Meeting on October 30th was legal, says the General Director of the Caisse
Meeting on October 30th was legal, says the General Director of the Caisse
The Director General of the Caisse Desjardins des Rivières de Pontiac, Stéphane Labine, is maintaining that the vote that was held at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on October 30th regarding the capital project at the Fort-Coulonge branch, “did follow the rules”, contrary to statements made by the former mayor of Fort-Coulonge, Hector Soucie. At the most recent municipal council meeting in Fort-Coulonge, Soucie affirmed that the vote, which allows the Caisse study the possibility of moving the location of the branch, was not following the voting rules.
“Unlike the electoral law article 335.2, which says that citizens must identify themselves with photo ID, the law on financial service cooperatives, the same law does not require this practice, it is not in our law,” said Stéphane Labine when contacted by the CHIP 101.9 newsroom.
The Caisses’ director added that the organisation organized the EGM on October 30th in order to acquire “the approval of its members”.
“When the members arrived for the meeting, we could identify them using the list of members we had on hand during the evening and then give them their voting card,” explained Labine. “Everyone, the Caisse and the members, are in good faith. Each Caisse takes the appropriate mesures to identify its members and, when in doubt, we ask for additional information, such as telephone number, address, etc… we validate that we have the right person in front of us… “
Stéphane Labine continued, saying that the Caisses’ Board of Directors wanted to avoid, by this procedure, “making the process cumbersome.” The Capital project for the head office of the Caisse des Rivières de Pontiac continues to cause concerns for certain residents regarding the possible move of the branch. In April 2019, Stéphane Labine had described the different options which were under study: the renovation of the current building, for example or the relocation of the service point, becoming a tenant or owner.
The resolution, adopted by the members of the Caisse Desjardins des Rivières de Pontiac in October, aimed to allow the board of directors of the Caisse to “move the headquarters of the service point in Fort-Coulonge to the municipality of Mansfield-et-Pontefract”, in the event that this is the option chosen by the board.
For more information:
Act respecting financial services cooperatives
Election law/Verification of identity of electors
