BETWEEN CONVENTIONS
A provincial union needs people who can make decisions between Conventions. The question is not whether executive power exists. The question is where it comes from, what belongs to the whole Executive, what belongs to an individual office and where the boundary lies.
CONVENTION
Convention sets major direction and the constitutional framework within which elected provincial leadership acts.
Executive authority between Conventions is delegated authority, not a new source of sovereignty.
OPEN →COLLECTIVE POWER
Not every power exercised at the provincial level should belong personally to the President or another officer.
When authority belongs to the collectively, the Executive must actually decide.
OPEN →PRESIDENT
The President needs enough authority to coordinate the organization and perform the responsibilities of the office.
But there should be no invisible remainder called “whatever the President decides.”
OPEN →VICE-PRESIDENTS
Vice-Presidents should have real areas of responsibility.
A defined portfolio tells members who is responsible and prevents every important function from collapsing into a single office.
OPEN →ADMINISTRATION & STAFF
Professional staff are essential to a large union. They bring continuity, technical knowledge and the capacity to carry out complex work.
But professional expertise should serve constitutional and elected authority, not become a separate source of political power.
OPEN →REVIEW
Elections provide a mandate. They should not require members to wait until the end of the mandate before receiving a structured account of how that authority has been used.
OPEN →