Oxfam Ontario Regional Elections 2010
OXFAM ONTARIO REGIONAL ELECTIONS 2010
Dear Oxfam Member,
On behalf of the Regional Elections Committee (“EC”) welcome to the Ontario regional elections process and your right and responsibility to participate in the nomination and election of:
*the Ontario Regional Steering Committee (“ORSC”)
*Ontario Delegates to the National Assembly(Toronto June 18-20 2010)
NOTE: Elections to the national board are being held during the same period as regional elections. These documents refer only to the regional elections and should not be confused with the national board elections which follow different procedures.
OXFAM-Canadacontains a regional structure including five Regional Steering Committees (including the ORSC) and five regional offices. Regional Steering Committeesare responsible for organizing Regional Assemblies and help provide support for member activities, organize and maintain records of groups and activities in the region, and facilitate communication between the Board and local volunteer committees and campus groups, hold regional elections at annual Assemblies. As such the ORSC is an important part of the basic membership structure of OXFAM-Canada, which in turn is our most significant element in practicing participatory democracy and grass roots development of policy and local action.
The Oxfam By-Law and its Rules and Procedures have given regionsflexibility in setting out their electoral procedures within the general democratic values which we hold nationally and internationally. With this flexibility our election process is now more open, more inclusive and democratic,and less complicated. Self-nominations are now the method of nominations. The process is set out below.
First and foremost, we appeal to you to consider standing as a self-nominee for election to the ORSC and for the National Assemblyso that the electorate will have a large and diversified field of candidates from which to choose.
Elections for the 2010 ORSC and for the National Assembly delegates will be held during the Ontario Regional Assembly (ORA) in Ottawa March 27 2010
Elections to the ORSC are important because of its responsibilities and because it, combined with the annual ORA, is the sole province-wide regional Oxfam institution. The National Board has pointed in the direction of greater regional autonomy in developing functions and organization.The new ORSC will have an important role in the development of specific plans for the region’s future.
At the ORA we will elect eight(8) members of the ORSC for one year terms. This includes one Regional Youth (under 29 years of age) liaison member. In addition the ORSC includes all national directors resident in Ontario and one staff person(non-voting).
Also at the ORA we will be electing Ontario Delegates to the National Assembly (to be held in June 2010). Up to 10 Delegates will be funded by Oxfam but normally some additional nominees are elected as substitutes. When needed the substitutes will become Delegates in order of their votes.
Members can stand for both ORSC positions and Delegates using the separate forms provided.
Nominations and elections
Nominations
- Nominations will begin on Feb 18 and will close at Noon on March 27. Nominations will all be on a self-nomination basis.
- Anyone who has been a member of Oxfam Canada for at least one month-Feb 27-prior to voting starting-Noon March 27- will be eligible to submit an application for candidacy using the forms provided with this document.
- Regional youth liaison candidates must be 29 years old or less.
- Candidatesneed not be present at the ORAbut are encouraged to do so. Although for national elections members standing for election are prohibited from sitting on the National Elections Committee there are no such explicit provisions applying to Regional Assembly elections Thus members of the EC may nominate themselves for election but since a conflict of interest(or unfair advantage) arises in such cases the electoral process at the Assembly-registration, distribution of ballots, balloting and counting of ballots will be undertaken by staff and volunteers who are not standing for election.
Although the definition of the responsibilities and procedures of the new ORSC will be a matter for the ORSC to consider early in its term, it is important for individuals interested in their candidacy to undertake a commitment to certain stipulated responsibilities. These include: coordinating activities of campus and community groups regionally; contributing to national policy development; strengthening the participation of members and volunteers in reaching Oxfam’s goals; and exchanging ideas within the organization and with other organizations. The regional youth liaison has the additional responsibility of serving as a channel between the ORSC and Oxfam’s youth members.
The term of office is one year (ORA 2010 – ORA 2011). The ORSC meets at least quarterly, usually by teleconference. Candidates should have this in mind when putting their names forward.
For delegates to the National Assembly their role is to represent the Ontario Region and to bring forward any motions or recommendations which arise at the Regional Assembly and in general to participate in the general discussions with Ontario conditions in mind.
Deadline(s)
1. Nominations will close at12:00 Noon on Saturday March 27th. Candidates who choose to self-nominate at registration should bring with them the nomination form and have their candidate statement included in the form.
2. The Regional Elections Committee is committed to making the elections as representative and diverse as possible. Where no nominations are received from a particular group or community, it will make efforts to encourage potential candidates. Therefore, please submit your nomination as soon as possible.
VOTING
1.Voting will only take place at the ORA on threedifferent coloured ballots prepared by the EC-one for the elected members of the ORSC, one for the elected youth liaison member and one for the National Assembly delegates.Each ballot will be initialed at the registration desk and distributed.Each will be initialed by one of the staff at the desk. Uninitialed ballots, mailed ballots and proxy ballots will not be accepted at the count.
2. A list of candidates and their written statements will be prominently displayed. Voters will write-in their choices on the ballots provided. A list of candidates for each election will be displayed on a flip chart. Folded votes will be deposited in a ballot box on the registration desk after being checked for a staff initial.
3. Voting by secret ballot will begin at Noon on Saturday March 27th and will continue until 3:00 p.m.
4. All individuals who are on the membership list as of March 27th will be eligible to vote. There will be some flexibility for accidental omission of names from the membership list and for members who have submitted applications for membership too late to be included on the list.
5. All voters may vote for up to eight candidates for the ORSC. More than eight choices will be spoiled ballots.
6. Youth voters (Those 29 or younger) may also voter for one candidate for the youth liaison member of the ORSC. “Ballots with more than one choice will be spoiled ballots.
7. For National Assembly delegates all voters may vote for up to fifteen candidates. Ballots with more than fifteen choices will be spoiled ballots.
8. Youth members will receive three ballots, one for the ORSC vote, one for the Youth Liaison position, and one for the National Assembly Delegates vote. All other members will receive two ballots, one for the ORSC vote and one for the National Assembly Delegate vote.
9. The staff and volunteer group will proceed with count following the closing of voting and results will be announced on or about 3:00 p.m. on March 27. The number of votes received by candidates in the three elections will not be announced.
With fervent hopes for many self-nominees from an Ontario membership full of excellent candidates throughout the province!!!
Yours sincerely,
The Ontario Regional Elections Committee
(Meyer Brownstone, Fyaz Faisal, Hannah Bontagon(ex-Officio) Jennifer Brammer(staff)
Summary of important dates:
February 18- Nomination Day-Nominations will be received from that date.(Candidates must be members by Feb 27 2010)
March 27- ballots distributed at registration during the day
March 27 Noon- Nominations close.Candidates’ summaries are displayed
March 27Noon- Voting begins after candidates are listed for each election
March 27 3:00 p.m.–voting ends and counting begins. Results announced shortly.
March 27 – Following adjournment new ORSC meets to elect Chair and Vice- Chair
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REGIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE CANDIDATE NOMINATION FORM
NOTE: 1. Candidates who put themselves forward MUST use this form to be eligible.
2. A separate form is provided for the National Assembly Delegate position
3. To be eligible for self nominations you must have been a member on or before Feb. 27 2010. Nominations begin on Feb. 18 or earlier and may continue until Noon March 27
First Name:
Last Name:
Email:
Telephone number:
Please indicate which position you would like to stand for:
ORSC general membership (eight positions available)
Ontario Regional Youth Liaison position (only open to members under the age of 29)
Are you a member of chartered local group (please check): yes no
If yes, which of the following you are a member of (please check):
An Oxfam Community Group
An Oxfam campus group
Other Oxfam group
NOTE:You are not required to be a member of a chartered local group or other Oxfam group nor are you required to attend the voting process at the regional assembly although you are encouraged to do so.
Please include a statement about yourself (up to 300 words) to help voters at the Ontario Regional Assembly in making their decisions and the EC develop diversity in the composition of the ORSC. What you write is clearly your choice but the EC suggests that aspects such as your work and interests in Oxfam, any training, experience and expertise which you have which will be important in Oxfam work, any direct or indirect contact which you have had with overseas regions or countries, activities in other compatible NGOs. Please accept these as suggestions only and not requirements for your statement.
ALL COMPLETED FORMS SHOULD BE SENT TO
Email
Surface mail Jennifer Brammer OXFAM-Canada 410 Adelaide St. Toronto ON m5v 1s8
Deadline: Noon March 27. You may self nominate at the registration desk using this form but we encourage you to send your self-nomination at as early a date as possible