FEP CANADA REGION ANNUAL MEETING
Tyndale College, 3377 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M2M 3S4
Saturday 30.6.2018 –Tyndale Theatre

Present: Veli Niinimaa, (Chairman, Canada Region), Ulla Ahokas, Irina Ilmokari, Kari Jämsä, Aarne Käki, Esko Laakso, Salme Laakso, Maarit Otto, Seppo Peuhkurinen, Ulla Saarnio, Niilo Saari, Paul Thurlin
Regrets: Maarit Koivunen, (Vice Chairman, Canada Region)
1. The meeting was called to order at 2.18 pm due to a lengthy film shown in the same premises. Veli Niinimaa welcomed all the participants.
2. Irina Ilmokari was appointed to serve as the meeting secretary. Niilo Saari and Ulla Saarnio were appointed as scrutineers.
3. Ulla Saarnio moved, seconded by Seppo Peuhkurinem that the agenda be approved as written and previously circulated. The meeting was declared legal with a quorum of participants present.
4. There were no invited guests, hence no introduction of special guests.
5. A roundtable of introductions of participants took place.
6. Chairman’s Report. Veli Niinimaa presented his report which had earlier been distributed to participants and placed on the FEP website (www.usp.fi). Veli Niinimaa reviewed the major points of his report, such as instituting the mail voting for future Finnish Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in Finland, and the challenges faced by the Finnish authorities in implementing the mail voting. Also obtaining the legal status for the FEP and related funding was reviewed. A verbal addition to the report: FEP-Canada region, distributed Lori Ojala`s questionnaire across Canada for her research work. General discussion regarding the report ensued. The report was accepted as written.

7. Election of Deputy Vice Chairman. Veli Niinimaa explained the reason for this election. Irina Ilmokari was nominated for the position of Deputy Vice Chairman by Maarit Koivunen, nomination received by Veli Niinimaa via email. The chair called three times for additional nominations. Since other nominations were not received, Irina Ilmokari was acclaimed. Seppo Peuhkurinen requested, supported by Maarit Otto, a note be recorded in the minutes that since Maarit Koivunen is not able to attend the duties of her position, she should be removed and replaced.

8. Canadian Regional Items.
a) Veli Niinimaa informed that over one half of the eligible voters in Canada do not have a complete address in the Finnish Populations Registry. Also, eligible voters should check the accuracy of their addresses with the Finnish Population Registry. It is also important to keep track of how long a mail takes from Finland to different parts of Canada and vice versa and send this information to Veli Niinimaa, so that Veli can inform the FEP Secretariat accordingly.
b) Veli Niinimaa informed that in the future Suomi-Seura ry awards will be given out on the basis of their production cost. Suomi-Seura will inform of further developments in this area. Veli encouraged people to send their nominations for 2018 to him or alternatively clubs can nominate to Suomi-Seura directly.
c) Initiatives for 2020 FEP Session:
1) Seppo Peuhkurinen made a suggestion that Finnish Parliament should have two seats reserved for Finnish Expatriates.
2) Veli Niinimaa suggested the voting structure at FEP Sessions be amended so that each delegate has only one vote regardless of the size of the club they represent, as the current practise is with the United Nation Assembly and many other international organizations. These two and other initiatives can be submitted directly to the FEP Secretariat by FEP member organizations.
d) Other Business:
1) Seppo Peuhkurinen mentioned that Suomi-Talo is now sold and what to do with Edistysliitto records and files that were kept there. National Archives in Ottawa was suggested as a possibility.
2) Seppo Peuhkurinen raised the concern how long the Finnish Festivals can survive so that the FEP, Canada Region, Annual General Meetings can be held in conjunctions with the festivals.
3) Ulla Saarnio emphasized that information about FEP matters be more readily available to all people.
9. Next Annual General Meeting to be held in conjunction of Finn-Can Grand Festival in Thunder Bay, Saturday, June 22, 2019

10. Next FEP Session: in 2020 in Helsinki

11. Seppo Peuhkurinen made the motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ulla Saarnio. Meeting was adjourned at 3.05 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Veli Niinimaa, Chairman and Irina Ilmokari, Meeting Secretary

Sivun alkuun