: None Opposed: None CARRIED The Chair welcomed observers. Approval of 2014 AGA Minutes It was clarified that although the Chair of the previous AGA had committed to providing a written report on the issues of import identified by delegates during the brainstorming session (delegates having requested that this report be provided as an editable document so that 2 delegates could highlight what they were doing in various areas and return the updated document to NWAC which could be of assistance in developing a national action plan) for dissemination to 2014 AGA delegates, this had not been done. It was noted that as per the bylaws of NWAC, quorum for the AGA was fifty percent plus one of the registered delegates. Motion No. 071115-003 July 11, 2015 THAT the minutes of the Annual General Meeting dated July 13-14, 2014 be accepted as presented. Moved by: Tori-Lynn Wanotch (Saskatchewan) Seconded by: Maxine Elter (Alberta) Abstentions: None Opposed: None CARRIED President’s Report The Interim President dispensed with a review of her written report included in the Annual Report and noted that it had been her honour to assume the role of President of NWAC upon the mid-term departure of her predecessor, Michèle Audette, and acknowledged her contribution. The Interim President spoke about NWAC’s work, both domestically and internationally, to improve the rights of Indigenous women and girls, to end their marginalization and to end the violence against them, the sacrifices made by Aboriginal women and the enormity of the tasks and challenges ahead. The Interim President extended her gratitude to staff, NWAC’s Provincial/Territorial Member Associations (PTMA) and the leadership in provinces and territories for their unwavering commitment and acknowledged the strong women across the country who worked tirelessly to better the lives of Aboriginal women and girls. The Interim President spoke in detail about the continued call for a national inquiry into the crisis of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, provided a background of Sisters and Spirit and the data on missing and murdered Aboriginal women collected by NWAC and the significant efforts of NWAC and its partners, domestically and internationally, in the area of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. The Interim President spoke about Aboriginal women being amongst the most marginalized and impoverished people in Canada, Aboriginal children continuing to be apprehended due to poverty, needing to make the lives of Aboriginal children a priority, the number of people 3 living on reserve without access to potable water, the high rate of suicide in the Aboriginal community and the current federal government’s apathy to all of these issues. In closing, the Interim President noted that Aboriginal children needed a positive future and it was imperative to decolonize, to embrace traditional teachings, to restore women to their historical roles in families, communities and nations and to demonstrate respect for each other and cultural traditions. She invited women to reaffirm their enduring spirit, reflect on traditional teachings and unify with a sustained, rights-based approach strategy. Motion No. 071115-004 July 11, 2015 THAT the President’s report be accepted as presented. Moved by: Kendra Bacso (Alberta) Seconded by: Barbara Bernard (Prince Edward Island) Abstentions: None Opposed: None CARRIED Executive Director’s Report The Executive Director provided a review of her written report included in the Annual Report. It was requested that henceforth the Sisters in Spirit mask be brought to AGAs and receive an appropriate blessing. Motion No. 071115-005 July 11, 2015 THAT the Executive Director’s report be accepted as presented. Moved by: Cheryl Maloney (Nova Scotia) Seconded by: Sharlene Paul (New Brunswick) Abstentions: None Opposed: None CARRIED Audited Financial Statements Greg Mouland, the auditor and representative from Andrews & Co. Chartered Accountants, provided a review of the audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2015. 4 It was clarified that the monies due to PTMAs as identified in Note 5 – Related Party Transactions were released once a PTMA’s fourth-quarter reporting had been finalized, which occurred subsequent to year-end. In response to the observation that the Statement of Operations contained an error insofar as referring to Note 9 for the expenditure “rent” when this should read, “Note 10,” the auditor noted that this would be corrected. It was clarified that the negative balance identified as rental income in Note 10 – Rent represented the portion of the annual rent that was paid by the University of Ottawa, the organization that was subleasing some of NWAC’s office space. It was clarified that the purpose of having a $150,000 operating loan as identified in Note 13 – Bank Indebtedness was so that funds were available to the association to meet its financial obligations regardless of delays in receiving monies from project funders. It was requested that henceforth, during the auditor’s presentation, the audited financial statements be projected on the screens to enable delegates to follow along while the auditor presented his report. It was clarified that Note 5 – Related Party Transactions pertained to Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) funding. In response to the suggestion that henceforth the note about related party transactions list all of the PTMAs under both the “Due from PTMAs” and “Due to PTMAs” headings regardless of whether monies were owed to or from the PTMA, it was noted that the auditor would discuss this suggestion with management. The Board of Directors was encouraged to pursue the goal of once again owning a building in which to house the NWAC offices. It was clarified that the Wellington Street building had been sold as the space had become insufficient for the number of staff and although NWAC was currently renting office space, the Board continued to discuss purchasing a new building that could accommodate its needs. It was clarified that the expenditure line “Repairs and maintenance” related to leasehold improvements as the lease agreement did not include repairs and maintenance of the office space. In response to the suggestion that delegates receive audited financial statements prior to arriving at AGAs, it was noted that all Board members were welcome to serve on the Finance Committee as they would then be privy to detailed information about the finances of the association that they could share with their PTMAs. It was further noted that because the Finance Committee did report to the Board of Directors, Board members were also regularly updated about financial matters and could share this information with their PTMAs.