MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

June 11, 2005

Chemistry Department

Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

The meeting was called to order at 2:34 pm.

1.      The Chair, Jim Frazee, welcomed everyone to the second Annual General Meeting of the Nova Scotia Chemists’ Society (NSCS).

2.      Minutes of 2004 AGM: Copies of the draft Minutes of the first Annual General Meeting of the Society held on Sept. 21, 2004 had been distributed to members prior to this meeting.  The Secretary, Bill Thorpe, moved that the Minutes be approved as distributed, and Jocelyne Hellou seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.  The Secretary will distribute the approved Minutes to the NSCS membership.  There was no business arising from the Minutes.

3.      President’s Report: Jim Frazee presented his report, in which he stressed the importance that the Board has placed in increasing membership in the Society.  Highlights of the Board’s activities over the past nine months include preparation of a brochure (copies of which were handed out at the AGM for distribution to prospective members) and set-up of our web site, which is now operational.  Jim Frazee moved that his report be approved as distributed, and Susan Boyd seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

4.      Secretary’s Report: Bill Thorpe presented his report, in which he summarized the events of our first AGM last September, described the seven (erroneously reported as six) meetings of the Board since the AGM, and highlighted our new brochure and web site.  Bill Thorpe moved that his report be approved as distributed, with the amendment, and Joyce Milley seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

5.      Financial Report: The Treasurer, Jocelyne Hellou, presented her report, in which she reported that the Society’s revenues since Sept. 2004 totaled $910.00 (26 memberships + bank interest), while expenditures were $485.49.  Combined with our opening cash balance of $484.85, this resulted in a current cash balance of $909.66. The Treasurer moved that her report be approved as distributed, and Clive Elson seconded the motion.  D. Jamieson asked about Director’s liability insurance, and Jim Frazee explained that the Board has kept this issue on the table, but the Society needs a much stronger financial base before we can consider purchasing insurance.  The motion passed unanimously.

6.      Report on CSC Board/Professionalism: Susan Boyd gave a report on the results of a discussion on professionalism that was part of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) Board meeting held on June 1, 2005 in conjunction with the CIC Annual Conference (this report will be available on our web site).  The CSC is very much supportive of our goal of achieving professional status of Chemists and Chemical Technicians in Nova Scotia through the NS Chemists’ Society.  Indeed, the CSC passed the following motion: “The CSC will raise the status of the chemist as a professional in Canada.”  The new Vice-President of the CSC, Dave Schwass, along with two new Directors, Ray Clement and Yves Ducharme, have accepted responsibilities for moving this issue forward.  The NSCS obviously will benefit from the support of the CSC in achieving our long-term goals. 

7.      Report of the Nominating Committee: Bill Thorpe reported that all of the current year’s Directors and Officers of the Society have agreed to stand for re-election with the exception of John Courtneidge, who is moving out of the Province.  Two other members of the Society have agreed to put their names forward for election as Directors of the Society. 

8.      Election of Directors and Officers:  The following names were put forward to stand for election by the members as Directors and Officers of the NSCS:

Jim Frazee                 President

Joyce Milley               Vice-President

Bill Thorpe                  Secretary                  

Jocelyne Hellou         Treasurer

There were no further nominations from the floor.  It was moved by Bill Thorpe and seconded by Jim Frazee that nominations for officers of the NSCS cease.  The motion passed unanimously, and these four members nominated were elected as Officers of the NSCS by acclimation.

9.      Election of Directors-at-Large: The following names were put forward to stand for election by the members as Directors-at-Large of the NSCS:

Gordon Boyce                       Clive Elson

Susan Boyd                           Mike Fraser

Charles Eisnor

There were no further nominations from the floor.  It was moved by Bill Thorpe and seconded by Jim Frazee that nominations for Directors-at-Large of the NSCS cease.  The motion passed unanimously, and these five members nominated were elected as Directors-at-Large of the NSCS by acclimation.

10.  Other Business: 

10.1 Professionalism

As a result of Susan Boyd’s report on the CSC initiative on professionalism, there was a discussion among members about the role of our Society and the professionalism of chemists and chemical technologists in the province.  Included in the discussion was the issue of right to title and right to practice, with Jim Frazee explaining that in NS they would go hand-in-hand once the required legislation is passed.  This means that one will be required to be a member of the NSCS in order to practice chemistry in NS.  He explained that there are differences among the provinces with respect to the legislative acts covering professionalism, with Alberta and Quebec having professionals covered under encompassing legislation for all professional groups, while in Ontario the legislation is different for chemists and engineers.  With regard to the issue of competency, most professional associations covered by legislation require that their members be tested on their respective Codes of Ethics, as opposed to their technical competency.

10.2 Membership

Jocelyne Hellou expressed concern about the low turnout for the AGM, a concern shared by all present.  This points out the challenge faced by the NSCS not only in raising our membership level significantly, but also in ensuring that there is a definite commitment by our members to be involved in the Society.  Although undergraduates may not join the NSCS, all those present recognized the need to get our message out to schools and universities.  Suggestions made to increase our membership included: distributing membership applications to graduating students, making a presentation to the annual student chemistry conference, making use of the Atlantic Canada CIC membership list and making the effort to establish personal contact with our prospective members.

11.  Next Meeting: The next annual meeting of the members of the NSCS (AGM) was set for Saturday, April 22, 2006.  The time and location of the AGM will be determined by the Board at a later date.  The meeting adjourned at 3:30 pm.    

Respectfully submitted,

J. William Thorpe

Secretary

June 27, 2005