Canadian Bioethics Society

Article 1: NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Canadian Bioethics Society - Société canadienne de bioéthique.

Article 2: OBJECTIVES

2.1 The Society shall be managed efficiently and democratically by an Executive Committee which is responsible to the general membership.

2.2 The Societies activities and structure shall reflect theoretical, policy and clinical levels of study and discussion of bioethics providing a forum for interested professionals to exchange ideas and address problems in bioethics. The Society shall promote the teaching of bioethics at all levels of undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing education. Research and publication in bioethics shall be encouraged as well as provision of ethics information for practicing professionals and for the general public.

2.3 The Society will be bilingual in nature and proceedings. Membership will be encouraged and welcomed from both English and French language groups; official documents of the Society will be prepared and provided in both English and French, and participants at meetings may speak in English or French.

2.4 The business of the Society shall be conducted without a purpose of gain for its members, and any profit or other accretion of the Society shall be used in promoting its objectives.

BY-LAWS

Article 1: MEMBERSHIP

1.1 The Society shall consist of active members and honorary members.

1.2 New members of the Society shall be accepted subject to approval by the Executive Committee.

1.3 The Society is primarily for persons who have a significant involvement in teaching, research or clinical aspects of bioethics. Any person who is a registered member of a health care profession, or who has a university degree in fields related to ethics, bioethics, or law, or other interested persons, shall be eligible for active membership.

1.4 Bona fide students may apply for membership at a reduced annual fee.

1.5 The Executive Committee may revoke the membership of any Society member who fails to pay annual dues.

1.6 On the recommendation of any members, any individual may be proposed by the Executive Committee for election as an honorary member at the Annual Meeting. Honorary members are non-voting and pay no dues.

Article 2: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

2.1 The Executive Committee derives its authority from the Constitution of the Society, and is charged with conducting the day-to-day business of the Society. Decisions made and other actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the members at the Annual Business Meeting of the Society.

2.2 The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the President-Elect or the Past-President, the Secretary, five Members-at-Large (one from each of the five geographical regions), the two Student-at-Large (Graduate and Undergraduate), the Treasurer, and the Communications Officer.

2.3 The President-Elect, Secretary, Members-at-Large, the Student-at-Large, Treasure and the Communications Officer shall be elected at that Annual Business Meeting of the Society relevant to the terms of their appointments.

2.4 Ordinarily, one person will serve, sequentially and consecutively, as President-Elect, President, and Past-President: the term of office for the President shall be two years; the terms of office for the President-Elect and the Past-President shall be one year each. The Secretary shall be elected to serve a three-year term. The five Members-at-Large shall each be elected to serve two year terms, renewable once. The two Student-at-Large shall be elected to serve a two-year term, renewable once. The Treasurer and the Communications Officer shall each be elected to a three-year terms, renewable once.

2.5 No person shall serve on the Executive Committee for more than six consecutive years.

2.6 The Executive Committee of the Society shall:

(a) Alternate the Presidency between professionals in health sciences and professionals in ethics and law

(b) Have at least one Anglophone and one Francophone on the Executive

(c) Have at least one person from each of the following disciplines or categories who has or has had a significant involvement in teaching, research or clinical aspects of
i. Philosophy / theology
ii. Health law
iii. Medicine
iv. Nursing
v. Other health professions and the social sciences or humanities or health related research.

(d) Have at least one graduate student/resident member in one of the disciplines related to bioethics.

(e) Have; in addition to those specified in this article, additional members forming not more than a 10 member Executive Committee

Article 3: DUES

3.1 Society dues will be assessed annually in an amount proposed by the Executive Committee and approved by the Members.

Article 4: COMMITTEES

4.1 The Nominating Committee shall be appointed annually by the Executive Committee not later than January of each year. The Nominating Committee shall chaired by the immediate Past-President or the President-Elect and consist of four additional members, chosen so as to represent all five regions of the Society. Of the latter regional representatives, two shall not be current members of the Executive Committee. The Committee should include at least one clinical professional (e.g. a physician or nurse) and at least one non-clinical professional (e.g. a theologian, philosopher or lawyer).

4.2 The Program Committee shall consist of the President, President-Elect or Past-President, the Treasurer, and the Chairperson of the locally-selected Annual Meeting Committee, the latter person being an Active Member of the Society. The Program Committee shall organize and promote the various programs of the Society.

4.3 The Finance Committee shall consist of the Treasurer (Chairperson), the President, the President-Elect or the Past-President, one Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee and one representative of the general membership (preferably the Chairperson of the relevant local Annual Meeting Committee). The Finance Committee shall manage the finances of the Society and draft the annual budget.

Article 5: MEETINGS

5.1 The Society shall hold at least one meeting annually, at a time and place to be decided by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall rotate the meeting site to give appropriate consideration to the four geographical regions.
1) Western - British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba (and the Territories) - delete
2) Central - Ontario
3) Eastern - Quebec
4) Atlantic - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland
5) Northern – Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory and Nunavut

5.2 Notification of any Business meeting must be sent in writing to all Society members at least two months in advance.

5.3 At each Annual Meeting of the Society, a Business Meeting shall be held. At the Annual Business Meeting, the reports of the Committees of the Society shall be presented for information of the membership, and where necessary, for approval. The election of the new Members of the Executive Committee shall be held at the Annual Business Meeting. Election to the Executive Committee shall require a majority of the votes of the total number of active members present and voting and of active members who submitted mail-ballot votes, where the latter practice is in accordance with the Societys policies governing mail-ballot voting. The quorum for the Annual Business Meeting of the Society shall be twenty active members.

Article 6: AMENDMENTS

6.1 The Constitution and the By-Laws may be amended by a majority of two-thirds of those members present at an Annual Business Meeting of the Society.

6.2 Amendments to the Constitution or By-Laws must be proposed in writing to the Executive Committee by three active members.

6.3 Proposed amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society must be sent in writing to all members at least two months before the Annual Meeting at which the proposed amendments are to be considered and act upon.

Addendum
For the year 2000-2001 only, two Members-at-Large will be elected for a term of one year instead of two years, in order to permit staggering among the four Members-at-Large