USPn Kanadan Aluekokous 2013 – Canadian Regional Meeting

Laurentian University
Alphonse Raymond School of Education
935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON

Sunnuntai – Sunday 30.6. 2013 9:00 a.m. Room 225

Present: Sari Emas, Ostrobothnians (Toronto), Jaakko Thurlin, Edmonton Finnish Society, Anneli Thurlin, Edmonton Finnish Society, Petri Kruuti, Embassy of Finland, Ottawa, Hannu Piironen, Honourary Consul, Sudbury, Martti Laurikainen, Sudbury, Maire Laurikainen, Sudbury Finnish Rest Home Assoc., Sirpa Kaukinen, Barrie, Toronto Finlandia Lions, Bill Holt, Toronto CCF, Maija Ceming, Sudbury, Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, Tuire Walsh, Finnish Canadian Historical Society, Petteri Mökkönen, Vancouver, Finnish War Veterans, Canada, Niilo Saari, Sudbury Finnish Rest Home Assoc., Viljo Perttula, Observer, Polly Rutenberg, Observer, Veli Niinimaa, Calgary, Chairman

1. Kokouksen avaus ja tervetuliaissanat – Veli Niinimaa called the meeting to order at
9 a.m. and welcomed all participants.

2. Kokouksen sihteerin valinta – Sari Emas was appointed the meeting secretary.

3. Pöytäkirjan hyväksyntä – 28.7.2012 – Approval of the minutes
Minutes were posted on the USP website (www.usp.fi) and distributed all member organizations via e-mail.

4. Asialistan hyväksyntä – Approval of agenda. No changes were made to the circulated agenda.

5. Kutsuvieraiden esittely ja terveiset – Introduction of Special Guests and greetings
Petri Kruuti, Minister Councillor, Embassy of Finland, was introduced and he addressed the following topics:
a. He is interested in hearing the initiatives that come forward to the next full sitting
b. Mail vote – why has it not happened thus far?
c. Loss of English which happens to immigrants with old age
- require care in the Finnish language
- students coming from Finland receive a travel subsidy of €1200
- they must obtain their work visas in London, GBR
- they must get a medical certificate stating that they are free of communicable diseases – available only in two (2) locations in Finland
- labour unions oppose their presence in Sudbury, no union in Toronto
- most difficult problem is obtaining work permits
d. CIMO work permits are issued for 3 months, but can be extended up to 18 months
e. Can all expatriates join together to form an even stronger voice

Hannu Piironen, Honourary Consul, Sudbury, stated in his address that there are 13 Honourary Consuls in Canada. He is looking for more cooperation. He invited USP to bring issues to the Consuls, and keep them in the loop. The Consuls can also help with the operation of the mobile passport unit.

The meeting recessed for five minutes for a photo op as Mssrs. Kruuti and Piironen had to leave for the airport prior to the end of the meeting.

6. Osanottajien esittely ja terveiset – Participant introductions and greetings
Niilo Saari, former Deputy Speaker, Canadian region, informed that Canada’s Ambassador to Finland, Mr. Chris Shapardanov, will be returning to Canada, and will likely be appointed at the Deputy Minister level. He will be great resource to USP.

7. Raportti puhemiehistön kevätkokouksesta – Report from USP spring meeting
The report was posted after the Speakers’ Council meeting at www.usp.fi -> Canadian region.

8. Raportti – Report from Chairman and Vice Chairman (Written)
The report was circulated to all member organizations, posted on the USP website and attached to the agenda. It was also noted that the next immediate activities will be information meetings in Thunder Bay on Sept. 5 and in Vancouver on Sept. 18, not on October 13 as originally planned. During the discussion that followed it was suggested that summaries be posted on the website on the rights of Finnish citizens and an info sheet on obtaining or regaining Finnish citizenship.

9. Kanadan alueasioita – Canadian regional items
a. Kokousten virallinen kieli – Official language of the meetings – Meetings in the Canadian region will be conducted primarily in English, with use of Finnish recommended especially on ceremonial occasions. Minutes in English shall take presedence over the Finnish translation in cases of discrepency.
b. Kokousten nimet – Names of the different types of meetings – The annual meeting held in conjunction with the Finnish-Canadian Grand Festival will be called an Annual General Meeting. The meeting in Helsinki just prior to the full sitting of the Expatriate Parliament shall be called a regional meeting. All other meetings shall be called Information meetings.
c. Valittujen henkilöiden tittelit – Titles of elected officers – The two elected officers of the Canadian Region, USP, shall be called Chairman and Vice or Deputy Chairman in English, Varapuhemies and Varapuhemiehen Varahenkilö in Finnish. The titles then reflect the customs of the area where the language is used.
d. Edustajavaltuus – Member representation – Each member organization is entitled to one voting member at the AGM, and all other representatives of the organization, as well as members of the public, shall have observer status without the right to vote. Voting delegates will be required to show some evidence that they have been authorized to represent the said organization(s). The “Blue Card” method of voting was recommended.
e. Toimitsijoiden vaalimenetelmä – Officer election method – The pros and cons of mail vote and direct vote were discussed. The direct vote appears to be the system best suited for the operation of the Canadian Region.
f. Jäsenyhteisöt – Member organizations – USP lists at the moment 55 member organizations in Canada. The membership list was attached to the agenda. A couple of the organizations have ceased to operate, but USP has no mechanism to remove them. As there are nearly 100 organizations in Canada, threfore there is potential for even wider representation.

10. Asioita seuraavaan kokoukseen - Items for the next annual general meeting
a. Aloituksia vuoden 2015 USP:n istuntoon – Motions to the 2015 USP/FEP – It was suggested that an initiative be drafted to encourage the Canadian and Finnish governments to work to ease the obtaining of work permits for students coming to train under the CIMO program. All other initiatives should be sent to USP/FEP early.
b. Kanadan alueen säännöt – Canadian regional operating policy – Chairman to prepare a Canadian regional operating policy for approval at the next AGM, using some of the ideas of the Central European operating policy.

11. Seuraava kokous – Next meeting
Summer 2014 The Finnish-Canadian Grand Festival will be held in Ottawa, ON,
with Toronto as the back up location.
Summer 2015 The Finnish-Canadian Grand Festival will be held in Toronto, ON

The next USP/FEP full sitting will be held in Helsinki on 22-23.05. 2015.

11. Kokouksen loppu – Adjournment A motion to adjourn the meeting passed at 10:20.

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