Constitution-Bylaws Internet draft

This document is based on the Green Party of Canada's constitution. Refer to this forum thread for an up-to-date discussion on these topics.

You may modify this document to keep it up to date and flag items for review by marking them with bold text. If it seems fine, remove the bold text.

= Constitution =

The Body Constituted

 * The body constituted is the "Pirate Party of Canada", also known as: the "Pirate Party", "Parti Pirate du Canada", or "Parti Pirate". Hereafter in this document it is referred to as The Party.

Scope of the Constitution and Bylaws

 * 1) This constitution and bylaws shall govern the activities of The Party, all persons operating on behalf of The Party, and the rights, responsibilities and duties of its recognized units, committees and membership.
 * 2) The constitution shall have precedence over the bylaws, and any bylaw that is inconsistent with the constitution shall be null and void to the extent of the inconsistency.

Principles
The Party is unified by the principles of:
 * 1) personal privacy.  An individual should reasonably expect to ... (needs completion Odemia 02:41, 15 July 2009 (UTC))
 * 2) the public domain.  The possession of information unlike physical property does not exclude others from possesing it.  In order for Canadian innovation and culture to flourish the public domain must be healthy and accessible to all.  Any monopoly on an idea must be limited and leave the idea to the public domain at the end of the monopoly.
 * 3) open government.  The Canadian government must strive to make information from all government actions accessible to all it's citizens.  This is to encourage involvement in the democratic process through national discourse, provide transparency and enable its use in other ventures.

(Principles added to make purpose simpler Odemia 02:41, 15 July 2009 (UTC))

Purpose
It is the purpose of The Party to advance The Party’s principles by:


 * 1) fielding and electing candidates in federal elections
 * 2) debating and forming legislation in the Canadian Parliament and by participating in the Government of Canada
 * 3) debating the actions of the Canadian government in forums that are accessible to the public (added Odemia 02:36, 15 July 2009 (UTC))
 * 4) developing policy and platforms consistent with its values and principles
 * 5) advancing The Party’s platform, policy, values and basis of unity outside of electoral periods
 * 6) forming and maintaining Party organizations at the federal, provincial and electoral district levels
 * 7) developing international relationships and treaties consistent with the principles (is this covered by #2? Odemia 02:36, 15 July 2009 (UTC))

Principles
(do we need this section? Odemia 08:43, 13 July 2009 (UTC)) (Same as Rob's reply above,I believe.) --Zblewski 14:51, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

(moved to before Purpose Odemia 02:41, 15 July 2009 (UTC))

Accountability
All units and individuals within The Party are accountable to:
 * 1) the membership

Organizational Definitions
The Following units of The Party have official standing under the constitution:
 * 1) Member: An individual meeting The Party’s membership criteria
 * 2) Electoral District Association: An association in which all Party members residing within an electoral district as constituted under the Canada Elections Act have voting rights

Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws

 * 1) Amendments shall be submitted by at least three electoral district associations or by at least 15 individual members
 * 2) Amendments shall be ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a vote of all members in good standing of The Party.

Dissolution or Merger

 * Any resolution to dissolve The Party or to merge it with another party must be passed by greater than ninety (90) percent of the votes cast by members

= Bylaws =

Membership

 * 1) Criteria for membership
 * 2) Any citizen or resident of Canada, who is at least eighteen (18) years of age, is eligible for membership in The Party, with full voting rights.
 * 3) Every member shall uphold this constitution and bylaws.
 * 4) A member shall cease to be in good standing upon failure to pay the current annual membership fee or upon other conditions as set out by the federal council or in the bylaws.
 * 5) A person who is at least twelve (12) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age may be designated a Youth Member, without the right to vote. ( do we want to worry about youth memberships yet? Odemia 09:48, 13 July 2009 (UTC))
 * 6) Application for Membership
 * 7) A person may apply for membership in The Party to:
 * 8) Federal council
 * 9) an electoral district association
 * 10) a provincial/territorial association
 * 11) a regional association
 * 12) a designate of federal council that has been authorized to accept memberships
 * 13) The above mentioned bodies have the right to set the amount of their own membership fee insofar as:
 * 14) it is the responsibility of the federal council to maintain a register of members; and
 * 15) the federal council may require a membership fee from each body mandated to receive members to cover the costs of servicing the member.
 * 16) the federal council shall ensure that members are notified as their membership fees are due.
 * 17) * It must be at most $25/year - this is the limit set by Elections Canada. Should we have a minimum? --Rob.s.brit
 * 18) Applicants for membership and renewing members shall pay the membership fee directly to The Party and not indirectly through an intermediary person.
 * 19) Resignation and Removal of Member
 * 20) A person shall cease to be a member of The Party
 * 21) by delivering her/his resignation by mailing or delivering it to an address of The Party; or
 * 22) on her/his death; or
 * 23) on being expelled; or
 * 24) on having been a member not in good standing for 12 consecutive months.
 * 25) A member may be expelled by a vote by of members. The person who is subject to the proposed expulsion shall be given an opportunity to be heard before the resolution is put to a vote.
 * 26) Voting Rights
 * 27) A member’s right to vote on all matters, including all elections, shall commence after s/he has been a member for 30 days.
 * 28) When a former member rejoins The Party after having been a member not in good standing for more than one year, that member’s voting rights shall resume 30 days after rejoining The Party.

Selection of Candidates for Member of Parliament

 * 1) Candidates Candidates shall be selected by The Party as follows:
 * 2) Where there is an electoral district association, the electoral district shall select the candidate in accordance with the association’s bylaws.
 * 3) Where there is no electoral district association, the selection shall be conducted by a vote of all Party members in good standing in the electoral district may vote and participate
 * 4) Where there are no Party members in an electoral district, selection of a candidate shall be by a vote of all Party members
 * 5) Withholding a Candidate Endorsement
 * 6) * The Leader of The Party may withhold a candidate endorsement, but such withholding requires ratification by a 2/3 vote of members.

Voting by Members

 * 1) The party shall maintain an Internet site for members to discuss and vote on party policy, elect party officials and decide on party operations.
 * 2) The site shall use entirely Free Software and the source code shall be publically available.
 * 3) The site shall not require any non-Free Software to be used.

Party Documents

 * 1) The party shall maintain for viewing by all members:
 * 2) The Constitution and Bylaws of the The Party.
 * 3) The Rules of Order of The Party
 * 4) The Adopted Policy of The Party
 * 5) The Election Platform of The Party for the immediately previous election (not sure this applies tothe party in the same way, Odemia 09:26, 13 July 2009 (UTC))
 * 6) All minutes of previous general meeting and Federal Council meetings
 * 7) A financial statement (there may be unintended consequences of this. Odemia 09:26, 13 July 2009 (UTC))

Financial Procedures

 * 1) Agency: The membership my elect a registered agent (as per the Canada Elections Act) to issue tax receipts and maintain books for any recognized unit. Agency may be revoked by a vote by the membership.
 * 2) Fundraising: Units may conduct legal fundraising activities.
 * 3) Borrowing: Only a vote by members may authorize borrowing by The Party or any unit thereof, on behalf of The Party.
 * 4) Sovereignty: No unit has rights to funds raised by another unit except insofar as federal council or a general meeting may levy fees from units with registered agents to cover the costs of Party registration, annual audits or other essential activities. (this seems a little strange to me, does it mean that district could not give some extra funds to another district? Odemia 09:26, 13 July 2009 (UTC))