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OMMC Policy 3

Membership

 

Requirement for this Policy

 

1.         This policy provides details required to fully implement the OMMC By-laws, Part II - Membership. 

 

Relationship of this Policy

 

2.         This policy is authorized by the OMMC By-laws.  It is subordinate to the Act, the CNCA Regulations, the Articles and the By-laws.  It supersedes all OMMC membership policies and authorities put in place by resolution by an Annual General Meeting, by the Board of Directors (Board) or by the Executive Committee (EC) since OMMC was incorporated 20 July 1992.  This policy may be amended by the Board by resolution.

 

OMMC Membership Director

 

3.         The Secretary is the Membership Director of the OMMC.  The Secretary may be contacted by e-mail at ommcinc2@gmail.com or by postal mail at:

Organization of Military Museums of Canada

6449 Crowchild Trail SW, PO Box 36081 Lakeview PO,

Calgary, Alberta, T3E 7C3​​

 

Classes and Groups of Members

 

4.         As prescribed in the Bylaws, OMMC has one class of members.  The class consists of four groups:

 

            a.         Individual Members Group.  Individual members are persons interested in the objects of                             OMMC, who have applied for membership, have provided all necessary information, have been                    accepted by the Board for membership and have paid the annual membership fee.  Except                                     when suspended from membership, each individual member may vote at a general meeting of                  OMMC members;

 

            b.         Institutional Members Group.  Institutional members are museums or museum-related                              organizations mostly, but not always, outside the Department of National Defence, Canada,                                     (DND) which have a definite interest in the purposes of OMMC, have a recognizable and                                organized collection of military artifacts on display, are open to the public at least part of one                                   day per week or more frequently as their capabilities permit, have applied for membership,                                     have provided all necessary information, have been accepted by the Board for membership                                    and have paid the annual membership fee.  Formations or individual units of the Canadian                           Armed Forces which have organized assemblies of artifacts recognized as military collections                                  under DND regulations may apply for institutional membership - the conditions stated above                                   apply.  Commercial organizations with direct interests in museum design, equipment and                           furnishing, operation or education may also become institutional members - the conditions                                    stated above apply. Except when suspended from membership, each institutional member                                    may have one voting representative at a general meeting of OMMC members;

 

            c.         Life Members Group.  Life members are persons who have contributed greatly to OMMC as                          individual members, as representatives of institutional members or of CAF Museums, or in                          other capacities, since the organization was founded in 1967, and whom OMMC chooses to                          honour by awarding them life membership. The award of life membership is determined by the                  Board in its sole discretion and approved by resolution.  Life members do not pay a                                                 membership fee.  Except when suspended from membership, each life member may vote at a                              general meeting of OMMC members; and

 

            d.         Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Museum Members Group. Museums which are owned by DND,                                    operated by CAF units or formations and accredited as military museums by the Director of                                     History and Heritage (DHH), National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, are known as CAF                                 Museum members. OMMC membership fees for CAF museum members are paid by DHH. CAF                                museums operate in military premises. Each CAF Museum member may have one voting                           representative at a general meeting of OMMC members.        

 

Applications for Membership and Renewal of Membership

 

5.         The OMMC application form for individual or institutional membership and for renewal of membership is available on the OMMC web-site at www.ommcinc.ca in the “About Us” section.  The form is also available from the Secretary on request.  The Secretary will issue the form annually in December to all individual and institutional members.  Individual and institutional members wishing to be invoiced for the annual fee rather than completing the renewal form are to so advise the Secretary. 

 

6.         The application form must be completed in all parts appropriate to the membership group applied for. The question regarding consent to receive all OMMC communications in electronic form is required under the Canadian “anti-spam” legislation - answering “Yes” will be appreciated. Credit card information included on the form will be retained only by the Secretary and Treasurer for up to 60 days following receipt of the form, after which that data will be destroyed.  The application form, less credit card information if applicable, will be retained by the Secretary in OMMC archives for six years after the end of the calendar year to which it applies in compliance with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules for charity administration.

 

7.         The application form includes provision for payment of a “late fee” for new applications or renewals after 31 March, to encourage early applications/renewals.  The Secretary is authorized to waive payment of this fee where, in his or her judgement, the facts of the case warrant such action.     

 

8.         A CAF Museum automatically becomes an OMMC member when it is accredited as a military museum - it does not apply for renewal of membership. 

 

9.         The Board is under no obligation to accept an application for membership as an individual member or as an institutional member.  Approval of such applications is at the sole discretion of the Board.

 

10.       Membership in OMMC is not transferrable. OMMC members wishing to change their membership group are to consult the Secretary.

 

Membership Year

           

11.       The membership year of the OMMC shall be from 1 January to 31 December of each year, the same period as the financial year of the Organization.

 

Membership Fees

 

12.       Membership fees shall be set annually by the Board of Directors and will be clearly stated on the OMMC form for membership application/renewal or on the OMMC invoice, as applicable.

 

Membership Numbers

 

13.       Each OMMC member will be given a unique membership number.  If a member ceases to be a member for whatever reason, his/her/its number shall not be issued to another member. Membership number blocks are: individual 1000-1999; institutional 2000-2999; life 3000-3999; and CAF Museums 4000-4999.   

 

Receipts for Income Tax Purposes

 

14.       OMMC is a registered charity in Canada.  As a registered charity, OMMC can issue receipts for income tax purposes when it receives donations which qualify for such receipts under CRA rules.  Annual membership fees paid by individual and institutional members are considered to be donations which qualify for a receipt.  However, annual membership fees paid by the non-public funds of the Canadian Armed Forces or by public funds do not qualify for a tax receipt.  The Secretary will issue the receipts in the form prescribed by the CRA.

 

15.       Tax receipts for individual members are issued on the same basis as for any other charity.  Tax receipts for institutional members are issued to ensure that such members which may be charities themselves, or which may be charitable foundations, have the document necessary to back the entry in the annual CRA Registered Charity Information Return (RCIR) for donations to “qualified donees or other organizations”.  OMMC, as a registered charity, is a qualified donee.  Please see the CRA booklet “Completing the Registered Charity Information Return T4033 (E) (current issue) for details.  Institutional members who/which do not complete an annual RCIR may use the receipt as they deem applicable under the CRA rules.

Membership Certificates

 

16.       Beginning in 2014, each member of OMMC received a certificate of membership stating the group of membership and the membership number.  The certificates are signed by the President, OMMC, or by the Secretary for the President should that be necessary.  The certificate will be valid as long as the member remains in good standing - ie., is alive, is not expelled and continues to pay the annual fee applicable to the member’s group.  The Secretary will issue replacement certificates on request.        

 

Membership List

 

17.       The Secretary will annually create a list of all OMMC members.  The list will not be made public.  The list will be provided to each director. The list will not be shared with any other organization.

 

18.       Contact data for all OMMC member institutions, with all personal information removed, will be posted on the OMMC web-site in the “Our Institutions” section for the information of the public.

 

Termination of Membership

 

19.       A membership in the OMMC will be terminated when:

 

            a.         An individual or life member dies, or, in the case of an institutional member, the                                          institution is closed; or

 

            b.         An individual member, an institutional member or a life member resigns by delivering a                               written notice of resignation to the Secretary.  The resignation shall be effective on the date                                   specified in the resignation.  If there is no date specified in the notice, the resignation will be                                  deemed to be effective from the date the notice is received by the Secretary; or

 

            c.         An individual member, an institutional member or a life member is expelled in accordance with                   By-law 2.7; or

 

            d.         The term of membership for an individual member or an institutional member expires without                                being renewed; or

 

            e.         A CAF Museum is closed; or

 

            f.          A CAF Museum loses its accreditation and the Museum does not apply to become an OMMC                                     institutional member or such an application is not approved by the Board; or

 

            g.         OMMC is liquidated or dissolved under the Act.

 

Discipline of Members

 

20.       The Board shall have authority, in its sole discretion, to suspend or expel any individual or life member, a representative of an institutional member or a representative of a CAF Museum Member from OMMC on any one or more of the following grounds:

 

            a.         Violation of any provision of the Articles, By-laws or written policies of OMMC in such a manner                     as to bring discredit to the Organization;

 

            b.         Carrying out any conduct which may be detrimental to OMMC, as determined by the Board in                                   its sole discretion; or

 

            c.         For any other reason that the Board in its sole and absolute discretion considers to be

                        reasonable, having regard to the objects of OMMC.

 

21.       In the event that the Board determines that an individual, institutional or life member should be expelled or suspended from OMMC membership, the President, or such other officer as may be designated by the Board, shall provide thirty (30) days’ notice of suspension or expulsion to the member in writing and shall provide reasons for the proposed suspension or expulsion. The member may make written submissions to the President, or to the designated officer, in response to the notice received, within such thirty (30) day period. In the event that no written submissions are received by the President, the President, or the designated officer, may proceed to notify the member that the member is suspended or expelled from membership in the OMMC. If written submissions are received in accordance with this By-law, the Board will consider such submissions in arriving at a final decision and the President shall notify the member concerning such final decision within a further thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the submissions. The decision of the Board shall be final and binding on the member, without any further right of appeal. The Board will advise the OMMC membership of all suspensions and expulsions.

 

22.       If the Board determines that a representative of a CAF Museum would be suspended or expelled if he or she was an individual member, the Board will provide the Commanding Officer of the CAF unit operating that Museum with its reasons for that determination.

 

23.       If the Board suspends a member, the suspension will be for a period of time which will be clearly stated in the decision letter from the President to the member as beginning on a certain day and ending on a certain day.

 

24.       On completion of a period of suspension, the suspended person will resume the OMMC membership status he or she had before the suspension was imposed. 

 

Reinstatement of Membership

 

25.       A member who has been expelled may apply for reinstatement after passage of one year after the date of expulsion.  The application will be considered by the Board of Directors at its next meeting.  Acceptance or rejection of the application is at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors.

 

26.       A member whose membership has been terminated for a reason other than expulsion may apply for re-instatement.  The application will be dealt with in the same manner as a request for renewal of membership.

 

Rights of Members

 

27.       Each member is entitled to receive notice of, to attend, to speak and to vote at all general meetings of OMMC members.  Each member is entitled to receive the OMMC Bulletin when it is published.  Each member is entitled under the Act to present proposals for consideration at a general meeting of OMMC members.  A member wishing to make a proposal should become familiar with the relevant portions of the Act and consult the Secretary not less than 90 days prior to the first anniversary of the most recent annual meeting of OMMC members.     

 

Membership Management Responsibility and Register of Members

 

28.       The Secretary is the membership manager for OMMC.  The Secretary is authorized to do all things shown in this policy as being Board responsibilities except for matters dealing with discipline of members and re-instatement of former members who were expelled. The Secretary will report on membership activities at each meeting of the Board and at each annual meeting of members.

 

29.       The Secretary maintains the register of members required by Section 21 of the Act.  Any member who desires to access the register of members shall make himself or herself familiar with Section 21 and Section 23 of the Act and shall then consult with the Secretary.  Access to the register will only occur at the OMMC head office.  The member requesting access to the register is responsible for payment of all costs related to the access, including, but not limited to, all expenses for transportation and accommodation.

 

Board of Directors Approval    

 

30.  This policy was approved by the Board of Directors of OMMC at its meeting held 14 June 2015 and became effective on that date.