If the AAO were to remove the Toronto requirement from the Constitution, it would also be required to amend the letters patent. The Corporations Act stipulates that a corporation must locate its head office in Ontario in accordance with its letters patent (277(1)). A corporation may change by special resolution the location of its head office (277(2)) but this change would have to be specific. (i.e. you cannot change from "Toronto" to "Ontario".)

From my time on the Board (and the PDC), we found that having meetings in non-centrally accessible areas was prohibitively expensive. I would think we would want to restrict any future AAO site to as far west as Stratford / London, as far south as Grimsby / Niagara, and as far east as Kingston. Otherwise we will witness the travel budget go through the roof, and participation levels from more far-flung areas of the province decline.

We should also consider the role of the Executive Director in fundraising and advocacy. How would a move out of the provincial core affect the ED's ability to perform these critical functions?

Cheers,
pjh


----
Paul J. Henry, C.A.
Archivist
City of Ottawa Archives
c/o City of Ottawa, mail-code 19-49
110 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa ON  K1P 1J1
tel. (613) 580-2424 x13181
fax. (613) 580-2614
http://www.ottawa.ca/heritage

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for discussion for the Archives Assoc. of Ontario
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Sharon Larade
Sent: Thursday 13 April 2006 4:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: AAO office move - is there an institutional-based solution?


Readers of Off the Record (Winter 2006) will have seen President Jeremy 
Heil's notice ( pages 4-5) that the upcoming AGM June 7-9 in Hamilton 
includes an opportunity to decide as a community about removing the 
"City of Toronto" limitations from the existing AAO constitution.

This would allow for the possibility of relocating the AAO office away 
from its present location at 258 Adelaide Street East - #301 in downtown 
Toronto to any other location in  the province of Ontario. ( see also 
page 11-12 for the discussion from the 18 Nov 2005 AAO Board meeting).

If you're not planning on attending the AAO's AGM, you might want to 
give thoughtful consideration to how you would vote on this issue and 
prepare a proxy. Jeremy has suggested the AAO list as a possible venue 
for dialogue about this issue. This is particularly important to start 
well in advance of AAO Chapter AGMs where further discussion is encouraged.

Is there an archives - an institutional member - whose repository or 
sponsor ( either in or outside of Toronto) might be willing to host the 
AAO Office? 

What are the essential details of the business operation ( required 
square foot  office space, meeting rooms, connectivity, etc) that the 
AAO requires ? This might help us all help AAO find a new home.

Where do you think that AAO office should go in its next generation?

I encourage all AAO members to contribute to this and other related 
questions on our AAO listserv, and thank Jeremy for his detailed invitation.