Revisions and Amendment Process
The CFUW Ontario Council’s constitution and bylaws are the legally binding rules by which the organization is governed. They set forth the structure of the organization and guide the CFUW Ontario Council Clubs and Board Members in the conduct of CFUW Ontario Council’s business. To remain relevant, bylaws should be reviewed on a regular basis (generally every 2-3 years) and amended appropriately to reflect any significant changes in an organization’s operation or mission.
As the CFUW Ontario Council’s bylaws had not been materially updated for many years, there was a need to complete a comprehensive review of the existing bylaws, referencing both the Ontario Corporations Act (OCA, 1990) and the upcoming Ontario Not-For-profit Corporations Act (ONCA, 2010) for guidance. Over a year ago, there was a committee of interested CFUW Club members formed to conduct a detailed review and provide periodic updates at the CFUW Ontario Council Speakers Series meetings and to the Board Members.
CFUW Ontario Council was incorporated under the laws of Ontario, March 2009. As a legal corporate entity, CFUW Ontario Council must abide by the Ontario Corporation Act including all the provisions that are set out to protect its Members. Accordingly, the CFUW Ontario Council bylaws have been revised with the goal of modernizing under updated standards in Not-For-Profit governance. When the new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act comes into effect there will be a few additional amendments required and that work will be less onerous if we have an updated version of our bylaws this year.
The revised bylaws have been carefully tailored to meet the needs of CFUW Ontario Council by retaining the key provisions of the CFUW OC legacy Constitution and Bylaws document while reflecting both the current operating processes and improved control measures of good governance. These revised bylaws are presented in a clear and relevant structure, with critical definitions stated up front.
There was a legal review conducted of the revised bylaws by a lawyer who specializes in not-for-profit and charity law, Theresa Man. Her advice and recommendations were incorporated into the revised bylaws. Many of the sections in the revised bylaws are legally required for the protection of Members and the organization. Several sections in the revised bylaws are customized for the needs of CFUW OC but remain legally consistent with the OCA. We have highlighted these sections for you. As you review the revised bylaws please remember that well-formed bylaws do not include operational policy details and are not meant to be exhaustive – they will include the ‘what’ and ‘when’ and generally not the ‘how’ of implementation details.
Please review the revised OC Bylaws document and the Bylaws Revision Amendment Process document. All questions can be directed to articlesandbylaws@cfuwontcouncil.org
Although the following links are to documents in Dropbox, you do not need to have a Dropbox account to access and download them.
- Current Bylaws
- The slide deck from March 2, 2019 presentation, with explanation and rationale for proposed revisions
- Preface document
- Amendment process with dates
- Fillable Forms
Sandra Thomson, President
CFUW Ontario Council
Email: president@cfuwontcouncil.org
