BMFA Bylaws document for BMFA Members review:Click here
Proxy form available at BMFA office or here: Click Here
Proxy Deadline: delivered, mailed or emailed to BMFA on or before Friday, October 4, 2024 at 7:00pm
Background information:
From Nonprofit Law Ontario and Community Legal Education Ontario:
“Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) took effect on October 19, 2021. Provincially incorporated nonprofits, not including co-ops, have until October 18, 2024, to ensure their governing documents, including their letters patent and bylaws, comply with ONCA. If a nonprofit has not updated its governing documents by then, on October 19, 2024, most of its bylaws will automatically be considered changed to make them comply with ONCA.”
Some changes to the bylaws are mandatory under ONCA and some parts allow us to customize to meet our needs, which is what the Board has been working on for over a year. The updated version reflects what we think works best for BMFA at this time and represents important sections that the board feels are noteworthy to both present and future members and directors. The Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act prevails in some instances and should be referenced for clarification when questions arise, as we aren’t required to include every section of the Act in our bylaws.
The Process:
The updated bylaws were drafted using Nonprofit Law Ontario’s Community Legal Education Ontario website that offered an online Bylaw Builder and also a Sample Bylaw with Options tool. After the draft was completed we had Ryan Baulke of Baulke Stahr McNabb LLP, Barristers and Solicitors in Collingwood review them. With some of his suggestions we then reworded a few sections and the Board approved the final version.
Members Approval:
We now ask for your approval in the last part of this process by attending the Special Members’ Meeting on October 8th or by appointing a proxyholder on your behalf who will be attending. You can appoint another member as your proxyholder but they must be in attendance at the meeting. Alternatively, you may appoint one of the following directors of the board who will be in attendance: Karin Modotto, Linda Unsworth, Judy Scopes, Judy Morrison, Patricia Andrew, Carol Altilia (new board member as of September 2024).
Proxies must be signed and received by BMFA no later than Friday, October 4, 2024 at pm in order to be valid.
If you have any questions before we meet please feel free to reach out to Linda Unsworth, Vice-Chair [email protected] or Amber Ebert, Director of Operations [email protected]
Note: If we don’t have a quorum of 15 members (either in attendance or by proxy combined), we won’t be able to approve the bylaws.
