CALL to ORDER - Lcol Mcbey Called the Meeting to Order at 1905 Hrs

CALL to ORDER - Lcol Mcbey Called the Meeting to Order at 1905 Hrs

COUNCIL TELECONFERENCE MINUTES

23 APRIL 2008

ROLL CALL

PRESENT

President / LCol Ken McBey
Senior Vice President / LCol George Troicuk / Atlantic
Vice-President / Col Craig McQuitty / Ontario
Vice President / LCol Doug Penner / West
Members / LCol Matthew Haussman / British Columbia
Capt Richard Desjardins / Manitoba/Lakehead
LCol Doug Johnson / Central Ontario
LCol Bill Kedziora / Central Ontario
Capt Brendan Bulger / Eastern Ontario
Lcol Bernard Bastille / Eastern Quebec
Lcol Eric Beaudoin for Lcol Shone / Western Quebec
A/Secretary-Treasurer / HCol Bob Cade
Secretary-Treasurer / LCol Ken McCuaig
Colonel Commandant / LGen Kent Foster
CO, Infantry School / LCol Rene Landry
Infantry Corps RSM / CWO C. Vinet
Infantry School / Capt Sean Dwyer
Host Branch / LCol Martin Delaney / QOR
Host Branch / Capt Stephan Tremblay / QOR

Guest

REGRETS

LCol Mark Campbell / Western Ontario
Immediate Past President / LCol Rick Goebel
Past President / Col Hugh Stewart / Central Ontario
Past President / LCol John Rodaway / Central Ontario

CALL TO ORDER - LCol McBey called the meeting to order at 1905 hrs.

PRESIDENT’S REMARKS

The president welcomed everyone to the teleconference and thanked all for participating on short notice. The meeting tonight was necessary because Council had agreed at the 10 January teleconference to support and attend Ex Bayonet in Toronto. The latest administrative instructions were received late last week from the host unit, the Queen’s Own Rifles. This necessitated tonight’s meeting so that everyone would be updated on the recent changes. There is also urgency to confirm Council attendance as a block of rooms has been reserved at the Grand Hotel and the cut-off is 30 April. He thanked LCol Landry and Capt Dwyer for their assistance and support in clarifying and adjusting the program agenda to reflect the concerns discussed at the March Executive Committee teleconference. He welcomed LCol Delaney, Commanding Officer of the Queen’s Own Rifles and Capt Stephan Tremblay, the QOR OPI for Ex Bayonet. He thanked them for attending the teleconference for the purpose of giving Council a logistics update.

ROLL CALL – The Secretary-Treasurer called the Roll noting regrets received.

AGENDA – An agenda was not distributed but members were polled forg items – none identified.

MINUTES OF 13 January 2008 - MOTION: LCol Kedziora/LCol Haussman: That minutes of the 13 Jan 2008 teleconference be adopted as posted. CD

FINANCE – Approval of the Auditor’s Report for year ending 31 Mar 2008 was deferred to the first Council meeting in Toronto in May. HCol Cade advised during the course of discussions that CIA had:

  • a cash balance of $16, 471.33
  • receivables owing of $15,600
  • a GIC investment of $10,000

EX BAYONET LOGISTICAL SITREP – LCol Delaney and Capt Tremblay made a joint presentation.

When DInf assumed control of the conference, it became subject to all DND and Treasury Board regulations and policies including the new Hospitality policy, which prohibits reimbursement for meals at conferences and the operation of trade shows. The conference then required ministerial pre-approval.

The QOR were tasked in February to organize and operate a professional conference on a shoestring within very strict budgets. They were immediately presented with a number of challenges. Time did not allow for the necessary ministerial pre-approval. They were handicapped because there was inadequate global costing data from prior conferences. Starting from scratch they determined that the cost of the conference, if it were to be same level of professionalism as in the past, would cost $109K. Available funding from 32 Bde and DInf was insufficient to cover this amount. A zero based budget model was created and it became apparent that registration fees would have to increase and a third party at ‘arms length’ from DND would be required if there was any hope of using a trade show to offset the costs.

DND is still subsidizing the conference substantially for some allowable aspects but costs not allowed under DND policy must be funded outside of DND monies. The result is the three tiered registration fees (pre-registration, normal registration and late registration) as set out in v.6 of the QOR administrative instructions previously distributed to Council.

LCol Delaney reported that as a result of intensive work, the conference status has improved from yellow to green. Time however has created problems since administrative details were only finalized recently. Problems with the DIN have prevented registrations while the change in rates have created confusion and resentment. The previous invitation letters sent out were not all inclusive so a massive telephone fan-out has been launched to inform more potential participants.

The QOR recognized that CIA is an important part of the Infantry Corps and that the large jump in registration fees would have a negative impact on non-serving officers on Council and to past presidents. To ameliorate this financial burden, the QOR has offered CIA Council a special rate of $200 (full registration and mess dinner) for the non-serving personnel. Serving Council members must pay the higher rate as per the administrative instructions.

LCol Delaney advised that the Bde Comd was briefed on these arrangements last evening and had bought into the plan as presented.

Discussion

Following this presentation there was considerable discussion. A series of action plans were developed:

a. Registration:

  • CIA to post the Ex Bayonet registration web link on ducimus.com for the CIA membership.
  • CIA will provide QOR with a list of non-serving Council members/past presidents who are entitled to the $200 registration package.
  • CIA will provide QOR with an “upfront payment” cheque to cover the registration costs of the non-serving Council members. (Note: Past presidents are entitled to the $200 registration rate but are responsible for payment on their own – the CIA upfront payment does not cover them).
  • CIA will also provide QOR with an 'information - only' list of serving Council members who plan to attend Ex Bayonet to assist with their planning.

b. Honoraries – The Col Cmdt raised the concern that previous invites had omitted the honoraries, a group he described as being of critical importance to the Infantry Corps. To ensure the honoraries were invited and made to feel welcome, the following steps were agreed upon:

  • QOR to notify all COs to personally invite their honoraries
  • QOR to provide their HLCol Cowling, the Col Cmdt and HCol Cade with a briefing package to ensure consistency when the three met with the honoraries at the honoraries conference in Ottawa this coming weekend.

LCol McBey thanked LCol Delaney and Capt Tremblay for their insightful presentation. The Colonel Cmdt complimented them on their excellent briefing and their scrupulous planning to date. LCol Delaney and Capt Tremblay left the teleconference at this point.

EX BAYONET AGENDA SITREP – LCol Landry and Capt Dwyer reported that the requested changes of the Mar Executive teleconference are included in the current draft (V.8) now posted on ducimus.com.

LCol McBey thanked LCol Landry and Capt Dwyer for their fast action and reiterated his previous remarks that CIA appreciates and values the work done by the Infantry School.

CIA FINANCIAL ISSUES – LCol McCuaig outlined the cost projections for Ex Bayonet. He started by reviewing past practices before discussing the 2008 cost projections for delegate participation. Council reimburses non-serving members only as serving Council members are expected to claim travel and registration expenses through DND. Council reimburses non-serving members for airfare, ground transport or PMV (mileage) expenses not exceeding airfare costs as well as a per diem allowance based on the hotel rate.

Since 1997, conference costs were offset by profits generated by the trade show component. This year and for the future if CIA is not part of the conference process as an ‘arms-length’ third party, CIA will not receive any of these profits. This year, projecting Ex Bayonet costs to Council, expenditure projections were developed on the assumption that all Council members would attend. Dependent upon air fares and the actual numbers attending, Council costs had the potential to exceed the annual revenue.

CIA has finally been able to invest some proceeds this past year, but as a general rule, the AGM/Infantry conference costs plus our general annual operating expenses, should not exceed the $18.3K annual income received from branch dues (our only source of income).

Part of the conference costs includes the hotel costs. A block of 23 rooms have been reserved at the Grand Hotel and a deposit is required by 30 April. It is critical that Council members confirm their attendance, as no-shows room charges would be charged to Council.

Lengthy discussion ensued culminating in the decision to participate for the entire conference and attend the mess dinner. Council will be pleased to avail itself of the QOR’s offer of the $200 registration and mess dinner package: The following motion was made:

MOTION: LCol McCuaig/LCol Penner: That Council approve participating in Ex Bayonet for three (3) nights from Thursday to Sunday and that an amount not exceeding $16.5K be allocated this year to cover non-serving Council members’ costs for airfare/PMV/ground transportation/registration and Grand Hotel costs, plus other related meeting costs etc. and that the Secretary-Treasurer be charged with the responsibility of overseeing and controlling these expenditure reimbursements. CD.

Following the motion, Council members were polled to determine attendance. All except LCol Penner stated they would attend and require a room at the Grand Hotel. A list of Council members and past presidents (both serving and non-serving) will be sent to the hotel together with the deposit. All Council members and past presidents will be required to make their own reservations with the hotel. The hotel will use the list submitted to confirm the terms of the contract that CIA must sign to hold the room reservations. The Secretary-Treasurer will contact Council members not in attendance tonight to clarify if they will attend.

Note: The hotel room reservation block does not include the ex-officio Council officers (LGen Foster, Col Burt, LCol Landry, Capt Dwyer and CWO Vinet) as LCol Landry confirmed their reservations are being made through DInf and/or the Inf School and/or the QOR.

MESS DINNER – HEAD TABLE SEATING - The president queried LCol Landry if DInf had clarified whether the incoming/outgoing CIA presidents would be seated at the Mess Dinner head table. LCol Landry replied that DInf has deferred this decision until immediately prior to the dinner when he will know what dignitaries will be attending Ex Bayonet. The president asked LCol Landry to press DInf for clarification and remind him of the ongoing courtesy CIA has traditionally extended to Dinfs by seating them at the head table. He requested written clarification on this point as soon as possible.

EX BAYONET 2009 – The president queried if a site for Ex Bayonet 2009 has been established noting that the earlier agenda had made mention of Halifax but LCol Delaney made mention of Montreal for next year. Apparently no decision has been made yet but the CO of the Black Watch has approached DINF.

COLONEL COMMANDANT’S REMARKS

LGen Foster stated that the agenda promises a first class professional seminar and he complimented LCol Landry, Capt Dwyer and the Infantry School on their product. He praised LCol Delaney and Capt Tremblay for their well-developed brief and for their planning of the logistical arrangements. He reminded Council that CIA is an important element in the Infantry Corps planning structure and he complimented Council on their positive approach and support for Ex Bayonet this year. He was very pleased with the strategy to involve and invite the honoraries, as they are a critical support group for the Corps.

Overall, he stated that he was impressed with Council’s approach in addressing Ex Bayonet this year and Council’s earnest desire to sort things out. He believes that a face-to-face discussion is needed to get the future on a better footing. He felt that the right decisions had been made this evening.

NEXT MEETING – 1800 hrs Thursday evening, 22 May 2008 in Toronto, Ontario. Place TBC.

ADJOURNMENT – The meeting terminated at 2130 hrs.


______

LCol J.A. Kenneth McCuaigLCol K. McBey

Secretary-Treasurer President

CIA/ Telecon 2008/Council Minutes/23/04/08

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