It's convex world

Ever use a magnifying glass to create a backwards, upside down image. Try it sometime. It could tell you a lot about politics, the difference between what politicians say and do, and how governments big and small justify their actions to people who should know better.

Hold a magnifying glass near a lamp and focus the light on a wall or other surface. Play with the focus, pulling the glass further or closer to the wall until you see an image take shape. The image of the lamp will be - as I say - backwards and upside down. Believe it or not, you’ve just taken a big step toward understanding Kanehsatake and, more importantly, what’s taking place at their Health Center.

What you may see with your own two eyes is the lamp. It’s reality. You know it’s there because you can touch it. You can move it. You can switch it off or even burn yourself if you touch the hot bulb without allowing it to cool. This is your world - not the one of the so-called board of directors at the Kanehsatake Health Center.

The so-called board of the Kanehsatake Health Center exist in a convex dimension in which wrong becomes right, openness becomes secrecy, a firing becomes a “suspension without pay”. It then evolves into a “suspension with pay” then into an “extended suspension with pay” until it goes full circle and becomes a firing after all. Just like we knew all the time.  But the board didn’t see it that way. Nope. Because apparently they exist in a convex world where personal dislike - even hatred - of a person is a firing offence. It’s not what you do that gets you fired - it’s who you are.

It’s a world where the board of directors isn’t really a board. It’s only an extension of the band council. It’s a world where the board - originally set up to ensure community involvement independent of the band council - has twisted things backwards. It’s a world where the very people who should be protecting the rights of people at Kanehsatake are violating them, undermining their community rights, and using personal hatreds to convince themselves and others that it’s okay.

It’s a world where the phrase “community involvement” means more band councillors but not a single community member as defined in its own Articles of Incorporation. 

Stick around because this is only Part One in a series of Four.  

What to do?

With the Petition, that is?

The petition that 53 real people signed. There are a few more signatures laying around out there on hardcopy (paper, y'know, like from trees) as well. I have it on good authority that we needed 35 signatures to achieve the necessary "5%" stipulated by the Articles of Incorporation of the Kanesatake Health Center to "Demand a membership meeting" with the so-called Board of Directors.

Any suggestions on how you'd like to deliver this list of signatures?

I put one suggestion out there, before I was so rudely blocked on Facebook by the so-called board. I thought a barbecue might be nice. A few of us show up and pull out a BBQ unit, some dogs and burgers, and we serve lunch in the parking lot of the Health Center, Riverside, or maybe the band office. Y'know, whereever the officers of the board hide out. That way we can invite them to a civilized discussion and set a date for this meeting and confirm that elections will be held ASAP.

Any other suggestions, just enter them in the comments area below this post.

Regards,

Survey sez!

I collected the figures from the GoPetition site and created some nifty charts. Twelve people filled out the Survey - "Evaluate the Board of Directors of the Kanehsatà:ke Health Center"

Here are the nine questions. After that, I'll put a couple of charts from the numbers.  HINT:  the board of the Kanehsatake Health Center gets a great big fat "F" so far.  "F" stands for f**ked.

Read on, here are the survey questions:

1. The Board of Directors of the Kanehsatà:ke Health Center respects and applies Aboriginal principles of fairness, openness and respect
2. Your Board develops and maintains a longer term vision and clear sense of direction
3. The KHC Board of Directors ensures the prevalence of high ethical standards
4. Ensures effective performance through sound information and regular communications with the members
5. Ensures the financial & organizational health of the organization
6. Understands and honours the roles and legal obligations of a director of an not-for-profit corporation
7. Ensures sound relationships with membership, clients & citizens
8. Is accountable to the membership
9. Ensures the soundness of the governance system 

And here's the overall results in a chart.  Note that there was an overwhelming negative ('Strongly Disagree' to 'Disagree') response to the questions. Only 1 person selected 'Strongly agree' to only 1 question, the one about accountability (#8).

Results of 12 respondents - hugely negative on Board performance

For example, take this first question which is similar to most of the results. Most of the respondents didn't rate the Kanehsatake health Center's board of directors very highly.

These results should be looked at by people at Kanehsatake but also by the board itself. The board got low marks across the board - from communicating with members to treating people with respect, to handling finances and budgets well, and making themselves accountable.

In my opinion, this is what should be done very year to the Health Center's board to make sure that they do their jobs properly and to a professional standard. But people in the community should do something similar with the band council to make sure that the council as a whole, and the individual councillors, perform to the community's standards. Right now, they have none.

Regards,

what this is, and what it ain't

I hate being censored. I hate being shut down. I hate it especially when there is a good reason for publishing an account of how a small group of people in a community like Kanehsatake can abuse their positions and get away with it. I hate it when they make it difficult for that account to be read by others in the community - not because ti's wrong. Not because it didn't happen. But because they don't want anybody to read it. Maybe even ask questions of their own afterward.

Yep. That pisses me off.

Somebody gets fired in a most brutal way.  There are people who cheer.  There are others who don't.  The reason I wrote about that was because IF this bunch could violate one person's rights, then they could do it to anyone else's too.

The so-called board of directors violated my rights as well.  They took over a board - the board for the Health Center - by stacking it with themselves. Why? Not because the Center was being mismanaged. Policies were followed. Budgets were maintained.

Some people might not like the style of management - but that's is not a firing offence.  That's the point.  There was no legal justification for taking over the board - my board - and refusing to hold a public meeting of the community membership so that we members could control our own Health Center.

They took away my right to be represented on that board.

They took away my right to complain about the board and its actions.

And they threatened me with legal action for saying so.

Bastards. Gutless bastards.

the kicker - a community flyer

A kicker, in newsroom parlance, is a quirky or funny little story to end the newscast on a bright note. After all, the entire newscast may have been all doom and gloom, death and destruction, or maybe just boring stuff. So the lineup editor hopes - prays - that someone cane whip up a little something that can get a chuckle or even a full belly laugh out of someone out there.

Sometimes, it's ironic humour. A bit of absurdity.  Like this little thing that the so-called board of directors put out about moi - your truly.  Yes, my name is peppered liberally throughout with warnings not to read that damn Dan David's Facebook pages because it's all lies etc etc.  But everybody already knows what this bunch doesn't want folks to read.  So it's not about anything I've published online. Nope. It's all about their refusing to acknowledge reality.

But about this community flyer... Did I take offence? No.  Did I threaten to sue?  Mais, non!  Sacre bleu!  I have a sense of humour, unlike those poor sods who cling so desperately to their idiotic notions of power.  It is to laugh.  ha ha

Page 2 libel threat

And this is Page 2.  I suppose some law firms will do anything for money.  Shame on them too.

Threat to sue for defamation

When I first posted this on my Facebook group called "Protect the Kanehsatake Health Center", I added the comment that in order to sue for libel or defamation, one should first have a good reputation to damage.  Of course, Facebook kept allowing the so-called board of directors at the Kanehsatake Health Center (aka the band council and its minions) to "block access" to my group pages.  FB has no qualms censoring me.  Shame on Zukerberg and the rest of them at FB.

The so-called board of directors wasn't serious about suing me because they didn't have legal leg to stand on. No justifiable complaint. So the following letter is a SLAPP.  According to Wikipedia, a SLAPP is a:  

" strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.^[1]

The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. The difficulty, of course, is that plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Hence, the difficulty in drafting SLAPP legislation, and in applying it, is to craft an approach which affords an early termination to invalid abusive suits, without denying a legitimate day in court to valid good faith claims.

Open Letter # 3

Dear so-called director,

I’m hurt. Really I am. I also feel insulted that you, individually and collectively as the so-called board of directors of the Health Center, haven’t deemed my two (2) previous OPEN LETTERS worthy of reply. Instead, you’ve sicced some lawyers on me with threats of a libel and defamation lawsuit. Rather bizarre because - first - you should have a decent reputation to damage. But that’s your problem. So is credibility.

I find it strange that you would spend so much time, effort and money trying to stop me from asking questions. For example: Why are you hiding from the membership? Why did you stop the election of community representatives to the board? Why are you preventing people at Kanehsatà:ke from controlling their own health programs? Why are you prepared to act illegally to prevent the Director of Social Services from assuming her seat? What do you think you’re doing? I’m asking because none of it makes any sense.

Instead of answering these simple questions though, you’ve done your best to pretend that nothing’s wrong - that you’ve done nothing wrong. You act as though you don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Worse, that you’re not accountable to anyone. There are words to describe your actions. I’ve put one of those words on the Facebook page: autocrat. Look it up. There are others, a lot less polite. People are using them.

If you believe you have good reasons for what you’ve done and what you plan to do, why not explain these to the membership (which is also the community)? This is not only reasonable but the right thing to do. Working in secrecy, threatening jobs if people discuss what’s going on, violating their civil rights, is ridiculous.

It reminds me of the Indian agent who acted as though (to paraphrase a former councillor) that it was “the ultimate authority”. It implies that the Indian agent/board/band council can act irresponsibly and doesn’t need to explain its actions or be accountable to anyone. At least, no one in Kanehsatà:ke.

People have seen what the band council has done to their children’s education. How money for programs is there one day, for counselling and therapy for their kids, but is gone without explanation the next day. Everyone knows that outside businesses contracted to service water systems in their homes - to ensure that their water is safe to drink - are refusing calls because the band council hasn’t paid its bills. People can see what’s going on?

KYOT. Daycare. Housing. Job training. The list goes on. People know their lives are affected every day by decisions made in secret. People apply for housing repairs but can’t get an answer by phone or letter for months and even years. Trainers for employment programs aren’t paid. People looking for answers are themselves asked why anyone would want to get job training anyway? After all, there aren’t any jobs at Kanehsatake! Now there’s a head-scratcher.

There’s less and less money to ensure health and safety in the community. But there’s cash to hire consultants and lawyers to make sure people stay in the dark, wrongdoing is covered up, and questions go nowhere. Even the kids in school know this wrong.

Here’s another question: If even those kids know better - why don’t you?

It’s time to stop hiding and answer some questions.

Regards:

Dec. 16: Open Letter to the Directors

NOTE: The following account is as accurate as possible given the circumstances; people did not want to be quoted or identified for reasons that should become obvious after reading this Open Letter. The only bit of information that has been corrected is the name of the person who "fired" Ms. Bonspille-Nelson. Although Wendy Nicholas, the president of the Health Center's board, was present and issued the warnings to staff, it was Paul Nicholas who did the dirty work. - DD

-----post folos------

“People are wondering why they’re going after 

the one thing in this community that works.”

The head of the band council, Paul Nicholas, president of the Board of Directors of the Kanehsatà:ke Health Center walked into Joyce Bonspille-Nelson’s office shortly after she arrived at work last week to tell her she was “suspended” without pay – effective immediately. Paul Nicholas Wendy Nicholas told Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson that she wasn’t allowed to tell her staff or anybody outside work about anything including the contents of the letter of dismissal in her hand. Paul Nicholas Ms. Nicholas then escorted Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson out to the parking lot. It was quick and brutal just like a well-planned execution should be.

Ms. Nicholas (ed. - and Paul Nicholas) then gathered the staff, warned them that they could be fired if they told anyone – including their spouses – about anything they’d just seen and heard. This violated their labour rights, their membership rights with the Health Center corporation, but also their individual rights to free speech and association. It left almost everyone at the Center in shock.

Despite the warnings, everything from the firing to the threats of dismissal was soon known throughout the territory. It’s hard to keep anything secret in Kanehsatà:ke. It’s impossible to keep a public execution quiet.

No one had to say anything because it was on the shocked faces of staff. There was the unfamiliar closed door of Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson’s office. There may be inconsistencies in some of the accounts of that morning but that’ll happen when everyone in authority pretends it never happened.

The band council and the Health Center’s Board (essentially the same) may try to convince you that Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson was “suspended” or laid off. That would be a lie. She was fired while the Board scrambles to find a reason to justify it. It was an execution done in front of Health Center staff with threats to intimidate them into silence.

The band council may claim it had nothing to do with the firing. That too would be a lie. Its fingerprints are all over Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson’s back. The band council controls the Health Center’s Board of Directors. It’s been this way ever since the council appointed its own chief councillor, Paul Nicholas, and Education Director, Carrie Brison, to the Board. I accused the band council of stacking the Board in a previous Open Letter (November 8):

The band council issued a BCR appointing Paul Nicholas (chief councillor) and Carrie Brison (Director of Education) as “interim” Board members to replace the Directors of Social Services and Social Assistance. The band council didn’t consult the Health Center or the community. It didn’t need to. Band councillors held the balance of voting power on the Board before; they dominated the Board after these appointments. If you weren’t a band councillor then you were their paid employees.

 The Health Center’s Board meeting, when they decided to get rid of Joyce Bonspiel-Nelson, took place only days before they carried it out. Sonya Gagnier, Barbara Simon, Carrie Brison, Wendy Nicholas, and Paul Nicholas had to be there for “quorum”. They decided who would carry out the deed as well as the contents of the letter of dismissal. That Board meeting, however, was illegal. The meeting should never have happened. Legally, it never did. Here’s why.

Mr. Nicholas was an “interim” replacement for the Director of Social Services. This person resigned from the Health Center’s Board a year before but only recently moved to a new job. Ms. Caroline Claveau became the new Director of Social Services last month (October 2010). The Health Center’s Board of Directors knew she’d arrived, and that Paul Nicholas no longer had a claim to sit on the Board.

The individuals at that Board meeting last week knew that Mr. Nicholas had no right to be there. But without five people, they couldn’t have quorum. They knew they should have invited Ms. Claveau instead. They also knew Ms, Claveau had a legal right to be there, to take her seat on the Board. It’s clearly spelled out in the Health Center’s Articles of Incorporation. But, apparently, they didn't tell Ms. Claveau about the meeting.

The individuals at that Board meeting denied Ms. Claveau of her right to sit on the Board. That’s bad enough. There may be consequences.

The individuals at that Board meeting went ahead because they wanted to dump Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson as soon as possible, perhaps before Ms. Claveau could claim her seat. It doesn’t matter why. Nor does it matter whether the Board felt they could justify their decision. The whole meeting was conducted illegally. There may be consequences for this as well.

Boards of directors have limited legal protection to conduct business and make decisions that may include layoffs or firings so long as they practice due diligence. That means that as individual members sitting on a board, they must keep themselves informed about issues, uphold their legal obligations, and commit to act “in the best interests” of the corporation. If they don’t, they may become liable — as a board but also as individuals.

At least one councillor says the Health Center’s Board (aka the band council) has convinced itself that it doesn’t need to respect rules set down by some Federal department in Ottawa called Corporations Canada. This implies that the band council would like to dissolve the Health Center’s Board of Directors. They’ve done so before with other boards. The band council may be moving to do just that again. As of December 22:

•  the Director of Riverside Elders’ Home and current “president” of the Health Center’s Board will be laid off and off the Board;
•  the Director of Education, Carrie Bisson will be laid off as well, and off the Board;
•  the Board has no community representatives and has cancelled elections; 
• the present Board prevented the new Director of Social Services from taking her seat.

Paul Nicholas’ continued participation at any meeting of the Health Center’s Board is a problem. He shouldn’t be there at all. Unless Ms. Caroline Claveau, the new Director of Social Services is allowed to take her seat, the only Directors able to sit on the Health Center’s Board as of December 22 are:

• Councillor Barbara Simon
• Councillor Sonya Gagnier

This means there will be no quorum to conduct business, no governing body to approve management decisions, spending or new contracts. The present Board of Directors at the Health Center, with help from the band council, has seen to that. Health Canada should be concerned. So should everyone at Kanehsatà:ke who relies on the Health Center.

I have no connection to Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson. I don’t know the names of all of her children although, we must be related like most people at Kanehsatà:ke. This makes me wonder why people, including some on band council, call it the “Nelson Health Center”. There are (in alphabetical order) Bonspiels, Crees, Gabriels, Hannabergs, Hardings, Nelsons, Nicholases, Okes, Parents, and more family names employed there. Their families are probably inter-married and related to one another just like the rest of us. The accusation is crap, especially when there is so much to appreciate about the Health Center.

For 15 years, Joyce Bonspiel-Nelson worked the often bizarre and confusing areas of national and provincial health politics, policies and programs. Along with her staff, she developed coherent policies, clear work plans and practical budgets. She protected her staff and tried to make available as much training as they needed or wanted. The Health Center stands out at Kanehsatà:ke because, unlike those disasters directly under the band council’s control, it is both well-managed and financially stable.

Perhaps most importantly, Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson learned how to say “No”. She stood up to band councillors and others who tried to bully Health Center staff or treat the Health Center like their private playground.

Those people who met last week to get rid of Ms. Bonspiel-Nelson — and it needed to be all of them — didn’t fire her because she was dishonest or didn’t do her job. They fired her precisely because she was too honest and did her job too well. 


Regards,

Nov. 8: Open Letter for the upcoming Special AGM

At the Board of Directors of the Kanesatake Health Center Inc.’s AGM of October 26, 2010, many of us questioned the dominant presence of band councillors on the Health Center’s Board. Paul Nicholas responded that he and other councilors “had no choice” but to fill two of the designated “permanent” empty seats with “interim” appointments. That’s not quite accurate.

The band council may fill a vacant “permanent” seat with a councillor – but it should appoint someone from the community:

• to maintain balance on the Board between the band council and community interests;
• to avoid the perception, if not reality, of conflict of interest by councillors on the Board;
• to dispel fears that “interim” appointments of councillors invites abuse of that position.

According to people who were there, Kanesatà:ke’s Health Centre was created by incorporation because people wanted their health center and board of directors to operate at arms-length from the band council to better serve the community as a whole. They came to this conclusion after decades of corrupt or inept band governance marked by closed council meetings, BCRs passed in secret, discrimination against individuals or entire families, favouritism, nepotism, lack of accountability, financial mismanagement, abuse of authority and conflict of interest. People said they wanted their health center set up in such as way as to make it more difficult for any band council to interfere. 

The establishment of the Health Center was intended to foster ownership by members of the community over their own health services regardless of political affiliation, family ties or religion. The community wanted an independent board of directors that would promote openness, fairness, accountability, and equitable access to health services for all. The band council agreed and promised Kanehsatà:ke that the new health center would be theirs and would serve them.

A steering committee considered designs for the health center’s board of directors. Not everybody agreed but apparently most people wanted to adopt a few well-known principles of responsible board governance. Here’s one example that, although American, is similar to those that guide most not-for-profit corporations in Canada.

A board of directors also has certain legal obligations, known as duties. While the details may vary from state to state, here are some common legal responsibilities for members of non-profit boards to:

• Take reasonable care when making decisions for the organization (called “duty of care”)
• Act in the best interest of the organization (called “duty of loyalty”)
• Act in accordance with the organization’s mission (called “duty of obedience”)
• Stand aside when there is a conflict of interest (called “recusal”)

While there a board has many responsibilities, there are also things it should avoid. Basically, board members should avoid being over- or under-involved. More specifically, the board of directors should not:

• Concern itself with the day-to-day management of the organization. That is the executive director’s job.
• Rubber stamp decisions.

While the board should take the recommendations of the organization’s director, staff, and members into consideration, the board needs to be an independent decision-making body.

Read more at Suite101: Non-profit Board Responsibilities: Overview of Non-profit Board Governance http://www.suite101.com/content/nonprofit-board-responsibilities-a14806#ixzz14F2rmaUX

Against the steering committee’s better judgment, however, Health Canada imposed its preferred board design on the community. Health Canada insisted that the band council have two (2) “permanent” seats on the Board for its “health” and “assistant health” portfolio holders. 

Federal officials also insisted that (3) more “permanent” seats go to the Directors of Social Services, Social Assistance, and Riverside Elder’s Home to ensure stability with existing services. 

Only two (2) seats would go to people from the community, both defined as “professional” and “retired professional”. There was trouble with this design right from the start. 

Some Board members brought their competing interests, job titles and personal squabbles to the table. They couldn’t – or didn’t know how – to leave behind their outside jobs and assume the legal responsibilities on the board of directors of the Health Center. This created tension and in-fighting. The Directors of Social Services and Social Assistance resigned, as did the two community members on the Board. By the end of last year, there were only three sitting members left – not enough for quorum. The Health Center could not continue operating for very long without at least four voting directors.

The band council issued a BCR appointing Paul Nicholas (chief councillor) and Carrie Bisson (Director of Education) as “interim” Board members to replace the Directors of Social Services and Social Assistance. The band council didn’t consult the Health Center or the community. It didn’t need to. Band councillors held the balance of voting power on the Board before, they dominated the Board after these appointments. If you weren’t a band councillor then you were their paid employees.

The Board scheduled an Annual General Meeting for November 2009, then cancelled it over concerns of a flu pandemic. It could have held an AGM anytime after March 2010, after the flu alert. The Board didn’t need to wait a year – until October 2010 – to fill vacant “community” seats, submit reports or approve audits and financial statements. In fact, it was illegal to wait so long. This delay, however, made possible something that has yet to be explained or justified to the community.

Kanesatake for Youth of Today (KYOT) is aimed at teens up to 17 years of age, although the 18-plus Youth Council also uses KYOT facilities for after-hours activities. KYOT should be funded by the band council but had been administered by the Health Center. At some point, KYOT asked the Health Center for additional financial support for some activities and services such as field trips, transportation, some maintenance and materials. 

Increasingly, the band council defaulted on its financial contribution but expected the Health Center to pick up the slack. Even after the band council took full control of KYOT this past summer, it still expected the Health Center to use health funds to cover the cost of KYOT. This led to speculation that the band council used KYOT money to pay down its debt, and the takeover was an attempt to cover its tracks.

Councillors involved in the vote to takeover KYOT may not have told other band councillors what they were doing. It’s possible they didn’t even tell other councillors on the Health Center’s board of directors until after the KYOT takeover. The only thing known with certainty is that, once more, neither the community nor the Health Center staff was consulted. 

Directors on boards have a legal obligation to protect the best interests (“duty of loyalty”) of that organization. Band councillors should not be allowed to wear two hats at the same time; acting as both band councillor and director on the Health Center Board at once. It invites abuse of the position and increases potential conflicts of interest. Band council may not understand this basic principle for good board governance. For instance, even at the October 26 AGM, some band councillors not only identified themselves as councillors, but acted as though they were there to represent the band council – not the Board.

These and other incidents show that band councillors either don’t know or don’t care how boards of directors should operate. It shows the need for board training, so everyone on the board understands their roles and legal obligations. It also underlines the need to restructure the Board to install safeguards against abuse of board positions and insulate the Health Center from undue influence by the band council or any other group. How can Health Center managers and staff carry out their duties without fear or favour when most of their board of directors are band councillors or senior managers taking orders from the band council? 

The last resignation from the Board took place more than a year ago. The “interim” appointments of Mr. Nicholas and Ms. Bisson should have expired as of the October 26 AGM. They’ve given no indication that they intend to leave the Board. In fact, there are whispers that these “interim” appointments will become permanent – without community consultation or consent. 

There needs to be limits placed on the length of “interim” appointments so they don’t continue for months, a year or longer. Vacant positions on the Board, including “permanent seats”, must be filled by community members and confirmed by the community at a general meeting of the Board. Band councillors should not appoint themselves to the Health Center Board simply because they’re band councillors without community knowledge or consent.

The Board must be restructured so it can appoint people who bring certain talents, skills and experience to support the Health Center. These qualities may include expertise in fundraising, policy development, government, board governance; or experience in areas of health, health policy, health research, etc. We have kanehsatà:keronon in professions such as law, computer programming, education, physical therapy, and more. Yet the band council ignores these people to put themselves onto the Health Center’s Board even if they have none of the above skills or experience in any area of health. This doesn’t make sense.

This should not exclude any band councillor from sitting on the Board. It must be recognized that there are band councillors who work hard to advocate for improved health in the community and improve conditions that affect health. But they must satisfy concerns about qualifications or commitment by the community before filling a board position just like community members. 

Regardless, community interests must be safeguarded by ensuring a dominant presence of members of Kanehsatà:ke on the Health Center Board at all times. We need more – not less – involvement by members of the community to control and run its own health system. 

Barbara Simon, a band councilor and sitting Director on the Health Center Board, offered one suggestion during the October 26 AGM: “We (band councillors) should not be on the (Health Center) Board except as an ‘ex-officio’ member. We could take part in discussions but we wouldn’t be allowed to vote.” This sounds like a sensible suggestion; one that must be discussed further at the upcoming Special AGM.

Perhaps the best reason to restructure the Board is this: The present system doesn’t work! Apparently, there’s been work done already on the issue of Board restructuring. We should distribute that document to community members to guide further discussion. There must be enough time at the upcoming Special AGM to elect new directors but also to begin serious discussions on restructuring the Board. I formally request a Saturday afternoon to begin this process. It must be emphasized that Board reform is a process and will take more than one meeting. 

Here are some proposed items for the Agenda of this upcoming Special AGM:

1. Elections of vacant membership positions;
2. Identification of community members to fill “interim” positions on the Board;
3. Discussion on implications of and issues raised by the KYOT takeover;
4. Discussion on restructuring the Board of Directors;
5. Amendments to Board policy to place reasonable time limits upon “interim” appointments.

This Open Letter will be delivered to the Board of Directors of the Kanesatake Health Center Inc. It will also be made available online via various social networking platforms.

Regards: