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OPEN LETTER

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF TORONTO FROM

THE CHAIR OF THE 2009 ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

February 5, 2010

Dear Members of the Greek Community of Toronto,

As you know, a 2009 Elections Committee was elected at the June 2009 meeting of the General Assembly. The officers of the Committee were duly elected, and I was acclaimed as its Chair. The Committee proceeded to perform the required tasks in preparation for the then scheduled November 22, 2009 general election.

On October 30, 2009, I sent a letter via email (the “Letter”) to the serving President and the General Secretary. In the Letter I set out why the Committee could no longer be considered duly constituted. I reproduce that letter at the end of this letter. It was my expectation that the Letter would have been forwarded to the general membership and the media in due course, if not with dispatch. This did not happen.

The Committee was elected by the General Assembly and is answerable to the General Assembly. Sending the letter to the then President and General Secretary was most practical and expedient in the circumstances in order to communicate as soon as possible the reasons for which the Committee could not continue, with the expectation, while not specifically stated, that the Letter would be appropriately communicated.

In November 2009 the members received notice (the “Notice”) for a January 10, 2010 Special General Meeting with two substantive items on the agenda. The first was the election of a new elections committee. The second was the setting of the April 18, 2010 election date.

There was no explanation in the Notice why it was necessary to elect a new elections committee. A copy of the Letter was not shared with the members at large at any time. From the members’ perspective, they had already elected an elections committee and they were now asked to meet to elect another elections committee without receiving any communication on the reasons. The necessity to do so was inferred in the Letter. The Letter was the very reason for the calling of the Special General Meeting, yet it was not included in the Notice. Including the Letter in the Notice would have satisfied procedural, if not legal, requirements - at the absolute minimum, it would have made good sense and it would have exhibited good government.

Neither the Letter was produced or read at the Special General Meeting. It would have provided the appropriate context – this was the expectation by many, including myself, and a reasonable expectation at that. This would explain why I, for one, did not initiate to request amending the Agenda prior to the meeting in accordance with the rules of the constitution.

It is my view that the boisterous and adverse climate at the January 10 meeting was avoidable if the governing administration provided the facts through a fuller, more appropriate serving of Notice or, in the absence of that, by producing the Letter at the beginning of the January 10 meeting. It is regrettable that neither of these actions occurred, actions that were very much required by the circumstances.

As a body elected by the General Assembly, constitutionally the Committee is answerable to the general membership. Since the Governing Council has not communicated the Letter to the membership at large or to the media, it is my considered view that I have the duty to make the Letter available through this communication. The Letter is not confidential, it presents the facts and the reasons for the Committee not being able to continue in the circumstances that transpired, and it is helpful in understanding the reasons for having had to elect another election committee. The Letter is, as was always intended to be, a public document.

At the Special General Meeting of January 10, it was offered by the Chairperson that the events around the Committee should await the next meeting of the general assembly. If this matter is placed on the agenda, I expect that I will be given the opportunity to report at that time on the facts and reasons that led to the need to re-elect an elections committee. At the present time I see no reason for such reporting to go beyond the simple read of my October 30 letter.

Respectfully,

Paul Vlahos
Chair of 2009 Elections Committee

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October 30, 2009

Mr. Costas Menegakis
President, Greek Community of Toronto
and
Mr. John Kakagiannis
General Secretary, Greek Community of Toronto

30 Thorncliffe Park Drive
Toronto, Ontario, M4H 1H8

Re: Greek Community 2009 Elections and Elections Committee

Dear President and General Secretary,

In the course of the last few days all of the standing members of the 2009 Elections Committee have resigned stating personal reasons, except one member whose resignation was due to a planned absence from the country and another member who resigned last because of the resignation by all other members. This leaves me (the Chair) as the sole member on the Committee.

In the circumstances, I have reviewed the Community’s Constitution and Election By-Law. From my reading, the By-Law appears to be ambiguous in its application on the specific circumstances on hand. Given the ambiguity, I considered the general spirit and intent of what might have been reasonably contemplated by the drafters of the Election By-Law.

I have specifically considered that while the By-Law provides the Chair with numerous and broad powers, it would not be a reasonable interpretation that it was intended that the Chair’s powers are independent or above those of the Committee. A Committee therefore needs to exist. In the absence of a Committee, I could not contemplate proceeding alone or filling the vacant positions with other individuals; doing so would be to assume the powers of a Committee when none exists. Therefore I believe I cannot legally act in the capacity of Chair of the Elections Committee, as the Committee is not functional because of the resignations in the last few days and hours.

I should also note that these observations and conclusions are made in verbal consultation with Mr. Wesley Brown, legal counsel for the Greek Community of Toronto.

Yours truly,

Original signed by

Paul Vlahos, Chair of 2009 Elections Committee

cc: Mr. George Manios (Secretary of the 2009 Elections Committee)