Pending Traceability Legislation

The CGS Board has a goal of keeping members fully apprised of relevant industry developments. One of the biggest changes in recent times is pending federal legislation. This legislation will require that all goats be identified with industry-standard tags or legbands prior to leaving the farm. The following information from CCIA, The Canadian Cattle identification Agency, will make valuable educational reading as we prepare for the approval of legislation.

The Canadian Goat Society has had input to the process through the efforts of a number of members who are involved with the work of the Canadian National Goat Federation (CNGF). CGS also has an active by-laws review working group, led by Director Callum McLeod.  This working group is examining the implications of new forms of identification of animals on the content of CGS by-laws as one of their many tasks.

Please study this information from CCIA, who are leading as tag suppliers for caprine animals.

CCIA customer service staff are exceedingly helpful at answering questions and guiding producers through processes re account establishment, tag selection and ordering.

 

Info Package –

English:

trousse d’information –

français:

trousse d’information –

français QC:

Directors Elections Coming Up Soon

This year we have elections in three of the six director regions across Canada as per the by-laws of CGS.

These regions are:

  • 1-British Columbia
  • 3-Saskatchewan and Manitoba
  • 5-Quebec

The current incumbents in each of these regions are:

  • 1-Saundra (Sandy) Howell
  • 3-Susan Frazer
  • 5-Catherine Lord

Based on membership totals for each region as of December 31, 2019 there will be one (1) seat open on the CGS Board in each of these regions.

We will be contacting members in these three regions in the near future with regard to making nominations for the three positions.

Below is an excerpt from the bylaws of CGS outlining the position of Director and  the procedure for electing directors. Please read them carefully if this message is pertinent to the area where you reside.

The most crucial point at the moment is the JUNE 30TH deadline for nominations and the process for making a nomination requiring signatures of members in the region. We have marked this section of the by-laws with ***.

Should you have any further questions please contact the CGS office at info@goats.ca or 226-332-3166.

7. DIRECTORS

7.1. The property and business of the Society shall be managed by a Board of not less than six Directors.

7.2. No person shall be qualified for election as a director if such person;

a) is not a member in good standing

b) is not an individual

c) is less than 18 years of age

d) is of unsound mind and has been so found by a Court in Canada or elsewhere

7.3. The Directors shall be elected on a three year rotating basis in the manner set out in sub-sections 7.5 to 7.17 hereof and is eligible for re-election.

7.4. For the purpose of elections, the membership shall be divided into the following districts:

District 1- Province of British Columbia

District 2- Province of Alberta

District 3- Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba

District 4- Province of Ontario

District 5- Province of Quebec

District 6- Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island

Only those members of the Society who reside in a particular District may vote for the Director or Directors to be elected from that District.

7.5. The number of Directors elected in each district will be determined by reference to the total number of members of the Society that are resident in that District according to the Society s membership list as of December 31st of the calendar year immediately preceding the election year and according to the following schedule:

1 to 150 members 1 Directors

151 to 450 members 2 Directors

451 and over 3 Directors

7.6. Districts 1,3 and 5 shall have their election of Directors in the years 1999, 2002, 2005 and so on every three years. District 2, 4 and 6 shall have their election of Directors in the years 2000, 2003, 2006 and so on every three years.

7.7. Directors shall be elected by postal ballot.

7.8. By a circular notice prepaid, the Secretary Manager shall supply all members with a list of all members of their designated district, including both names and addresses. Providing that if the Society has an official organ which is mailed to all members, a notice published therein shall be deemed sufficient.

7.9. Members may make nominations only for Directors resident in their district.

***7.10. In order for a member to qualify as a candidate for the office of Director in his district, he must be nominated in writing by no fewer than fifteen (15) members in good standing who reside in that District and such nominations must be sent by mail to the Head Office of the Society and post-marked not later than June 30. ***

7.11. The Secretary Manager shall notify the members who have been nominated, informing them that their names will be included in the ballot for election of Directors of his District unless notice declining the nominations is given within five (5) days.

7.12. The Secretary Manager shall, for each District which is voting that year, send voting ballots by regular prepaid mail to the members resident in that District on or before July 15 of the election year.

7.13. Members shall receive a ballot listing the candidates for their district with instructions to vote for the required number of directors for that district. A member may vote for one or more candidates, up to the total number of Directors allotted for that district.

7.14. With the ballot, an envelope marked Official Ballot and addressed to the Secretary Manager, shall be sent with instructions to return this containing the ballot only, and that in order to be counted, the ballot must be received at the Head Office of the Society on or before August 15 of the election year.

7.15. Counting of the returned ballots so received shall be supervised by the Secretary Manager and/or a recognized third party appointed by the Board. The results shall be tabulated and the ballots destroyed by motion of the new Board when it takes office.

7.16. In the case of a tie vote, the candidate who has been longest a member in his district shall be declared elected.

7.17. The successful candidates shall be notified of their election as soon as possible once results are known. The newly elected Board will take office directly prior to the Board of Director s meeting which precedes the Annual General Meeting. Newly elected Directors may add items of concern to the agenda for the Board Meeting prior to taking office.

7.18. A majority of Directors shall constitute a quorum for meetings of the Board.

7.19.All decisions of the Board shall be resolved by a majority vote of the Directors voting, provided that no less than a majority of Directors actually vote thereon. Any Director shall be presumed and deemed to have assented to any and all decisions so made unless he shall register his dissent to the decision and such dissent shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board.

7.20. In the case that a position on the Board becomes vacant at any time, the candidate with the next highest number of votes in that district will be appointed to the position provided that person gained no less than 10% of the votes cast in that district. Failing that, appointment or election to fill the position will be at the discretion of the Board.

7.21. The Office of Director Shall be Automatically vacated:

a) if a Director has resigned his office by delivering a written resignation to the Secretary Manager;

b) if a Director ceases to be a member in good standing;

c) if a Director is found by a Court to be of unsound mind;

d) if at a general membership meeting of a District, a resolution is passed by an affirmative vote of no less than 60% of the members present at such a meeting that a Director of that district be removed from office; or

e) upon the death of a Director.

Code of Ethics and Becoming a CGS Director

For a number of months the CGS Board has been working on a Code of Ethics for not only Board members but also staff and other people filling roles for CGS and indeed all members of the association. As of May 2020 the Board is releasing a CGS Code of Ethics. Please take the time to read and consider the content of this document. Reading and agreeing to comply with this code of ethics will become part of the process of applying for a new membership in CGS and also in annual renewing of memberships in CGS, beginning later this year.  

Should you have any questions about meaning of this document please contact your regional director or the CGS office.

An accompanying document outlines some of the skills, mindsets and expectations of those who both stand for election as a Director and subsequently succeed in filling a CGS Board position.

Very soon we will be announcing elections in three regions of the country with a deadline for nominations of June 30, 2020.

This new document will help those who are considering  letting their name stand for election to understand the responsibilities and expectations entailed in the position.

CODE OF ETHICS DOCUMENT LINK

BEING A DIRECTOR DOCUMENT LINK

CGS Classification Program Cancelled for 2020

During a very recent Board meeting the CGS Board voted to cancel classification service for 2020. The decision was a pragmatic one, but, also done with sadness. The situation revolving around the current health crisis is moving at a terrific pace but still leaves many questions unanswered.

CGS will work with each applicant for service regarding any funds forwarded to CGS already. The decision of each applicant will be fully respected. CGS will use 2020 to further enhance the program and to work on advanced training for classifiers.

The CGS board felt a great responsibility toward the safety and health of both our staff and members who were planning to make use of this important service. The Board is highly hopeful that classification will be back, better than ever, in 2021.

Questions or comments may be directed to the CGS office.

Important Message from the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation

CLRC is pleased to announce the release of latest version of Electronic services, ERA 5.0 at www2.clrc.ca. The details are provided in the attached document.

This is the biggest set of self-service program improvements yet provided by CLRC. The key to better, faster and more economical service is to encourage the greater use of these self-service programs. They are also designed to prevent errors so common on manual paper applications and are as self explanatory as possible.

Although these programs have been extensively tested, we encourage feedback from members if they experience problems. The sooner we are notified, the sooner we can make further improvements.

CLRC looks forward to continuing to provide better service to all members in the future. During the current COVID 19 crisis, CLRC staff will be mostly working from home. Communication is best by e-mail.

Please open the attached files, which include important notices from your association.

LINK

Sincerely,

Glenn Clark
Systems Manager
Canadian Livestock Records Corporation
2417 Holly Lane
Ottawa, ON
K1V 0M7
CANADA
glenn.clark@clrc.ca
1-877-833-7110 x 317 (toll free) or 613-731-7110 x 317
Fax: 613-731-0704

New CGS Website Launched

The Canadian Goat Society is pleased to launch our new website for 2020. This website will provide members with important resources and news, and will continue to be updated in the weeks ahead. Thank you to the CGS Board and volunteers for their hard work.

Classification Schedule deadline

Very recent news! After considering the views of members and a lot of internal discussion, the CGS board have moved the deadline for applications for CLASSIFICATION to April 15, 2020.