BYLAW EXCERPT

ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS

Electoral Districts

19. (1) The following electoral districts are established for the purpose of the election of             members to the Council:

• Electoral district 1, the Southwest Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Essex County, Grey-Bruce, Kent County, Lambton and Thames Valley and the counties, without regard to the District Health Council areas, of Huron and Perth.

• Electoral district 2, the Central West Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk, Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth, Niagara, Waterloo Region and Wellington-Dufferin.

• Electoral district 3, composed of the Toronto area.

• Electoral district 4, the Central East Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Durham Region, Haliburton, Kawartha and Pine Ridge, Peel, Simcoe County and York Region.

• Electoral district 5, the East Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Eastern Ontario, Hastings and Prince Edward counties, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Ottawa-Carleton and Renfrew County.

• Electoral district 6, the North East Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Algoma, Cochrane, Manitoulin-Sudbury, Muskoka-Parry Sound and Nipissing, and the non-District Health Council area of Temiskaming.

• Electoral district 7, the Northwest Region, composed of the District Health Council areas for Kenora-Rainy River and Thunder Bay.

• Electoral district 8, composed of the whole province and members residing outside Ontario, for the purpose of electing a member-at-large.

Eligibility to Vote

(2)

• A member is entitled to vote in an election if,
  (i) the member is a holder of a current certificate of registration as a general member or an inactive member; and

  (ii) on the one hundred and twentieth day immediately preceding the election, the member practises or resides in Ontario and the member's mailing address registered with the College is in the electoral district for which an election is being held.

• If the member resides outside Ontario and is not practising in Ontario, then the member is only eligible to vote for the member-at-large.

Number of Members to Be Elected

(3) The number of members to be elected in an electoral district is as follows:

• For each of electoral districts 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8, one member.

• For each of electoral districts 2, 3 and 4, two members.

Term of Office

(4)

• The term of office for a member elected to Council is three years, effective January 1 of the calendar year following the election.

• The term of office of a member elected at a regular election held after the prescribed date expires as if the member had been elected on the prescribed date.

• The term of office of a member whose office becomes vacant by reason of the member's disqualification expires upon the declaration of the vacancy, and the term of office of a member elected in a by-election or appointed to replace a member whose office is vacant expires when the member's predecessor's office would have otherwise expired.

• Where a regular election is not held as prescribed, the elected members of the Council then in office continue in office until their successors are elected or appointed.

Election Date

(5) An annual election shall be held during September for those positions on the Council coming vacant at the end of that year.

Eligibility for Election

(6) A member is eligible for election to the Council for an electoral district if,

• the member is entitled to vote in the election;

• the member's certificate of registration has not been revoked or suspended at any time in the six years immediately preceding the election; and

• between the 120 days preceding the election and the election,
  (i) the member continues to practise in Ontario,

  (ii) the member's mailing address registered with the College continues to be in the electoral district for which the election is held,

  (iii) the member is not in default of payment of any obligation to the College under a regulation or the bylaws,

  (iv) the member is not the subject of proceedings for incompetence, professional misconduct or incapacity,

  (v) the member's certificate of registration is not subject to a term, condition or limitation other than one prescribed by regulation,

  (vi) the member is not an officer, director or employee of one of the following: professional association of medical laboratory technologists, a union representing medical laboratory technologists, or an association that represents employers of medical laboratory technologists, other than an officer or director of a local chapter or unit of the association or union.

Nomination and Election Procedure

(7)

• The call for nominations, the details of the nomination procedure, deadline for receipt of nominations, the date the ballots will be mailed and the deadline for receipt of complete ballots shall be published annually in a regular mailing by the College to all members.

• The mailing shall normally reach members no later than 120 days before the date of the election.

• Where there is an interruption of postal service during a period affecting publication of the call for nominations or the receipt of nominations by the College, the Registrar shall extend the deadline for the receipt of nominations and of ballots for such period as the Registrar considers necessary to compensate for the interruption.

(8)

• The nomination of a candidate for election shall be in writing and shall be given to the Registrar at least ninety days before the ballots are mailed.

• The nomination shall be signed by the member and by at least five members who support the nomination and who are eligible to vote in the electoral district in which the election is to be held.

• A candidate may withdraw the nomination for election to the Council, in writing, no later than the deadline for receipt of nominations by the College.

(9)

Where no nomination is received for an electoral district, the Council shall appoint one or more members for the term or terms required.

(10)

If the number of candidates nominated for an electoral district is equal to the number of members to be elected in that electoral district, the Registrar shall declare the candidates to be elected by acclamation.

Registrar's Electoral Duties

(11) The Registrar shall supervise and administer the nomination and election of candidates and, for the purpose of carrying out that duty, the Registrar shall, subject to the by-laws,

• cause to be mailed to every member who is eligible to vote a list of the candidates in the electoral district, a ballot, an explanation of the voting procedure and any other accompanying materials approved by the Council;

• establish a deadline for the receiving of ballots;

• where there is an interruption of postal service during an election, extend the holding of the election for such period of time as the Registrar considers necessary to compensate for the interruption;

• establish procedures for the opening and counting of the ballots;

• provide for the immediate notification of all candidates and Council members of the results of the election; and

• provide for the destruction of ballots thirty-one days following the announcement of the election, unless a candidate challenges the election or its results.

Number of Votes to Be Cast

(12)

• A member may cast as many votes on a ballot in an election of members to the Council as there are members to be elected to the Council from the electoral district in which the member is eligible to vote.

• A member shall not cast more than one vote for any one candidate.

Tie Votes

(13) Where there is a tie in an election, the Registrar shall break the tie by lot.

Recounts

(14)

• Within thirty days from the date of the election, a candidate may require a recount of the ballots in the electoral district in which the member was nominated, by depositing the appropriate fee and a written request for the recount.

• Where a recount has been requested, the Registrar shall appoint the time and the place and arrange for the recount, which shall take place within fifteen days from the date of the request.

• The recount shall be conducted, subject to clause 11(d), in the same manner as the original counting of the ballots.

• The candidate or a representative appointed by the candidate may be present at the recount.

• The recount shall be conducted by two scrutineers appointed by the Registrar.

• If the recount changes the result of the election, the full amount of the fee shall be returned to the candidate but, if the recount does not change the result of the election, the candidate forfeits the fee to the College.

Disqualification of Elected or Appointed Members

(15)

• The Council shall disqualify an elected or appointed member from sitting on Council if the member,

  (i) is found by a panel of the Discipline Committee to have committed an act of professional misconduct or to be incompetent;

  (ii) is found by a panel of the Fitness to Practise Committee to be an incapacitated member;

  (iii) fails, without cause, to attend three consecutive meetings of the Council;

  (iv) fails, without cause, to attend three meetings of a committee to which the member has been appointed;

  (v) fails, in the opinion of the Council, to discharge properly or honestly any office to which the member has been elected or appointed;

  (vi) ceases to practise or reside in the electoral district for which the member was elected, unless the term of office is due to expire in the next twelve months;

  (vii) becomes an officer, director or employee of one of the following: professional association of medical laboratory technologists, a union representing medical laboratory technologists, or an association that represents employers of medical laboratory technologists, other than an officer or director of a local chapter or unit of the association or union.

  (viii) becomes bankrupt; or

  (ix) is found to be mentally incompetent.

• An elected member who is disqualified from sitting on the Council ceases to be a member of the Council.

Filling of Vacancies

(16)

• If the seat of an elected Council member becomes vacant in an electoral district not more than twelve months before the expiry of the member's term of office, the Council may,
  (i) leave the seat vacant until the next election; or

  (ii) appoint a successor from among the members of the College who would be eligible for election if an election were held.

• If the seat of an elected Council member becomes vacant in an electoral district more than twelve months before the expiry of the member's term of office, the Council shall direct the Registrar to hold an election for that electoral district in accordance with this Regulation.

• The term of office for a member appointed under subsection (a) or elected under subsection (b) shall continue until the time the former Council member's term would have expired.