ALBERTA COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORKERS

PROCESS FOR RESOLUTIONS

BACKGROUND

At past Annual General Meetings (AGM) of the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), presentations of hastily drafted resolutions from the floor allowed little or no opportunity for study, informed debate or decision making by those in attendance. To address this undesirable situation, a process has been designed to acknowledge the importance of informed debate on resolutions to ACSW, the profession of social work and to inpidual social workers.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTIONS

FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR RESOLUTIONS

• Resolutions may only be submitted by ACSW members in good standing.
• ACSW will not entertain resolutions, which involve disputes between or among Registered Social Workers (RSWs) in Alberta.
• The ACSW Communications Committee shall assume the responsibility for reviewing proposed resolutions for clarity, format and content and for recommending processes for submission, debate, voting and follow-up of resolutions.

• All Resolutions shall be in writing and in the form:
  
  WHEREAS …
  AND WHEREAS …
  NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the ACSW (take some action)
   
• Resolutions must meet the following criteria:
  1. Cannot direct the ACSW to adopt a particular course of action but rather be worded as a recommendation or as a request for consideration of an issue. (Adopted Resolutions are advisory to the ACSW Council).
  2. ‘Whereas’ clauses will clearly and briefly set out the reasons for the resolution.
  3. The names, signatures and ACSW Registration # of the authors of the Resolution must be included.
• Each resolution will be accompanied by background information, including appropriate research, outlining the issue as it relates to the profession of social work and to the ACSW.
• The operative clause of the resolution (i.e. the one beginning NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT…)
  1. Must clearly set out what the resolution is meant to achieve.
  2. State a specific proposal for action.
  3. The wording should be straightforward and brief so that the intent of the resolution is clear. Generalization should be avoided.

NOTE: The deadline for submitting AGM resolutions is February 3, 2012. Please submit resolutions electronically to ease posting on the ACSW website. E-mail resolutions to: Kimc@acsw.ab.ca

SUBMISSION, DEBATE, VOTING AND FOLLOW-UP OF RESOLUTIONS.

• All members shall be notified of the process for submitting resolutions 12 weeks prior to the AGM.
• Resolutions must be submitted in writing preferably via e-mail to Kimc@acsw.ab.ca 7 weeks prior to the AGM.
• The Communication Committee will review each resolution for clarity, format and content and will discuss any concerns with the author(s).
• The Committee will compile the submitted resolutions for posting on the ACSW website for review by RSWs. A reminder to view resolutions will be included in the AGM notice sent to RSWs prior to the AGM.
• At the AGM:
  1. The Resolution session of the AGM shall be chaired by the ACSW President or his/her designate.
  2. A parliamentarian will be present to interpret parliamentary rules of debate and voting as required.
  3. Only eligible voters with voting cards may vote. A quorum is required.
  4. Motions to adopt resolutions and amendments require a simple majority vote by eligible voters present, to be carried. There shall be no proxy votes. Amendments to resolutions may be presented from the floor and must be duly moved and seconded. Amendments shall supplement or clarify the original motion. Amendments shall not be used to represent a new motion. Debate and voting procedures shall be the same for both resolutions and amendments.
  5. A resolution arising from the proceedings of the AGM or related to a matter of an urgent nature arising after the resolution submission deadline may be considered an extraordinary resolution.
  6. An RSW wishing to propose an extraordinary resolution shall present it, together with a rationale as to why it is extraordinary, to the President of ACSW. All consideration of extraordinary resolutions shall occur after debate and voting on resolutions that were submitted through the regular process.
  7. The extraordinary resolution shall be displayed visually for all attending the AGM to view. A 2/3 majority of those eligible voters present shall be required prior to any debate. There shall be no debate on the urgency of the extraordinary resolution prior to this vote.
  8. All amendments and extraordinary resolutions shall be visually displayed in a format large enough to be read by all voting delegates in attendance.
• Subsequent to the AGM, the ACSW Council shall inform the membership in a timely manner of the disposition, including rationale, of each resolution. Action throughout the year on resolutions shall also be reported in a timely manner.
• Resolutions may be submitted throughout the year. For these resolutions, the Communications Committee shall recommend, in a timely manner, an appropriate course of action.

CONTACTS

For more information contact the kimc@acsw.ab.ca.