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MarkH
The answer to the question is Yes – with qualifications.
If an owner, or a group of owners, wants a specific motion discussed in the AGM, firstly, provision should be made in the bylaws or rules of order saying that a motion requires a mover and a seconder (and perhaps a group of supporters) to be put on the agenda. Secondly, the Secretary or Parliamentarian should discuss the proposed motion with the supporters. The first question is, is it something that the corporation can deal with under the CPA and Regulation? If yes, then the wording needs to be developed into a simple decision, capable of debate and amendment if necessary, before the motion is decided. Then it needs to be put on the agenda and circulated to the owners for discussion, debate and a decision that would be binding on the board or the corporation.
The other side of the ‘yes’ is that the AGM is the only place in many corporations where the owners get to have a say in the running of the corporation. If discussion is stifled at the AGM, then democracy and justice are not well served. It is simple to end the formal business of the AGM and then open the floor to discussion and perhaps a spontaneous motion from the floor. Unlike the ‘motion from the floor’ discussed above, the decision would have no effect on the work of the duly elected board, but would give an indication of what those who attended the meeting wanted the board to do. A vote on such a motion would not be binding on the board or the corporation since proper notice had not been give in the notice of the meeting.
The draft Regulation under the CPA has just been published by Service Alberta. Much of the draft deals with governance and this may be dealt with in the revisions to the Regulation, I haven’t studied it yet.
