Good Morning Everyone,

Last week at the AGM in Hamilton, the Board rescinded its motion to change section 2.2 of the Constitution dealing with the office location. The reasoning behind this action was that the Board received some legal information related to the Corporations Act (and in turn our letters patent) late last week, which made the resolution put forth unnecessary. The Board was informed that the Association could maintain a "head office" in Toronto in the form of an address of record (such as a law firm) while the physical office is located at some other address (or even addresses) in Ontario. 
Because of this new information, the Board determined that the issue at hand was not a constitutional issue, but a policy issue which will be dealt with by the Board. Over the past few years the Board has attempted to move to a Policy Governance Model which allows the Board to spell out policies related to the goals and visions of the Association. Operational methods such as services, programmes, finances and personnel are staff issues which are to be dealt with by our Executive Director. Unfortunately, the Board has been struggling with this new governance model and a number of issues still need to be dealt with in the following year. Such problems relate to our assumption of roles, communication, our financial situation, and staffing which has related to greater responsibility being placed on one individual. All these issues, in turn, are related to the issue of the office move. 
The issue itself has created a lot of debate about the possibility of a move to somewhere outside of Toronto. Although this latest bit of information allows the Board the possibility to move anywhere in Ontario, it does not mean a move is either definite or permanent. However, the Board together with the Executive Director needs to find an alternative to deal with some of the Association's current financial issues and this may constitute finding cheaper office space elsewhere in Ontario.
The Board has a lot to discuss in the following weeks and we are encouraging members to contact Board Members with their comments and concerns regarding the issue of moving the office outside of Toronto.
Sincerely,
Liz Mayville
President - Archives Association of Ontario