Standing Committee Chairs must be ACTRA members in Good Standing, and existing members of the ACTRA National Standing Committee that they are running for by the date that Chair Nominations open. Candidates may self-nominate.

As per ACTRA National By-Law 14.4: If the Chair of a Standing Committee is not a National Councillor or Alternate, they shall have a seat and voice but no vote at National Council meetings but must have the financial commitment of a Branch(es) to support the associated costs of their attendance at National Council meetings. If there is more than one Chair of a Standing Committee and they are not a National Councillor or Alternate, the Branches supporting the Chairs shall determine which one attends the meeting.

Please speak with your Branch prior to running to confirm you have their financial support.

The role of the Standing Committee Chair is to act as facilitator to help the Committee achieve its mandate and ensure, in a timely manner, the sharing of best practices learned through our Branch Committee work. The Committee Chair is appointed every two years by the ACTRA National Executive taking into account the recommendations of the constituency affected by the work of the Committee.

The Chair works with the designated Committee staff liaison to carry out the work of the Committee. The Committee meets twice annually ahead of National Council at minimum but may meet at other times throughout the year as required. The Chair is responsible for working with the staff liaison to develop the meeting agenda as well as preparing the Committee’s report to National Council.

Chairs can expect a minimum time commitment of two to three hours to prepare for each National Council meeting as well as additional time to work on Committee initiatives.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Staff Liaison

The Staff Liaison is responsible for serving as administrative and strategic support for the Standing Committees, including:

• Reporting to the National Executive Director regarding any key issues raised by the Committees
• Scheduling meetings
• Sending email communications out on behalf of the Committee Chair/Steering Committee
• Raising issues and action items that concern the community each committee represents
• Documenting meetings and sharing meeting minutes with the Committees and National Council
• Providing continuity amongst committees, especially during periods of transition for new Chairs

There is no honoraria provided for any Standing Committee Chairs. The role of the Standing Committee Chair is volunteer. Extraordinary honoraria may be provided at the end of the Fiscal Year, at the discretion of the National Officers.

The election period for the nomination and election of a new Chair of an ACTRA National Committee must commence, at minimum, 10 days before the period which the vote for the next Chair will occur. The Committee’s designated staff liaison will act as the de facto electoral officer.

To be eligible to be the Standing Committee Chair, the member must be in good standing at the time of nomination, and must be active in their relevant branch and/or branch committee and/or National Committee through participation in events and initiatives, and attendance at meetings. They must also have the support of their Branch, who must commit to funding their participation at the two in-person National Council meetings per year, for their two year term.

In the event the Standing Committee Chair ceases to be a member in good standing of ACTRA, a vacancy will be declared, and the process of selection for a new Chair will be administered. If the Chair is not also a National Councillor they will need to ensure they have support from their branch to attend National Council meetings.

• Voting will be anonymous.
• Voting will be conducted online, over a 72-hour period (during business hours).
• Each Committee Member shall have the ability to cast one vote per person
• Committee Members must have been registered as Committee Members prior to the first date of the election period to be eligible to vote.

The vote will be conducted by the de facto electoral officer (i.e., the staff liaison). The staff liaison will share the rules (below) with the Committee prior to the vote for the next Chair.

Committee members will be given the following instructions:

• Voting will be conducted online, over a 72-hour period (during business hours).
• Each Committee Member shall have the ability to cast one vote per person
• Committee members must select one of the candidates on the ballot, or abstain.
  
  The process for conducting the vote will be as follows:
• Before voting begins, the staff liaison will open nominations at least ten days prior to the voting period.
• After the nomination period closes, the staff liaison will confirm with each candidate that they will stand for nomination, and their Branch will support their attending at National Council Meetings.
• They will be requested to self-tape a two-minute speech to explain why they are interested in running for the role, as well as a written statement.
• On or before the first day of the voting period, a Committee Meeting will be held. At the meeting, the staff liaison will play each nominee speech, explain the voting process, and encourage members to vote online.
• After the voting period closes, the staff liaison will inform Committee members of the results of the vote, but not the tally for each candidate. The candidate who receives the most votes will be elected Chair of the Committee.
• If there is a tie between candidates, the candidates who received the highest number of tied votes will become co-chairs.
• Any Committee member may contest the results of the election up to three (3) business days after the announcement of the elected Chair(s). If an election is contested, the staff liaison will forward a link to the election results to the National Executive Director. The National Executive Director will review the results and confirm the candidate with the greatest number of votes.

Once the Committee’s voting is complete and confirmed, the Standing Committee Chair recommendation will be taken to National Executive for consideration. The newly appointed Committee Chair will assume their duties following adoption by National Executive.