COUREURS DE BOIS OUTDOOR CLUB
CONSTITUTION &
BY-LAWS
November, 2022
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1 – NAME
A. The
name of the organization shall be Coureurs de Bois Outdoor Club.
B.
The organization may, by vote of the Membership body, change its name.
ARTICLE 2 – AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
A. To lead interesting, appropriately
challenging hikes.
B. To
train, protect and support hike leaders,
C.
To safely maintain and build good trails.
D.
To provide our membership with healthy outdoor activity.
BY-LAWS
BY-LAW #1 – MEMBERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP FEES
1. Membership
A. Any person interested in the Coureurs de Bois
Outdoor club and its activities shall
be eligible for membership
upon payment of dues, and agrees to adhere to our rules
and regulations, and the
Code of Conduct.
B. Membership entitles the individual to attend
our bi-monthly General Meetings, the
Annual General Meeting, to
join hikes and any other club sponsored events.
2. Membership Fees
A. Dues shall be set annually by the Executive
and shall be payable in September of
each year. The membership year shall be from September 1st
to August 31st.
B. Members who join after September shall be
charged a membership fee at a
pro-rated amount from the time they join until
the following September.
C. Interested members of the public are entitled
to five (5) free hikes. After which
they will be required to
become members to continue with the Club activities.
BY-LAW #2 – EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. Composition
The Executive Committee is comprised of
the Officers of the Club:
· President
· Vice-President
· Recording
Secretary
· Treasurer/Membership
· Trail
Master(s)
2. Role
The
business of the Coureurs de Bois Outdoor Club shall be managed by the Executive
Committee. Working on behalf of the Membership, the
Executive Committee
considers current issues and
activities and makes recommendations, as necessary, for
consideration by the Membership.
3. Term
A. The term of an officer is
two (2) years.
B. An Officer may serve two (2) consecutive
terms in the same position.
C. An Executive Officer may stay on beyond the
second two (2) year term with the
approval of the
Membership.
4. Meetings
The Executive Committee shall meet as
often as is required to administer the affairs of
the Club. There will be a meeting of the Executive
Committee prior to the first
meeting of the Club in
September to determine priority of submitted items for
discussion at the General
Meeting.
5. Limits of Liability
No
member of the Executive or Officer of the Club shall be liable for the acts,
receipts, neglects or defaults
of any other member of the Executive unless the same
are occasioned by the member of
the Executive’s own willful neglect or default.
BY-LAW #3 – NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
A. In a year in which a new slate of Executive
Officers is to be elected, the President will
ask for nominations from the Membership.
B.
At the Annual General Meeting in November, the President will present
the
Candidates who were nominated
by the Membership. A Member present will
officially nominate the
Candidate for a specific Executive position, seconded by a
Member and voted on by a show
of hands by the Membership.
C. In a case where more than one
candidate has been nominated for any one position, the
Executive shall organize an
election by secret ballot for that position.
D.
The term of the office of the new Executive Officers shall commence on
January 1st
and shall expire after a
period of two (2) years after the election or confirmation.
BY-LAW
#4 – VOTING
A. When a decision is to be made by the
Membership voting, the outcome shall be
determined by a show of hands. If a decision has been made, but a member requests
that the issue be re-visited,
25% of the membership must agree to reopen the
discussion.
B.
The Executive has the prerogative to have a decision by secret ballot if
the situation
warrants it.
C.
In the case of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
D.
As Club members, the Executive shall be allowed to cast personal votes
in
the General Membership
voting.
E.
The requirement of passage of any resolution at an Executive Meeting
shall be four
(4) of the Executive members.
F.
The requirement of passage of any resolution at General Meetings shall be
50% plus 1
of those present at the
meeting.
G.
The requirement of passage of any
resolution at a Annual General Meeting shall be
50% plus 1 of those present.
H. Proxy vote will be allowed for the Annual
General Meeting or any special meeting
deemed necessary.
I.
The Quorum will be those who attend the General Meeting.
BY-LAW #5 – MEETINGS
A. Regular General meetings shall be held 5 times
a year – September, November,
January, March, and May.
B. The
November meeting shall be deemed to be the Annual General Meeting.
C.
Other meeting for the purpose of education, exchange of idea an sharing
of
information may be held as
often as the membership desires with the approval of the
Executive.
D.
The Executive shall have the power to call, at any time, a special
general meeting of
the members of the Club.
E.
In a year in which a new slate of Executive officers are appointed, a
joint meeting of
the outgoing and incoming
Executive officers shall be held after the Annual General
Meeting, and before January 1st. Executive Officers are identified as the
President,
Vice-President, Recording
Secretary, Treasurer/Membership and Trail Master(s)
F.
Communications to members shall be conducted by e-mail or the Coureurs
de Bois
Blog. For the purpose of such communications, the
e-mail address of the member
shall
be the last address noted in the records of the club. It is incumbent on the
member to update their contact information.
G.
A notice of motion of any proposal that is likely to have a significant
impact on the
current operations of the Club shall be
submitted to the Secretary or President at least
14 calendar days prior to any
scheduled bi-monthly meetings in order that the details
of the proposal may be included in the meeting
agenda.
H.
A special General Meeting must be called within 14 calendar days if a
written
request for such meeting is
submitted to the Secretary or President by not less than
20% of the voting members of
the Club.
I.
Notice shall be provided to each Club member of any annual or special
General
Meeting at least 7 calendar
days before the time fixed for holding such meeting.
J.
A proposed meeting agenda shall be provided to each Club member for any
annual
or special General Meeting at
least 7 calendar days before the time fixed for holding
such a meeting.
BY-LAW #6 – ORDER OF BUSINESS
A. General Meetings
The order of business at each General
meeting shall be a follows:
· Approval
of the Agenda
· Opening
remarks by the President
· Approval
of the Minutes of the previous meeting
· Old
Business
· Treasurer/Membership
reports
· New
Business
· Adjournment
B. Annual General Meeting
The order of business at the Annual
General Meeting shall be as follows:
· Approval
of the Agenda
· Opening
remarks by the President
· Approval
of the Minutes of the previous meeting
· Old
business
· Treasurer/Membership
report
· New
Business
· Election
of Officers
· Adjournment
BY-LAW #7 – FINANCE
A. The President, Vice-President and Treasurer
shall be the signing officers of the
Club. All cheques require two (2) signatures.
B. Proposed expenditures of over $500 will
require the approval of the Membership.
C. In the event of the dissolution of the Club,
all remaining funds shall be distributed to
a charity or charities to
be chosen by the members. No Member may
benefit
personally from any
remaining funds.
Equipment will be sold to
the highest bidder via sealed bids.
BY-LAW #8 - DUTIES
A.
President
· Shall
convene a meeting of the Executive prior to the first one in September.
· Provide
leadership to achieve the Club’s objectives and aims
· Prepare
agendas for, and chair General Meetings
· Convene,
prepare agendas for and chair meetings of the Executive Committee
· Act
as a signing officer for the bank account of the Club
· Convene
and chair the hike leader meetings as required
· Sit
on the Shared Use Trails Committee. This
is a City of Elliot Lake committee that usually meets bi-monthly, consisting of
members of the following groups: CdeB, Penokeans, EL Cross Country Ski Club, EL
ATV club, Algoma Public Health, Denison Environmental, City of Elliot Lake, and
various
resources
· Monitor
the blog and e-mail
· Schedule
twice yearly highway cleanup, usually in the spring and September to
mid-October
· Ask
for volunteers to organize the Christmas party.
The venue is usually booked a year in advance
· Promote
good communication between the Executive and Members
· Deal
with issues that may arise, such as hike leader related issues, incidents on
the trail, etc.
B. Vice-President
· In
the event of the absence or inability of the President to exercise his/her
office, become the Acting President of the Club with all the right, privileges,
and powers as if he/she had been duly elected President
· Attend
General Meetings
· Act
as a signing officer for the bank account of the Club
· Organize
the Christmas cook-out
· Assist
President as required
C. Secretary
· Take
minutes of the General Meetings and Annual General Meeting
· Take
minute of Executive meetings
· Maintain
a Minute Book for the Club
· Keep
copies of correspondence received and sent by the Club
· Arrange
to book the Snowmobile Club House for General meetings, the Annual General
meeting and Hike Leader meetings.
Meetings are generally held on the 3rd Tuesday of the months
of September, November, January, March, and May. The number for the Snowmobile Club is
705-848-4620.
· Post
Minutes from previous minutes to the blog about one (1) week prior to the next
meeting in order for people to read them before the meeting. Do not post the Financial Report.
D. Treasurer/Membership
· Act
as a signing officer for the bank account of the Club
· Issue
cheques and make bank deposits on behalf of the Club
· Maintain
accurate records of all financial transactions made by the Club
· Report
to the Members and the Executive on the financial position of the Club at each
General Meeting and at such other times as requested by the Executive
· Collect
Membership dues
· Determine
the amount of the dues payable for any valid member at any given time
· Maintain
an up to date and accurate membership list
E. Trail Master(s)
· Determine areas that need to be maintained
· Maintain
trail clearing equipment
· Maintain
inventory of trail clearing equipment
· Maintain
trail markings/signage
· Co-ordinate
with Executive to determine when to schedule/complete trail
Maintenance
· Priority
shall be given to City hiking trails
F. Coureurs de Bois Outdoor Club
Blogger
· Maintain
the scheduling of hikes on the Calendar section
· Post
information about hikes or other communications on the blog
· Post
photos of the hike as received
· Post
hike destinations and descriptions of planned hikes. The hike leader is to send this information
to the Blogger 24-48 hours in advance of the planned hike.
G. Hike
Leaders
· Be
certified with Hike Ontario
· Take
CPR training when offered by the Club
· Lead
hikes on Mondays (leisure), Tuesdays (easy), Thursday mornings (intermediate),
Thursday afternoon seniors (easy), Saturdays (easy)
· Consult
with the list of trails that will provide details of hike ratings such as
distance, terrain, and elevation gain to assist in choosing an appropriate hike
· Have
hikers sign the Assumption of Risk and Waiver Agreement for
Participants
· Fill
out the information on the back of the sheet and submit the completed form
· Perform
safety checks of the participating hikers at the meeting place
· Be
responsible for the safety of the hiking participants in their group
· Inform
participating hikers that the planned hike must be finished and is deemed as
“finished” when all participants have returned to the cars, unless extenuating
circumstances or prior arrangements have been made with the hike leader. If hikers choose to continue with a further
hike, it is no longer a sanctioned hike with the Coureurs de Bois and the hike
leader is no longer responsible for their safety.
· Attend
Hike Leader meetings
· Hike
leaders are required to send their chosen hike for a particular day to the
blogger no less than 24-48 hours before the hike date.
BY-LAW #9 -
INVENTORY AND HIKE DESCRIPTIONS
A. Inventory
· A
list of all the Club’s equipment will be included with this document
· An
inventory of the Club’s equipment will be completed once a year by the Trail
Master(s).
· Snowshoes
are only to be loaned out on a short term basis of two (2) weeks, or based on
extenuating circumstances to be determined by the Trail Master(s).
· Snowshoes
will be inspected at the time of the loan period and must be returned in the
same state, or repaired at the borrower’s expense. This is to be understood at the time of
signing out the snowshoes.
B. Hiking Trails
Level 1 Leisure/Senior
· Well
defined trails/roads, gentle inclines.
· Hiking
boots not required
· Beginner/senior
friendly
· Less
than 5 km or a set time limit
Level
2 Easy
· Generally
on trail
· May
be hilly, with light bushwhacking, some rough spots or obstacles
· Boots
recommended
· Between
5 and 8 km
Level 3 Intermediate
· Moderate
terrain
· One
or more of bushwhacking, steep sections, long climbs and descents,
beaver
dams or other obstacles, rock scrambling
· Hiking
boots required
· Experience
and a high level of fitness essential
· Greater
than 8 km
· Special,
more challenging hikes will be posted on the Blog at least one
week
prior to the hike
BY-LAW #10 – AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
A. This Constitution and By-Laws may be
altered, amended and repealed and a new
Constitution and
By-Laws be adopted at the Annual General Meeting of the
Club.
B. Notification of proposed changes must be
given to the Members at least one
month in advance of
the Annual General Meeting at which the proposed changes
will be voted upon.
C. Members unable to attend the Annual General
Meeting may vote by Proxy.
D. The requirement of passage of any resolution
at the Annual General Meeting
shall be by quorum, with quorum
defined as those members who attend the
meeting.
E. The By-Laws will be reviewed at least once
every four (4) years.
