Dear fellow members, 

First I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for placing your confidence in me for a second term as your Guild’s National President. I will do everything I can to ensure that your creative, workplace and economic opportunities are protected and enhanced, and to ensure that Canada is the best and the fairest country in the world to make our own works and to work on productions visiting us from abroad 

I also want to update you on the state of one file in particular. Two weeks ago a motion was presented to the AGM to replace absentee voting by proxy with absentee voting by electronic ballot. This motion failed to secure the two-thirds majority test for special constitutional amendments.

The extensive debate around the motion at that AGM suggested that many members, possibly a majority are in favour of absentee voting by electronic ballot for NEB elections, but it was equally clear that a large majority are not comfortable with the idea of eliminating proxies for other Guild business.

Many members also expressed concern that the Guild improves member participation in debates prior to DGC elections, and prior to votes on Guild business. 

Though the motion for electoral reform failed in its current form, we are committed to getting it right. Electoral reform demands exhaustive study and modeling and goes to the heart of Guild governance. I want to assure you that improving member engagement is a top priority for me and that we will present a working model for electoral reform at a special General Meeting in the course of this year.

Yours sincerely, 

Tim Southam

President

Directors Guild of Canada