FEBRUARY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
New Societies Act will impact BC farmer groups
by TOM WALKER
VICTORIA – BC has a lot of societies. Over 27,000, in fact. And a lot of those are agriculture-based. From the BC Blueberry Council and the Pemberton Women’s Institute to the Kootenay Agriculture Society and the Peace River Dairymen’s Association, members gather as a society – that is a “not-for-profit organization that has been incorporated consisting of people associated together for any lawful purpose.”
There is a new Societies Act that came into effect in November that will impact these groups. The Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizen Services says that the intent of the act is to simplify the rules and provide more flexibility.
A major thrust of the revision is to transfer society records into an electronic database. This is called transitioning, and societies have two years (until November 2018) to complete the transition process. All registered societies have been sent an on-boarding letter describing this transition process and how to file an electronic version of their constitution, bylaws, list of directors and registered office address. If your organization hasn’t received an on-boarding letter, the first step will be to contact the society registry and update the society’s address. The letter contains a registry key that is the password for your society. Individual society personnel will need their own BCeID to log on and work with the system. The ministry says there are benefits to electronic filing. It’s instant and accessible 24-7. Previously, you might wait up to 35 days for filings to be complete. Every society will have it’s own dashboard that will communicate when a transition process is complete, when an annual report is due and provide a filing history where a society can access certified copies of documents on file. Before going through the transition process, there are certain things that all societies must do, and things they should consider and may do.
All societies must file an electronic copy of their constitution – with the name and purpose exactly as it appears on the registry at this time.
Societies must also file a copy of their consolidated bylaws (incorporating any amendments), a statement of directors and registered office, and make sure annual report filings are up to date.
Societies are advised that this may be an appropriate time to review their bylaws, one item at a time. Some societies will have bylaws that conflict with the new act. For example, the act provides for more access to records. A society may have a provision that restricts members’ access to certain corporate records in way that is not allowed under the act. This should be clarified so as not to confuse members. Societies can still restrict member access to records of accounting and director’s proceedings, but it will have to be specified in the bylaws. If a society allows proxy voting, that process will have to be included in the bylaws as the act allows proxy voting only if it is specified.
Some provisions in the act allow more flexibility. Amendments to the bylaws, for example, can now be made with a special resolution two-thirds vote (down from three-quarters previously); if a society wants to maintain a three-quarters or more consensus, it must be entrenched in the bylaws. Bylaws can be amended as organizations transition to the new act using that special resolution vote or be amended after transition (same vote, separate application, $50 fee). And those unalterable clauses in a constitution? They now have to be moved to a society’s bylaws and indicated as such. After transition, these clauses are alterable by a special resolution vote. The act makes new rules in areas of records, financial matters, directors, members, meetings and remedies. There’s a lot to learn. For more information, go to to the BC government website and search “Socities Act transition.” You can also check out Drew Jackson’s videos at [
www.publiclegaled.bc.ca].
45 Blessed are the cheesemakers by EMILY BULMER
QUICK – Bringing the good news of cheeses to the Bulkley Valley is the goal of Eamon O’Donoghue, a long-time home cheesemaker who’s convening a workshop in Quick on the topic.
O’Donoghue has invited experienced cheese makers Hani and Theres Gasser to lead the three-day course. The two ran Mountain Meadow Sheep Dairy in Chase and have more than 15 years of experience in the cheese business. They now raise sheep for meat in McBride but continue to share their knowledge with eager cheesemakers.
The workshop will cover the challenges of cheesemaking and how to avoid them, says O’Donoghue, with two key objectives. “One is to give people a more in-depth introduction to cheese making. The instructors will be demonstrating how to make a hard cheese, a soft cheese and a fresh cheese,” he says. “The other purpose of it is to show how to start a small artisan cheese business and make it successful.”
The Gassers will illustrate their presentation with a slide show of their business as well as video clips of other artisan cheesemakers in the US and Canada.
Artisan cheese broadened O’Donoghue’s horizons when he discovered it 15 years ago. He has been keen on experimenting with age- old ways of preserving milk ever since. “I was in Toronto and went into a cheese shop and had a piece of Manchego cheese and I thought, wow – this is some exceptional cheese,” he recalls.
Manchego, a Spanish cheese made from the milk of Manchega sheep, sparked an interest in sheep’s milk cheeses for O’Donoghue. “I’ve been pursuing sheep’s milk cheeses and how to make them. It is one of those incredible crafts used to preserve milk that has always
fascinated me and is such a value-added opportunity,” he says. “In the Bulkley Valley, we have pretty good milk production but we don’t have a lot of value added to our milk products here. The idea of the workshop is to expose cheesemaking to a bigger crowd to see if we can generate more interest in that value-added sector.”
O’Donoghue has been making cheese at home with varying success, but not enough to quit his day job as regional executive director with the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations in Smithers. “I’ve had batches that are really good and I’ve had batches that I would not eat,” he says. “I have a hard time knowing why sometimes. It seems like one of those things that is deep and complex and I feel like a neophyte in the area.” He hopes this month’s workshop will help himself and others understand the process better in the hopes of one day launching out on his own – leaving the daily grind for the daily rind, if you will.
“I want to get much better at making my own cheese at home and I guess I’m investigating it before I retire from my day job to see if it is a possibility of something that I would be interested in on a small economic scale as a retirement business.” The three-day cheesemaking workshop takes place February 23-36 at the Round Lake Community Hall in Quick. The event is receiving support from the BC Ministry of Agriculture Growing Forward program Beyond the Market, as well as the Bulkley Valley Economic Development Association, Quick College and Groundbreakers, a local food-focused charity. The workshop costs $150, which includes the instruction and catered lunches featuring local food, cheese tasting and some rennet and culture to take home. To register, contact co-organizer Jennifer O'Donoghue at
jenhegan2@uniserve.com or call 250-846-5475.
Prepare your garden or seed bed for planting using the new MK Martin Rotary Tiller. With standard features such as adjustable drive chain this tiller easily loosens soil for a variety of applications.
For more details visit us online or contact MK Martin.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47
