Susan Adamson    705-389-1325                 

Scott Buckingham (Chair)   705-389-1337                

If you would prefer to contact Committee Members by email please use the following
E-mail address:  admin@mlca.ca
 
MISSION STATEMENT:

TO SERVE in an advisory capacity to the MLCA Board of Directors on proposals and decisions of the federal, provincial and municipal governments that may affect MLCA members and other residents of the Township of McKellar.

TO IDENTIFY, research and recommend to the MLCA Board of Directors policy positions related to proposed, new or amended public policy and legislation in a manner consistent with the best interests of MLCA members and other residents of the Township of McKellar.

TO RECOMMEND communication channels to keep MLCA members and other residents of the Township of McKellar abreast of emerging issues, developments, Board-approved MLCA policy positions and final legislative decisions.  MLCA media resources available to be utilized for this purpose include email, website, print media, public notice boards and public meetings.

TO ENSURE that the MLCA Public Affairs Committee recommendations consider and reflect the majority views of all residents of the Township of McKellar, all full-time and seasonal residents in the Township are encouraged to become active members of the Manitouwabing Lake Community Association.

OBJECTIVES:

MLCA Public Affairs Committee actions and initiatives are designed to:

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Shall be a Standing Committee of the MLCA Board of Directors and appointed by the MLCA President to act in an advisory capacity to the Board regarding issues of local public interest emanating from every level of government.
Shall be composed of six to nine MLCA members. No member of the committee shall be an elected official, employee or officer of the Township of McKellar.
Members shall be selected and appointed by the MLCA Board of Directors to serve terms of two years; which may be renewed.
Officers of the committee shall be a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary appointed by the MLCA President bi-annually from among members of the committee and shall hold office until their successors have been appointed.
The MLCA Board shall appoint one of its Directors to serve as a member of the committee.  In addition, the President of MLCA shall be an ex-officio member of the committee.
The MLCA Board of Directors shall have the power to remove any member(s) of the committee at any time.
Committee meetings shall be held quarterly with additional meetings to be called at the discretion of the Committee Chair or the MLCA Executive Committee. Meetings may be held electronically when necessary.
A quorum shall constitute more than 50% of the committee membership and each member shall have one vote.  Decisions of the committee require a majority vote to proceed.
Committee meeting minutes shall be kept of the proceedings and decisions of each meeting.Approved minutes shall be provided to the MLCA Board in a timely manner.
A Committee Member may not communicate with a political body, political representative or member of the press/media regarding Committee or MLCA matters without the prior approval of the Committee and the MLCA Board of Directors.
All public announcements, in whatever form, must receive prior approval of the MLCA Board of Directors.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS:

The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the committee. If the Chair is absent, the Vice Chair shall assume his/her duties. The Chair, in discussion with the Secretary, shall prepare the Agenda for each regularly scheduled meeting, copies of which will be sent electronically to all Committee members and the MLCA President prior to each meeting.
It is the duty of the Chair to forward any recommendations from the Committee to the MLCA Board of Directors for consideration and action.
It is the duty of the Chair to ensure that all public announcements, in whatever form, receive the approval of the MLCA Board of Directors prior to release.

The Secretary shall record minutes of each meeting of the Committee and shall distribute said minutes to each committee member and MLCA Board Members prior to the next meeting of the Committee.

EXPENSES:

1: The Public Affairs Committee shall prepare and submit to the MLCA Treasurer a listing of projected annual expenses one month prior to the end of each MLCA fiscal year for advance approval by the MLCA Board of Directors.

2: Invoices from suppliers of goods and services must be sent in a timely manner directly to the  MLCA Treasurer for payment.

3: Incidental approved expenses must be recorded on an MLCA expense form and submitted to  the MLCA Treasurer.

MANDATE OF THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:

1: Shall annually set out a specific list of goals and objectives for MLCA Board approval.
2: Shall monitor federal, provincial and municipal notices, announcements and decisions that have the potential to impact residents of the Township of McKellar and local lakes.
3: Shall prepare a report on each McKellar Council meeting with information which may, at the discretion of the MLCA Board of Directors, be made available for public dissemination in a timely manner.
4: Shall attempt to have two committee members attend every Township of McKellar council meeting to take note of significant events and the time at which they occur.
Public Affairs Committee members shall commit to participating in a schedule of attendance at Township of McKellar council meetings and to file reports of said meetings.
5: Shall establish the logistics of finding and developing effective communication channels in order to meet goals and objectives in a timely manner.
6: Shall recognize that the MLCA Board of Directors ultimately has the discretion of approving, amending or defeating a Public Affairs Committee recommendation.

THE MLCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

undertakes to refer relevant matters to the Committee for comment.
 
DUTIES OF MLCA STANDING COMMITTEES
(as per the Association's Constitution):

a)   Hold meetings at the call of the President.
b)   Serve as Program Committees at all meetings.
c)   Shall act or state policy only under the authorization of the Board of Directors.
d)   Findings or determinations of said Committees must be reported to the Board of Directors.

e)   Policies resulting from the findings of said Committees and the Board of Directors must be          considered by the Association as a whole by resolution in either general meetings or at a            special meeting duly called.