GM 2012-06-20 Sean Hunt Report



Greetings, Pirates!

I’m going to begin by thanking you all for coming this evening. As I’ll be elaborating shortly, general meetings are vital for the success of this party. Your presence here is an important piece of our functioning and our party would, I think, be inferior without them.

First, I have two matters of business recommended both by the EB and the PC. The first relates to transaction of business at this meeting. The EB and PC were tasked with suggesting improvements to GMs, and these suggested rules should streamline things while still ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to be heard.

The second recommendation is to create a committee tasked with coming up with revisions to the Constitu- tion and Bylaws. The plan was originally to move amendments at this meeting, but we decided that more thought was required, hence a committee. The EB and PC believe that change is not needed so quickly as to inspire undue haste; the bodies can function well enough without such amendments.

Next, I would like to respond to the resignation of the member variously known as Yehoshua, Yeho, Anony- mous, and [redacted]. I’m sorry to see him go, but if I may be candid, he won’t be sorely missed. He was one of our chief sources of criticism—and this is a good thing!—but he did not carry himself in a manner very conducive to cooperation and getting things done.

More than that, though, Yehoshua was unwilling to participate in the system. We, as a party, have a number of rules. They are of varying popularity. Some greatly dislike them, while others like them. But they are fair, and so no matter your feelings about them, it is important to follow them in order to, at the very least, legitimze an attempt to change them. This is no different from the Party having to be elected to change the law. We must follow the rules as they exist now—and I’ll offer a fantastic quote from General Henry Robert, an authority on rules of order.

"The great lesson for democracies to learn is for the majority to give to the minority a full, free opportunity to present their side of the case, and then for the minority, having failed to win a majority to their views, gracefully to submit and to recognize that action as that of the entire organization, and cheerfully to assist in carrying it out, until they secure its repeal."

This quote exemplifies how we should try to conduct ourselves. We have our meetings, and we may be bitter opponents in them, but once the decision is made, we accept it and move on. If we do this, then we avoid rancor or venom in our business, and don’t come to each others’ throats. In a meeting, the rules should provide a protection against decisions being made unfairly.

One of the things of which I am personally accused in his post is of abuse of authority, specifically of cancelling a democratic decision and second of attempting to ban him from the IRC network. I do not know to which the former accusation refers, so I have no option but to deny it. The second, however, is true; some of you may remember a general meeting a few months back where he was being particularly disruptive. Under my authority as chair, I acted to prevent him from disrupting the meeting. I removed the bans as soon as I remembered after the meeting (which was, admittedly, the next morning). I do not recall ever setting a ban in #canada except for that occaision, but please correct me if I am wrong.

Yehoshua also accuses me of working for Google. This is true, and if you feel that this should disqualify me from participating, then I encourage you to reevaluate how you choose friends. He accuses me of failing to know what CD burning is. I’ve burnt my share of CDs once, but it’s true; I did forget one definition of the word and ask on the forums why we were going to set fire to CDs. You’ve done this too at some point, I’m sure, although perhaps not quite so hilariously.

More seriously, Yehoshua accuses me of, in not quite the same words, working against the ideals of the Party. I take great umbrage at these remarks, as I am not out to destroy or subvert the party. I don’t think involved is, just as I don’t think that the Conservatives are actively trying to destroy Canadian faith in government, or that American legislators are trying to destroy their nation. They each have, as I have, best interests in mind. They may be, just as I may be, wrong.

I do think that there are people here who, were they given dictatorial control, would lead the Party in a seriously wrong direction. I won’t name names, but I count myself among them. I am, somewhat deliberately, very moderate and passive compared to others in the Party. I do not have to be (I encourage you to search “Sean Hunt senate imprint” on YouTube if you want an example). These traits are bigger assets in student politics than federal politics, perhaps, but I do what I feel is best. Of course, it’s hard to tell in advance when things are best, and that’s the great thing about our democracy; there are always people on the other side, weighing to swing things in the opposite direction. I know of people who are deliberatly radical for the same reason—to act as a counterweight. We can meet in the middle surprisingly often.

Yehoshua also has many good criticisms of the Party’s actions, and thus implicitly against the leadership as a whole. They are founded because this organization is run by volunteers with their own lives. That isn’t mean as an excuse or a reason not to hold the leadership accountable, but it needs to be held in mind.

Of course, we should be doing more to retain volunteers. I’ve been starting a push for local events, and am going to try to find someone to devote their time to managing volunteers. We have many strong volunteers who aren’t always “in the loop”—Shawn Gray, James Wilson, and Steve Henderson come to mind.

But ultimately, we are (very) fallible human beings. That’s why it’s so important that you have shown up to this meeting. You guys aren’t always involved, so you have a better grasp of larger-scale priorities. You can change any decision we make, end projects, start new ones, and do whatever you feel like.

A few reminders before I move on. My role here is a facilitator. If you think the rules are being violated, even by me, raise a point of order. If you disagree with my ruling, then you can appeal it and have a vote taken on the result. Be careful when limiting debate, so as not to shut out good points. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how to form a motion or accomplish an objective. If there is a complicated motion that you think is a good idea, but not in its current form, consider referring it to a committee. And certainly don’t ever be afraid to make a motion of your own if you think something ought to be done. There’s no penalty for being outvoted.